UNSCHOOLING OR BETTER SCHOOLING

Some couples unschool their children because they feel school is too much about meaningless facts. What is a meaningless fact? I know math and grammar are important. But so is literature, history and psychology.

In mythology, the story of Persephone is more than about why the seasons change, it’s relationships and the need for change in life.

Oedipus Rex had a modern psychology term named after him. In fact, literature and psychology borrow consistently from each other.

And what about politics? Are the names of U.S. presidents irrelevant. Memorizing their names is a step in learning more about their presidencies. Benjamin Harrison’, our 23rd president’s, mistake in short changing the American Indians, is a repeated mistake as minorities still live in poverty. It is true that that those who don’t read and study history are doomed to repeat it. Is it irrelevant to expect people to understand economic and political terms like Socialist, Conservative, and Liberal?

I love the idea of unschooling. I myself would have been a great candidate for it. I used to skip school and go to the library.

But for most youngsters, learning must be structured. Let’s face it most of today’s young won’t go to the library. They won’t read history like I did. Look what the “social pass” did to our education system. If teachers couldn’t fail the student, the student didn’t have to show up. They didn’t have to do the work. Many students cheated themselves when given a free pass, and today as adults, they pay the price.

But structured learning outside the school environment is not something new It’s home schooling and it has been around for a time.

What’s wrong with schools? They are like jailhouses, that keep students locked into small desks, smaller than a cell.

Their approach to learning is boring and unnatural.

Tests feel threatening.

Socialization is prison-like instead of community-like. Bullies threaten, steal, insult and assault.

Instead of unschooling, lets work together and build a better school

BOOK COVERS: A SCHOOL PROJECT LIKE IT OR NOT

In some schools, students are now required to make covers for their books. Students often use plastic wrap. It clings. Tape isn’t even necessary.

There are book socks that one can purchase to cover textbooks. These are made from stretchy material, and they fit most hard cover books. Book socks don’t work well on paperbacks.

When I worked in a label factory, we had huge sheets of paper with beer or ketchup labels printed on them. Those co-workers who had kids in school would would take several sheets home, cut them up and make wrappers for school books. The kids loved them, and wanted more of them for friends.

I read over a hundred books a year, but I don’t wrap my books. In fact, I unwrap some of them. If I have to carry a book around in my purse to read in restaurants, I take the sleeve off the book and tuck the sleeve in a safe place at home until I finish the book.

I like paperbacks. They take up less room on the shelf and they don’t have sleeves. I could never understand why wrapping a book up was so popular. How do you know which textbook is which if you cover the book with paper? In college I never saw a book wrapped up, and college students do make use of their books. At least they do if they want to stay in college and graduate.

I do think see-through plastic wraps are an improvement. If you have to wrap up a book, at least wrap it up in see-through plastic, so you can still see the title.

Place the book in a plastic grocery store store bag if you think it will rain.

I looked up book socks on Amazon and eBay. They are not called book socks, but book covers. I like calling them socks better. The book covers that I saw don’t come in see-through. I guess if you want see-through covers buy a box of plastic wrap, the kind used for putting leftovers away in the refrigerator.

One could get creative. Have a soccer ball or football cover for the book in a health class. A Shakespeare cover for an English class textbook.

Which ones would I buy if I bought a book sock? I wouldn’t buy one. I like to be more intimate with my books. I like them bare. After all we are having a meeting of the minds. You can’t put a sock on that.

THINGS I WOULDN'T KNOW IF I WAS NOT A READER

Things I wouldn’t Know if I were not a reader.

1. Elfshot, small stones believed by medieval people to be arrowheads shot from fairies. These are believed to protect humans.

2. Tattoos are often used as protective devises.

3. A Crayola will burn for thirty minutes. They make great cheap candles.

4, Tarragon, the spice, is used in magic spells for courage as tarragon means little dragon.

5. The Greeks believed in two kinds of fate. Ananke -just because you are there.Hurricane katrina, ten years ago wiped out whole towns. Everyone was affected. Heimarmene, stuff that happens because of the choices you made. Cynics were a cult who spent their time figure out the two kinds of fate.

6. Dandelions are for courage, also to keep from being evicted. Collect dandelions and place them around the apartment or home.

7. Ben Franklin published “Pamela,” the first novel published in the colonies that would become the U.S. Written by Samuel Richardson, it was originally published in England and reprinted by Franklin in 1744.

8. The Hall of Fame for Great Americans is at Bronx Community College in New York. Inductees have a bust made by a famous sculptor.Edgar Allan Poe’s sculptor was Daniel Chester French, who also sculpted the Lincoln Memorial This was America’s first Hall of Fame. The only non American appears to be General Lafayette,who was granted honorary U.S. citizenship. 9. When Teddy Roosevelt was police commissioner in New York, he took steps to preserve Edgar Allan Poe’s home in New York. The house Poe rented is still there on a land called Poe Park.

10. Gerardus Mercator, a cartographer born in 1512 coined the word “Atlas” after a mythical Titan whom he idolized? Mercator used the word “Atlas” for his collection of world maps.

11. Who gets heart and kidney transplants? One prison inmate received a heart transplant which will probably end up costing taxpayers a million dollars. A death row inmate gets dialysis and has been recommended for a kidney transplant.

12. There are 193 nation members of the United Nations.

A question for the research minded. Could General Lafayette who was, of course, born in France, have become president of the U.S.?

WHAT TO DO WITH A POEM

Wednesday is Poems Prayers, Promises Day for our blog. Let’s start with a poem.

There is no frigate like a book

To take us lands away,

Nor any coursers like a page

Of prancing poetry.

This traverse may the poorest take

Without oppress of toll;

How frugal is the chariot

That bears a human soul!

Emily Dickinson.

What can you do with a poem?

Memorize it.

Take it apart and study the words and lines.

Write a response. What do you think of lines like “Prancing poetry”?

Listen to it. Some online sites have a reader reciting the poem.

Learn more about the life of the author.

Find other poems by this author.

LEARNING HACK: PINK NOISE FOR A BETTER NIGHT'S SLEEP

Here is a Sound way to get a better nights sleep.

Insomnia was described by the ancient Greeks as one of the tortures of hell. There are many causes of insomnia and the condition causes problems not only for students, but individuals of all ages all classes and in in all walks of life.

An easy solution to insomnia is “pink noise.” According to a recent article in ”O" magazine pink noise helps shut the mind down and produce sleep. Studies show sleep is deeper and more relaxing with a pink noise background.You tube has several pink noise recordings. I listen to the ten hours of pink noise.

Warning there are commercials. Some people would consider this subliminal advertising. I think the payoff of better sleep is worth a few minutes of commercials that don’t wake me up, and that I don’t remember.

During the day, try “Coffitivity,” coffee shop noises, for increased production.

Go back to You Tube for relaxation music, some of which is designed for study.

It is as easy as it Sounds.

PAO - FOR BETTER MEMORY AND GRAMMAR

Memory experts have a type of pegging list called PAO. The letters stand for Person Action Object. Memory champions use PAO like any pegging list be it a list of locations or a list inspired by the alphabet or some other recognized order. I sometimes use the names of the forty-four U.S. presidents as a pegging list. Most people would probably prefer PAO. It is more memorable.

Creating a PAO list is fun and easy. First write a list of people’s names. These can be actors, historical figures, cartoon characters, fictional characters or friends and relatives. Let’s start with ten names.

Persons:

1. Elvis Presley

2. Queen Elizabeth

3. George Washington

4. Eva De Neve (my mother) Substitute the name of your mother, aunt or teacher.

5. Mickey Mouse

6. Snoopy the beagle

7. Barack Obama

8. Justine Bieber

9. Snow White

10. Sleeping Beauty

Actions:

Now make a list of ten transient verbs. These are verbs that take an object.

Kissed, kicked, swallowed, ate, read played, broke, carried, caught, cleaned, drank. paid, stopped, helped.

That is more than ten, but we don’t have to use them all. Feel free to look up more transitive verbs online.

Objects:

Now make a list of nouns that name people or things.

fiddlestick, cow, donkey, dog, drums, book, spaghetti, Bugs Bunny, cat, paycheck, lamp, sofa, door, bedroom, bumblebee.

These are just examples. Use them or your own list.

Now let’s make sentences.

Elvis Presley kissed a cow.

Queen Elizabeth swallowed bumblebees.

Greorge Washington kicked Bugs Bunny.

Go on make your own sentences. Comeback when you are finished.

Finished?

Now memorize the list of PAO’s. Add more than ten if you like. Why? Because we often have more than ten new items to memorize. Memory exercises are great exercises to grow the brain. Also a pegging list can be used to more easily memorize something else.

Say I want to memorize ta few state capitals.

To memorize Montgomery, Alabama I see Elvis Presley kiss a cow while actress Elizabeth Montgomery. I connect the two images in my mind, so I can remember the new material easier.

Also you just got a grammar lesson.

The people in your first list are here being used as sentence subjects. An easy way to determine what the subject of the sentence is, us to ask who or what the sentence is about.

Those action words were all verbs.

The last list is a group of words used here as objects. Nouns usually function in sentences as either subjects or objects. There are three kinds of objects. Object of a preposition, direct object and indirect object.

In the examples given the cow, the bumblebees and Bugs Bunny are direct objects; they get the action right from the verb.

Let’s save the lesson on indirect objects and objects of prepositions for tomorrow or the next day.

This article is a must read for all parents. Schools don't just fail our boys.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/parenting/wp/2015/02/19/why-schools-are-failing-our-boys/?tid=sm_fb

BOOK REVIEW, HOME GROWN, BY BEN HEWITT

Book Review

Home Grown, Adventures in Parenting Off the Beaten Path and Connecting to the Natural World

Author: Ben Hewitt

224 pages

Ben Hewitt and his wife travel the road less taken. They live on a farm where they grow most of their own food, drive a decades old car, wear second hand clothing and un-school their two sons.

The boys, both of them under ten years old, spend their days helping with the farm work, hunting and trapping. The activities were chosen by them. While they are expected to help with chores like any other youngster, the hunting and trapping is their decision.

The children are not illiterate. They read and studied enough about the hunting and trapping to obtain their licenses.

The children pick their own activities and their own learning schedule. The family does not have television, so reading is a popular evening activity. So is fashioning traps and bows and arrows. The hunting and trapping equipment is all homemade.

Reading, “Home Grown,” Hewitt’s collection of essays about un-schooling his children was an adventure for me. The book came to my attention as I was contemplating the future of mankind in a world where workers may soon not be needed. What kind of a world will that be?

It wasn’t Hewitt’s intention to answer that question, but he did give me something to think about. We need people capable of survival. Some people need to know how to produce their own food. There may come a time when we may again have to depend upon such individuals.

Hewitt butchers his own livestock. He says he does it in a way that does not hurt or frighten the animal. I believe him. Still I am a vegetarian, who recently gave up dairy reading about raising animals to kill them is disturbing to me. If I had a cow, I could not kill her. I would not take her calf away from her, so I can drink her milk.

I have long been anti-trapping and have signed several petitions to end the killing. I see no value in hunting or trapping.

But in some ways I understand that some people in our modern world must have these skills.

I debated, not reviewing this book. I am after all almost vegan.

I can’t kill an animal. I can’t ask anyone else to kill or hurt an animal for me. Yet Hewitt and his children can kill animals humanely. They use every part of the animal. They have skinning and cooking skills that start not with a chunk of meat in the grocery store, but with a dead animal. Hewitt’s young sons can not only kill, but can skin and fry a field mouse.

So momentarily I wanted to diss the book. Then I realized these people live close to the animals that are part of their farm. The children have learned real and perhaps useful skills.

But what else are these children learning?

Un-schooling is hard to define. It is a type of home schooling with fewer rules. The child learns, but on his terms. The Hewitt children as I said learned to read and write while studying hunting and trapping techniques. They even make their own bows, arrows and traps. The traps they make according to the book are humane. There are no steel teeth. Some traps kill the animal instantly.

When we’re talking about school, we are talking about ethical issues, and school does not work for thousands of children.

What about un-schooling? It works for this family whether I like what the children are learning or not. They are learning.

FIVE TYPES OF STUDENTS AND HOW SCHOOLS DO OR DON'T SERVE THEM

Types of students:

1. Showoffs: These are the stars. They excel in academics and athletics. Some wear the coolest, newest and most stylish clothes. They are often the best looking students. They are jocks or cheer leaders or prom queens.

2. Bullies: They don’t get good grades very often and despite often being bigger in size, they don’t always succeed in sports. Some do. Their sole purpose to being in school is to pick on those who are weaker. They like to hurt people. The sad thing is that school is were they can get away with this.

3. Class Clowns: They don’t mind being in school. They get attention. They should all become professional comedians. After all, they have a great comeback for every thing. Other students often enjoy their antics. But the truth is they usually don’t have the ambition or the drive to become successes after graduation.

4. Geeks: These are the real students. They understand robotics, computers, biology and advanced math. They even get passing grades in history and English. The Show Offs dislike them and stare down their noses. Bullies and Class Clowns use Geeks as victims of their cruelty. Geeks would be better off home schooled or unschooled. The school experience often destroys their self confidence.

5. Lost Souls: These are most of the students. Often they have hurtful lives. School could be an escape. Usually it isn’t. Lost should don’t have the best clothes, and they carry too heavy a load of sorrow to get good grades. These are the students who need school the most. They are the students that school fails the most often. Teachers are not prepared to address the hundreds of different types of problems these students bring to the classroom. No one is. These students need one on one attention. Some students need the kind of attention that only a very well-trained child psychologist could successfully address. What do we do with lost souls?

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LEARNING HACK OF THE DAY: DON'T BELIEVE PERFECTION; IT'S A LIAR.

Nobody is perfect. The television star with the perfect makeup and hair has a staff of professionals fussing with her all day. The student who seems to get the right answers all the time either knows as many learning hacks as I do, or he studies constantly. When I was growing up, I knew two couples who seemed to have perfect marriages. That is the image they presented to the outside world. Both marriages ended in divorce.

Some people do want to hide their imperfections. We all want to be well-groomed and to always do the best job we can. But perfection does not exist. I understand that some carpet weavers purposely leave in imperfections. Only God is perfect.

That said let me tell you about my day yesterday, with an exert from my journal.

My day: Cinco the cat pooped in the bathtub; Tiki the dog had to go out, but the screen door was frozen shut. I put her on a leash and took her out the front door. I started to take out a plastic bag of garbage, but it broke open on the kitchen floor. I did a load of laundry, but Cinco the cat wanted to get in the dryer. I had to lock him in a bedroom. He was mad and at me, but he got over it. I finally got to my blog, to my novel and then to relaxation and reading.

Granted my day was messy, but my description of it was honest.

Here is a review I wrote some time ago of Susan Lucci's autobiography,"All MY Life, A Memoir."

My mother hated Donna Reed because Donna Reed had a perfect life with a beautiful home, perfect hair, perfect husband, perfect children and starched dresses. Her housework was always done. Problems were quickly solved. I never understood my mother's dislike for this beautiful television actress. After all Reed's show was fiction. She was no more perfect than other television wives like June Cleaver, Harriet Nelson or Marjorie Lord who played Danny Tomas's television wife.

When I read Susan's Lucci's biography, I began to understand some of my mother's dislike for Donna Reed. But at least the Stone family, Reed's television family had problems to solve even if they did it too easily. It must be nice to live a perfect life. But I prefer a person who has challenges to face and can overcome those challenges. A perfect life must get boring.

Certainly Susan Lucci is beautiful and talented. But I don't need to read about her to see that. I know there is too much negativity in life, but stories, even true ones, need challenges, and people should change in the course of their lifetimes. None of us start off perfect and stay that way – even Susan Lucci.

It didn't take me long to start disliking Susan Lucci as I read her book.

I didn't like how she described glamorous women who wore furs like Mae West, Lana Turner and Gypsy Rose Lee. I really dislike anyone, celebrity or not, who wears furs. (Later Lucci confesses to loving veal dishes. Does she know how much cruelty goes into making veal? Veal is anemic calf.)But here I digress, this is about poor taste, not perfection. (No pun intended.)

The book became extremely boing mostly because of the perfection in everything. I kept reading and indeed I did find something to like. One of the later chapters was about her costars in “All My Children,” and I enjoyed this chapter. I particularly liked reading about the scene where she and David Canary, one of my favorite actors, had a food fight. I even looked that scene up on YouTube. I was never a steady watcher of the program, so I had not known about that scene before.

Her fan letter to her fans was a great idea, but boring as Susan described her favorite meals and artists.

Lucci's five ways to look taller start with “Wear High Heels.” Her fans are not teenagers. I wear prescription running shoes and visit a podiatrist once a month. I cannot wear high heels. The very thought gives me foot pain. High heels are very unhealthy. Ask any physician about the problems they can cause. What gives with giving fans such unhealthy advice? This is not a teenage magazine. A much better soap opera autobiography came from Lucci's ex costar Ruth Warrick. I read “The Confessions of Phoebe Tyler” years ago. It is a great autobiography.

To read a good book of advice by a celebrity read, “Wear Your Life Well, Use What You have To Get What You Want,” by Marilou Henner. Lucci tends to talk down to her readers. It is like she is lecturing us. We her fans know we are not perfect. Nice of Ms. Lucci to take the time to show us how wonderful life can be when one is perfect.

I like Donna Reed much better.

I believe in self improvement; I don't believe in perfection.

Learning Hack of the Day: Use Playing Cards Like Flash Cards

Look for unusual items that can be turned into teaching aids and, therefore, learning aids. While it is unlikely that any deck of cards will exactly match the material for your class, playing cards do have trivia and other useful information on them.

You can use these cards like flash cards for home schooling and lifetime learning. Playing cards might have pictures and information either on their backs or fronts. Some decks show examples of great art; other decks might have pictures and trivia about U.S. Presidents, Indian Chiefs, wild west outlaws or famous pirates, One set of cards has musical notes and explanations. Another has pictures of different wines of the world and information on those wines. Some have art designs. Others have information on famous generals or battles. Some gave pictures of different flags or tourist attractions. Some have maps of places and even the night sky. Other decks of cards and swap cards have trivia, movie stars or sports stars.

See what decks of playing cards you can find in various stores and online and use them in your learning. Here are just a few examples.

Learning Hack of the Day: Review Resolutions

So many people make New Year's resolutions on January 1. They forget them by the end of the month. Did you make New Year's Resolutions? What were they? Review them,. If you didn't make New Year's resolutions, make some February resolutions. Review them throughout the month. Reconnect with your goals. Tweak those goals that need to be tweaked. Resolutions are like grades. They need to be worked on everyday. Shop Amazon - Contract Cell Phones & Service Plans

Learning Hack of the Day: Initiate Your Own Learning Plan

Our public and private school systems are not set up to recognize genius. Thomas Edison was sent home from school because the teachers said he could not learn. Most budding Edisons in our educational system are just flunked. Too often these children accept the false diagnoses that they could not learn. Unless you have a medically diagnosed learning disorder, you can learn. Know that the failure is often the school system. Stern unfriendly teachers, boring textbooks and regimented activities do not promote learning. If the school system is not working for you, explore homeschooling and unschooling. Find alternatives. Find the system that works for you. Abraham Lincoln had little formal schooling. He was self taught. The best learning for you is the learning you initiate.

Check out one of last year's blogs on Chaining. Chaining is an ancient memory technique. It is telling a silly story with new items to be memorized in the story. This technique will strengthen your creativity, make all learning easier and more fun. Keep practicing. Memorize the names of the presidents of the United States, ten words in a foreign language or the states in the order they ratified the constitution.

Learning Hack of the Day: Wise Time Management

One reason students don't do well in school is that they fail to manage their time. They have vague ideas about when to study and how much time to devote to study. Study time must be scheduled and honored. Get a time management worksheet, available on line. Just google “time management worksheet,” and print up a copy. There are several of these sheets offered free; pick one that you think will work best for you. Fill it out. Several print books have time sheets included. I love the one in "Becoming A Master Student" by Dave Ellis. The book is worth buying, reading and studying. Back to time management sheets. Where do you spend your time? Put aside time for cleaning house, sleeping, shopping, and work. Don't forget class time. Be aware of hidden time pockets. Often things on your list take longer than expected. People writing out these charts will factor in cooking and eating time, but forget clean-up time. They might factor in time spent at work, but forget the time it takes to get to and from work. What about unexpected phone calls? It also takes time to get to and from an on-ground class. Factor in, at least an hour a day to study for each class. You might need more than just a tine management sheet. I have a day planner to pencil in appointments. I also keep to do lists. The to do list might be daily or weekly. Everyone's schedule is different, so all of our time planners will look different. Some people like to keep everything in electronic planners and others like the paper planners best. Find out what works for you. If you miss an appointment or have a day with too may projects, adjust your schedule. How often do you fill out these time sheets? As often as necessary. Before signing up for new classes is a good time. You might want to redo your time management sheet right after school begins. How is it working? Do you need extra time for an algebra class. Often history and English classes are heavy on reading. Did you plan enough time for all that reading. I often renew my time sheet at the beginning of each new season. I check my daily planner every week to make sure I don't miss any appointments. Recommended reading: "Time Management From the Inside Out," by Julie Morganstern.

Learning Hack of the Day- Have Fun

Have fun. If you are not having fun learning.,you are not doing it right. Whatever the learning chore, find a way to make it fun. When I took college algebra, I was terrified. I dreaded it, but then I started looking on the algebra “problems” as types of puzzles. I enjoy puzzles so that helped. Algebra was also a break from all the reading and writing I did in other classes. It became enjoyable.

For Teachers Only: What Is Wrong With Testing?

For Teachers only: What is wrong with giving tests?

By Mary Ann De Neve Slavcheff, M.A.

Let’s take a test.

STANDARDIZED TESTS

I could give you one of those standardized tests that students are often expected to take. Doesn’t everyone hate those? Why should anyone have to know what a harangue or a tangent is? Does X plus Y ever equal anything other than two letters of the alphabet?

And then there was this week’s reading assignment which you were supposed to… Wait a minute. I didn’t assign a reading. I didn’t teach you anything, so how can I test you?

There is something about tests and quizzes that scares people. Even those of us who are not students anymore, even teachers, have a negative reaction.

CLASSROOM TESTS ARE LIKE LIE DETECTOR TESTS

I assigned a reading or a set of problems. The student claims that he read the assignments or did all the problems. He didn’t get help from his friends who always ace the tests. I, the teacher, don’t believe the student really did his homework. I think he is lying about the time he said he spent studying.

I will test him and let’s see if he is telling the truth.

Tests thus crate an atmosphere of distrust between students and teachers.

Students have their own questions. How important is the material on the test to the final grade? Will he be tested on this material again? Often instructors go on to new material, and they don’t go back. The student might just as well forget what he just learned. He doesn’t need it anymore. I have seen students walk out of the classroom after a test, sigh, and I know they have already forgotten much of the material that they just aced a test on.

For students, other important things like cell phone conversations, texting, Facebook, and the latest episode of “Walking Dead or “Game of Thrones” intrude on studies and take up time that could be spent learning. Today’s students have too much information coming at them and they don’t have the time to learn what they can’t use or don’t think they will use.

Students forget what they learned for yesterday’s quiz. Students feel they will worry about the next class when that class comes. Learn and relearn as you go may not be the simplest method, but it is the most popular one. Teachers know that the best students probably learned little more than the poor students.

So why even use tests? If the material is almost immediately forgotten and students clearly don't understand the relevance of much of the material, then aren't tests a waste of everyone’s time?

They are. But we still use them. That is because a teacher can base her grades on test scores. Also some tests have nothing to do with the teacher. These are standardized tests which are so popular with administrators and textbook companies. Here teachers teach to the test. They have to. They had no input in creating the test and may not themselves know the relevance to their topic.

Teachers lose the joy of sharing knowledge they themselves found exciting, and the student loses the joy of learning he took with him to Kindergarten so many years ago and quickly lost in the maze of school.

Standardized tests take time away from learning about short stories,critical thinking and the lives of authors and historical greats. On top of that teachers are sometimes accused of cheating themselves if they learn what will be on the standardized test and they help the student prepare.

I have no idea who creates standardized tests, or why certain vocabulary words for instance are included. The tests seem a way of undermining the teacher, and getting rid of her if the students don’t do well. This ignores the fact that teachers teach and students learn. We can’t blame one individual if another has not his chore.

There has to be a better way.

Tests are old fashioned; Socrates used them. Or did he? Actually the Socratic method is question and answer, but as part of a discussion between students and teachers. There were no written exams in ancient Greece. No wonder they were such great scholars.

Even if Socrates had used written exams, do we still use the medical equipment that Hippocrates used? Are books still copied by monks and letters carried by the Pony Express? We have found better ways of doing most other jobs. Not teaching. Teaching still reties on written tests just like it did when our founding fathers were in school.

Testing itself is not a good way to measure learning, so shouldn’t we at least try to find other ways. One way would be to let students write their own tests and quiz each other on the material. Or let them test the instructor. I used to let my students quiz me on the assigned short stories. Sure they came up with some odd questions like, “What color were the main character’s anklets on page 14?”

I may not have known some of the answers, but we could all look it up. Even if the student made up things for his quiz, it was still fun, and we were all learning despite ourselves. These quizzes started conversations, and then we could talk about archetypes and plot types, and discuss the story. Students were more likely to tell me what they liked or didn’t like about the story. They stopped worrying about what they were supposed to get from the story. They got enjoyment and an understanding of the characters and the theme. It came more naturally than it would have in a test.

Attendance was very important with me. Even if the student was daydreaming and not paying one bit of attention, I always assumed, something was getting through to that student. Required attendance is much less scary than a quiz.

We must give teachers more autonomy in the classroom. Textbook salesmen and administrators are fine, but they need to do less dictating and more listening to both students and teachers. Teachers are professionals. Why are they being bullied by so many administrators, parents and board members? Get out of our way and let us do our jobs.

Make classes smaller so teachers and students can share more of the learning.

We can also give students more time in class to work on reading and doing assignments. If they get into the study habit in the classroom, they might be more likely to do it at home.

Discussions and essays are tougher to grade than multiple choice and true or false quizzes, but the student learns more and retains more. To save the teacher some time and to increase learning, essays can be read in class and or passed around the class room. That will make the classroom more of a community. Now that you have read this article, how about a test on its contents?

Just kidding.

The End

How to Ace Tests

How To Ace Tests By Mary Ann De Neve Slavcheff, M.A. It’s mid semester and chances are you are getting ready for mid terms. Finals are coming up fast. If you have been following my suggestions, you have chained or pegged the new learning and reviewed it a few times. You probably feel much more confident than in past semesters.

Most students, even prepared students, hate tests and instructors don’t like them either. It would be great if we could get beyond tests. But discussions and essays are even harder to create and to grade. Most students don’t like essays. Essay test questions are even worse than term papers because the student has limited time to work on them. So expect to put up with old-fashioned tests for many more decades.

If we have to take tests anyway, let’s get more comfortable around them. Think of tests as a chance to show off your learning.

What can we do to be better prepared for tests?

We can write our own tests for study practice. This does not have to be elaborate. Start with the obvious. If you are studying a short story ask:

Who are the main characters?

What items play a part in the story?

Are any of these items symbolic? Explain.

What is the order of events? List them.

Are flashbacks used?<[> In whose point of view is the story told?

Did the instructor stress plot? Historical significance? Author’s biography?

Those are all good review questions for review.Now ask what questions lend themselves to essay questions and what questions will most likely be short answer. Write down the answers to all your questions. Look up any that you need to look up and then chain or peg the answers to each one. Review your questions and answers a few times.

Now you have the information memorized, write out an answer to each essay question as you would answer it in an essay question. Have a main point and support for your main point. Organize your answer. This will save you time and frustration if you get a similar question on the teacher’s test..

Not all information lends itself to an essay question. What parts of the quiz will be simple answer like multiple choice or fill in the blank? Write your own test for the material that will be covered here..

After you have tested yourself on the material, and have determined that you know the answers, quiz a classmate. Ask the classmate what questions she thinks will be asked. Have her quiz you..

You will discover that often you will come up with the same questions as classmates or as the instructor. Correctly guessing the test questions is as good as having an advance copy and guessing the questions is NOT cheating. It is just a successful study technique..

Think like the instructor. As you guess multiple choice questions, use it as an opportunity to learn unusual spellings or difficult terms. In “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, the character Dee has changed her name to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo. That is a lot of name to learn. But if you can include the name with the correct spelling in an essay question or fill in the blank, your instructor will be impressed. Divide the name into syllables..

Wan Ger O .

Lee Wan Ik A .

Ke Man Jo.

Spell the name out with your fingertip on your arm. Write it a few times with the fingertip and also with a pen on paper. The instructor will be proud you got the name right and may even give you extra credit points. Also look up the possible meanings of unusual names or words..

The presidents name provides an interesting example. Barack means soul of the sun from the sea mother; Hussein means blessed and Obama means man soul of the sea mother.. Adding a little learning just for yourself is okay.

Know that sometimes in multiple choice questions, instructors try to confuse the student with similar spellings or words that look alike. If you learn the material well, you won’t be tricked. If there are similar spellings or soundalikes in a multiple choice answer, then one of those answers is the correct one. In multiple choice questions, the correct answer is most often in the middle and “C” is the correct answer most of the time. That might help you some time when you just don’t know.

The longest and most complete answer in a multiple choice is most often correct. Think of answers from the instructors view. She won’t write out a long involved answer unless she has to do it..

Also read all the choices in a multiple choice questions. Here is an example:.

Mullien is: a herb that can grow anywhere in the U.S.

a cure for hay fever..

a herb used by Native Americans to treat conditions in all areas of the body including respiratory ailments, burns, swellings and wounds..

found in North American meadows..

Thus answer “c” is correct and is the one that should be circled. The other answers are all also correct, but “c” is the most inclusive. Note it is also in the middle and is the longest answer. This question would be labeled a trick question by students, but it is easy to figure out if the student has studied and read the question and answers carefully..p> Sometimes answer “d” reads “All of the above.” I used to find many incorrect answers in a question like this because instead of reading all the choices, students selected the first correct answer they saw. When taking a test, use clues like these to find the answer when you are not sure, but always go in prepared having learned as much as you can from the assigned material..

Pegging Using Numbers

Pegging using loci or location has been a popular memorization method since ancient times when Roman senators used Loci to memorize speeches that sometimes lasted for several hours. Ancient orators did not carry notes with them.

But using loci rooms is not the only way of pegging. Many people use lists. As I wrote earlier when I introduced pegging this list might be the alphabet or any list already memorized like the nine planets or the 44 presidents of the United States.

The only requirement is order and numbers. The alphabet has its own order and the presidents would most likely be in chronological order.

Both those lists are abstract. We made the alphabet more concrete by creating fun alphabets like my list of popular singers. There are many ways of making the alphabet more concrete. Just associate each letter with an item that can be experienced with the senses.

“A” might be applesauce , an ape or astronaut. “B” might be a battlestar, bumble bee or a banana. “C” might be a calico cat, cow or a candelabra. It is best to come up with your own associations.

Some people knowing they have to number the items use numbers. They might use soundalikes like: one is a sun; two is a school; three is a bee; four is store; five is dive off a high platform; six is a stick; seven is heaven; eight is a skate; nine is crime’ ten is a wren.

Others use associations that look like the numbers. One is a pencil or a tree; two is a swan; three is an Alfred Hitchcock profile; four is a sail boat; five is a bike; six is an elephant trunk; seven is a boomerang; eight is a snowman; nine is a balloon; ten is a bat and ball.

You can also associate the numbers with concrete items and make popular associates for dozens of numbers. For instance here is a numbers pegging list that I created.

Geoge Washington. He is on the one dollar bill and he was the first president

Dancers. There are usually two.

The Three Stooges, or musketeers

The Beatles. John, Paul, George and Ringo

A tape recorder. In the old “Mission Impossible” television series, the tape would self destruct in five seconds.

Actress Tricia Helfer who played Number Six in “Battlestar Galactica.”

Seven Up.

A skate. Skaters do figure eights.

A reindeer. Santa has nine of them.

Cowboy hat. It is a ten gallon hat.

George Clooney who starred in the film “Oceans Eleven.”

Monkeys. Think of the film, “Twelve Monkeys.”

Huckleberry Finn who was thirteen years old in the novel.

Shakespeare. A sonnet has fourteen lines.

Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier in World War II won 15 medals.

Candles. Jimmy Clanton sang “Sixteen candles make a lovely glow.”

Mary Poppins, who worked for the Banks family at 17 Cherry Tree Lane.

A semi truck is an eighteen wheeler.

Gold clubs. The 19th hole is the watering hole.

Eye glasses. Perhaps you have 20/20 vision.

A wine glass. At age 21, we can drink.

A rifle. Some rifles are 22’s.

The Bible with its well-known 23 rd psalm.

Keifer Sutherland, the actor who starred in the series “24.”

Buck Rogers who'd who lived in the 25th century.

A Texas or Arizona Ranger. A very old television western about the Arizona Rangers was called “26 Men.”

Dresses after the film “27 Dresses.”

A television set. Remember the old 28 inch screens.

An airplane. The B 29 won World War II.

A hippy who would not trust anyone over 30.

An ice cream cone. A popular brand has 31 flavors.

A comic book which usually has 32 pages.

Frank Sinatra who make many 33 1/3 RPM records

A Matador. Thirty-Four is the area code for Spain.

A camera (35 Millimeter).

There’s more to it, which can be obtained from emailing me and asking for Mary Ann’s pegging list. You may make any changes that make sense to you.

Puzzles

By MaryAnn Slavcheff

What is thinking outside the box? It is looking for new solutions. What if I ask you what is the missing state in this list?

New York

Maryland

Georgia

Maine

Texas

Louisiana

North Dakota

Idaho

Massachusetts

_????????_______

West Virginia

It is clearly not alphabetical order.

It isn’t the states in the order they entered the union. That would start with Delaware and New Jersey. The states are certainly not in order geographically.

By population? That doesn’t make sense either.

As we try different solutions, we are exposed to new knowledge. Be it the historical like the order states entered the union or geographic. We are learning as we solve a puzzle, but we are learning other things as we look for the answer.

With this puzzle we are doing something that students seldom do. We are thinking. It might take us a while to come around to thinking about state capitals. Most of us learned the in alphabetical order according to the state.

Montgomery, Alabama.

Juneau, Alaska

Phoenix, Arizona. And so on.

But what if we put the state capitals in alphabetical order according to their names.

Then we get:

Albany, New York

Annapolis, Maryland

Atlanta Georgia

Augusta, Maine

Austin, Texas

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Bismark, North Dakota

Boise, Idaho

Boston, Massachusetts

The answer to the puzzle is Nevada because the next capital in order is Carson City, Nevada. Puzzles are fun and certainly less threatening than tests. They inspire real thinking and real learning. Teachers often find puzzles take long chunks of their time and puzzles also have to changed often as the answers become common knowledge. People share puzzles, but rarely share tests. Therefore, teachers prepare tests instead of puzzles.

Serious students can make up their own tests and puzzles to help them learn. They can also try to stump each other. Tests we give ourselves are less threatening than tests given by a teacher. They give us an idea of how much we have learned.