Saturday, March 24, 2007

Film as an educational tool

Recently I have been using www.unitedstreaming.com as a resource to show my kids videos of the places in which we are studying. It has had mixed reviews and results. My main purpose for showing the kids the videos is to expose them to the peoples, cultures and places in which we are studying. The main drawback to the film is that they are only partially captivating. The quality of picture is not the best and the videos are along the lines of travel videos. It would be really cool if I had access to the History channel videos or Discovery channel videos and even the programs shown on PBS, that is some good stuff. As a kid I naturally gravitated to that kind of stuff, I guess that is why I like teaching social studies. I have good resources but a wider array of good educational videos would be great.

A video that is definitely not appropriate for school is the movie 300. I saw it last night with fellow MTC mate, Mr. Ebert. It depicts Sparta going to war against the Persians. I will not be able to show clips in class, but if a kid ask me about the film, I will explain that it is rated R and they need to see it with an adult or someone who is over the age of seventeen. Then I will tell the student that the film is a must see.

Ten things to know about MTC

1. Teaching is the greatest job that you will ever have. You get to work with kids on a daily basis
and teach them something they do not know.

2. Eventually your principal and superintendent will become fans of your blog.

3. Kids are so funny that it is indescribable.

4. When the kids finally trust you and let their guard down, going to work is so much more
enjoyable.

5. Your worst student is most likely everyone else worst student. Do not feel bad, you are not a
bad teacher.

6. Try to stay positive. Kids can almost immediately pick up on when you do not want to be
there or harbor ill feelings about the school.

7. You are not from the Delta, you know nothing about what people went through here. You can
read all you want about it, keep your opinion to yourself. People are still extremely sensitive
and rightfully so about the past of this area.

8. Do not be cynical about the experience over the summer or the courses you take.

9. Complete all work for Ole Miss, it is not that hard to begin with, time consuming yes, but
definitely not that hard.

10. If you teach in the Delta, you will live in the Delta. The Delta is one big small town, do not do
or say anything that is inappropriate. You will most likely see the same people over and over
again.

"Chasing rabbits will make you fast"

A speed training tip from Howard Sanders as he was giving remarks about the guest speaker we had for the day, Ulis Williams. Ulis was born outside of Hollandale and lived there until he was fifteen, moving to the Los Angeles area to be with his father. He went on to set records in high school for the 400m and later set the world record for the 400m. He was apart of the 4x4oo relay team that won the gold medal in the 1964 Olympics. Ulis was not your typical speaker, after his track career he became an educator and for almost ten years was the president of Compton Community College. His trip to Hollandale would have never happened if it weren't for a chance encounter in D.C. with a Hollandale native at a peace rally. He was asked at the rally if he believed in free speech, he said yes and the girl told him he would not mind speaking in Hollandale for free then. Ulis does not have that room grabbing charisma or catchy one liner's. What he did have was as humble of a heart as any man and a genuine appreciation for the welcome that he received from the community. He was almost moved to tears. Ulis told of being born by lantern in his home, his family was sharecroppers. He told of the three places in which he lived, none were described by a street name or part of town, rather he described were he lived by the name of the people who the plantation his family lived on. Ulis never thought of himself as anything special in track because growing up in Hollandale there were always boys faster than him, it was not until he reached California that he became fast. Ulis said something that not many speakers will tell children; he said "Success is when preparation meets opportunity." Usually a speaker will come in and say you can be anything you want if you work hard. Ulis put it into perspective, you can work hard all you want but without the right opportunity you still cant succeed. It is hard to put into words what he got across without giving a transcript of his entire speech. Needless to say, it was great.

I just wish more people like him who left and became successful would come back and help revitalize the town.