As things wind down on the semester, I thought I’d send along one last update on the class.
The Power of Place assessment went very well and those scores should be in GradeSpeed by the end of the day. This was a difficult go for students, as I’m sure you know. But they were able in the end, for the most part, to master the text. Not only were the lessons from Harm de Blij important ones, this was a great opportunity for your student to become familiar with elevated, scholarly writing – writing of the type they will be expected to manage in Advanced Placement classes. The re-test opportunity for this assessment is this Wednesday at lunch.
We are wrapping up with a lighter approach watching the video series on Jared Diamond’s seminal work, Guns, Germs & Steel. This is a continuation of our investigation of why the world is so unevenly balanced in terms of income, technology, health and opportunity. Each of the three viewing guides counts as a quiz grade and the test is this Thursday or Friday.
Some students come to HSPVA not having done cumulative final exams for a semester. However, this is the expectation at the high school level and students should be prepared to do some review work to prepare for next week’s final. If you student has not kept all the class material through the semester, it is all downloadable on the class web site. Watch for a review sheet listing the topics to be found on the final at the “Unit Info” page of the web site.
I’d like to leave you with some thoughts from a colleague of mine working at Rice in the Entrepreneurship Education Program. He makes some great points about the nature of education and the difficulty for all stakeholders in children’s education with regard to intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation. The place of education in our society is changing in spite of our best intention. I think you will find it both interesting and relevant. Occupy Education: Good Luck Finding a Room.
I’d like to wish your family a happy and restful holiday season. I think you and I; and especially our students, have earned one!
The Power of Place assessment went very well and those scores should be in GradeSpeed by the end of the day. This was a difficult go for students, as I’m sure you know. But they were able in the end, for the most part, to master the text. Not only were the lessons from Harm de Blij important ones, this was a great opportunity for your student to become familiar with elevated, scholarly writing – writing of the type they will be expected to manage in Advanced Placement classes. The re-test opportunity for this assessment is this Wednesday at lunch.
We are wrapping up with a lighter approach watching the video series on Jared Diamond’s seminal work, Guns, Germs & Steel. This is a continuation of our investigation of why the world is so unevenly balanced in terms of income, technology, health and opportunity. Each of the three viewing guides counts as a quiz grade and the test is this Thursday or Friday.
Some students come to HSPVA not having done cumulative final exams for a semester. However, this is the expectation at the high school level and students should be prepared to do some review work to prepare for next week’s final. If you student has not kept all the class material through the semester, it is all downloadable on the class web site. Watch for a review sheet listing the topics to be found on the final at the “Unit Info” page of the web site.
I’d like to leave you with some thoughts from a colleague of mine working at Rice in the Entrepreneurship Education Program. He makes some great points about the nature of education and the difficulty for all stakeholders in children’s education with regard to intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation. The place of education in our society is changing in spite of our best intention. I think you will find it both interesting and relevant. Occupy Education: Good Luck Finding a Room.
I’d like to wish your family a happy and restful holiday season. I think you and I; and especially our students, have earned one!
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