Writing about writing—by the Write Source staff

Restoring the “Fun” in Fundamental

TheWritingTeacher.org has just published an article by Write Source staff writer Lester Smith. We encourage you to read what he has to say about “Learning, Frivolity, and ‘Leeroy Jenkins!’“

A No-Frills Charter School and More

Recently I came across the following bits of information that any teacher-type should find interesting. (more…)

All Hail to the King

King Arne made a visit to Milwaukee recently, and at one point during his visit, he toured Bay View High School, a large public high school just south of the downtown area. The photograph in the newspaper showed the king marching down a hall with his minions following close behind. (more…)

The Dumbest Assertion: How Fear of the Digital Age Stupefies Older Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Don’t Trust a Book With Three Titles)

Professor Mark Bauerlein of Emory University in Atlanta has recently published a book entitled The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Don’t Trust Anyone Under 30). In it, he makes the case that Generation Y has been “stupefied” by technology, spending time on Facebook instead of reading books.

Hmmm. I remember spending time watching reruns of Gilligan’s Island and Hogan’s Heroes instead of reading books. (more…)

Plagiarism, Copyright, and the Information Age

Recently I met a young man who worked his way through college by cranking out research papers for an online term-paper store. The company sells “model” research papers, many made to order, so my young acquaintance might find himself writing about quantum mechanics one week and Stalin’s concentration camps the next. The job gave him lots of practice writing on short deadlines. He also picked up quite a bit of knowledge in many different fields. And of course, he got paid for helping someone else with more money than skill or discipline pass a course at some college.

He contributed to plagiarism, right? (more…)

Misplaced Obsession

This blog entry addresses a certain type of teacher, usually found in elementary schools, whose behavior startles and/or disturbs me. These teachers are fixated on order and getting things done—as soon as possible. They have their lesson plans completed months ahead of time and make copies of worksheets months in advance as well. Near the end of the school year, they are already getting ready for the next year with their fall lesson plans and copies of worksheets to go with them. (more…)

Why We Pick on the Weak

(Reprinted by permission from www.LesterSmith.com.)

Bullying is a fairly common topic in education nowadays. Frightened by the events at Columbine and such, many schools have set a zero-tolerance policy. The US Department of Health and Human Services has a Web site devoted to prevention of bullying. Experts from law enforcement and social work offer advice on how to deal with the problem.

That’s all great. I support it enthusiastically.

My purpose here, however, is to focus on “social bullying,” the threat of exclusion from a group, and ask, “What is it about human beings that leads them, within a social setting, to pick on the weak?”

(more…)