Cornell Notes & Philosophical Chairs

Today and tomorrow I am a presenter in my district for AVID Path Training in Social Studies. Basically it's two days of time with middle and high school teachers to present 'best teaching practices' to them. The great thing about the training is that we actually 'do' and model the work.

Today we focused on topics like Using Poetry, Cornell Notes, Jigsawing, Quick Writes, and Philosophical Chairs. Two things jump out to me and seemed to be significant. First, teachers really appreciate well-prepared and on task professional development. A teacher stopped me and my partner about an hour in and announced how excited he was that this training was going so well. He has been through three professional development experiences this summer and was stunned that we were on the ball. It was great to see how appreciative he and others were.

The other thing that stood out was how two techniques went over well with the teachers. The first was Cornell Notes. It may have been the best and most clearly designed Cornell Notes lesson that I have taught. (I might finally be getting the hang of this thing) Here is the power point that I used to introduce C Notes:
AVID HISTORY PATH: Cornell Notes

At the end of the power point, I distributed a sample of US History Cnotes with a grading rubric on the flip side. Then I had each of the participants grade it for themselves. Then we did "4 Corners" and had the teachers go to an A, B, and C corner (There were no Ds). After discussing it in their corner group, one person presented the faults they had with the notes.

This was a wonderful way of emphasizing with the teachers what good note taking is and how they could do this with their students to impart just how to take notes and what the teacher is looking for. I think it went over very well.

Also we did a wonderful Philosophical Chairs debate. The teachers got into it. The first thing I did was show my power point on PChairs to introduce the rules:
AVID HISTORY PATH: Philosophical Chairs PPT
Then we modeled Philosophical Chairs with this question:
Should the "Cash for Clunkers" program be continued by Congress?
The debate was split in 1/2 and was very lively, but well mannered. I think the teachers got a great feel for just how they can use it.

I am looking forward to presenting Engaging the Text, Document-Based Questions, Free Response Questions and Socratic Seminar tomorrow. This has been a wonderful group to work with. I can't believe that school starts in less than 2 weeks!

Teammates Carry On

It's a story about over coming obstacles, I guess. But, really... in the end it's about friendship. Do yourself a favor and watch it all the way to the end.



"I will show you my strength."

Campus Compare

I like this website. Very handy to compare 3 schools side by side.

Campus Compare

AVID SI Luncheon - Summer Institute Speeches

One of the highlights of AVID Summer Institute is the luncheon. The luncheon is in a huge ball room. There are about 2,000 people stuffed in there. And there are two luncheon days. They happen on Wednesday and Thursday. The food is good, but the speeches from AVID teachers and students are way better.

Here is an editorial from this week's Dallas Morning News. It gives an overview of the luncheon that I was at and also about how powerful it was.

Editorial: These kids prove college is achievable goal
05:25 PM CDT on Thursday, June 25, 2009

If only those naysayers who believe Texas puts too much pressure on kids, especially poor ones, to attend college could have been at the Dallas Hyatt Regency on Wednesday.

They would have heard straight talk from Monica Washington, an English teacher from Texarkana; Ron Rossingh, an Odessa Permian sophomore; Elizabeth Ruiz, a top Edinburg High School graduate; and Gerardo Venegas, a Lake Highlands grad headed for Baylor. These were some of the most determined students and teachers you could meet. They not only dream big, they fuel it with the passion to realize those dreams.

They spoke to a summer institute run by AVID, a nationwide elective program that gives elementary and secondary students an extra push toward a college future.

Washington was first. The thin, soft-spoken African-American woman stared into the 1,800 faces staring back and launched into an inspirational address rivaling something out of Barack Obama's mouth. She had every bit of the crowd's attention when she described hearing a student in her AVID class say, "If I go to college..."

She knew she had to change that to, "When I go to college..."

Rossingh, broad-shouldered and round-faced, offered an arresting personal story. He was brutally frank about his drug-addicted mother, his spiral into gang life and his grandparents and middle school teacher who helped him turn himself from a smart-mouthed C student to an inquisitive A student.

What did it? Part of it was realizing that "gangs don't hand out scholarships."

Then, he leaned over the podium and said in the steeliest voice, "And I will be a college graduate," as adults around the room reached for tissues.

This is what Rossingh and his peers represent: They prove we can overcome the achievement gap, that pernicious divide that separates wealthy and poor, white and minority. It will take effort, programs and money, but we can get there. Initiatives like AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) prove that, by believing that every student can get to college with rigor and support.

Yes, the same college that naysayers say is too hard for some kids to achieve. Try telling that to these students. They want to go places, and their teachers believe they can get there.

The rest of us should get out of their way.

Definitely a highlight of my week.

AVID Summer Institute 2009

AVID Summer Institute in Dallas was great! We got in early Monday morning. I rode up with the new AVID teacher at Summer Creek High. It was great to tell her all about the 3 students that she'll be getting from my class. :)

I also spent a lot of time with the folks that teach at Atascocita Middle and Timberwood Middle. They were great and it is really awesome to learn who they are and how they work. We are so lucky to have such great teachers in our district.

This summer my class was for "AVID College Readiness." This meant I was learning all about what we should be doing during the Junior year of AVID. I am excited to say that I am now ready with tons of lessons, plans, and ideas. During the session I was lucky enough to have a tremendous facilitator from Wichita North in Kansas. They have an amazing AVID program there. She helped me so much.

We will be spending a great deal of time on four essential skills that colleges look for:



We will be using a long term research and writing project around "Leaders" to accomplish our goals of learning these skills. We'll do the skills as a full group, in smaller groups and then finally individually.

Last spring we finished the year in a really strong way. I can't wait to get started in late August. It will be a huge year for my AVID juniors as they begin to take Advanced Placement and Dual Credit classes. Everyone says the Junior year is the toughest academic year. We will also be focusing on SAT and ACT preparation. Juniors will take the PSAT in the fall, and then SAT and ACT in the spring.

And for my sophomores it will be a big adventure. We'll need to replace a lot of students and continue to tweak the skills we learned as freshmen. I am also really excited about the project the sophomores will be doing. It's called "Road Trip Nation." Check out a little sample here:

Official Road Trip Nation Website



Follow Road Trip Nation on Twitter

The Graduates 2008

Last Year's "The Graduates 2008" from NBC News. Looking for this year's 2009 version. It aired tonight, but not available on the internet yet. Strange. But, enjoy. As soon as I find the latest one I will share it.

So looking forward to attending MANY of your college graduations, when that day comes!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Michelle Obama - Inspiration about Education

2009 Spring AVID Freshmen Video

Please leave a comment or email and I will send you the password if you'd like to see it.
It was a great semester! Thanks for the memories. Can't wait until the fall. We are interviewing tutors for next year already.

Spring 2009 AVID Sophomore Video from Mr. Duez on Vimeo.

Freshmen Spring 2009 Video

It was a great spring. I'm looking forward to recharging my batteries this spring and coming back ready to go in the fall. Thanks to everyone for their hard work, dedication and commitment to improving. It is all going to pay off!

I'll miss you guys that are going to Summer Creek High. And I will miss the bunch of you deciding not to take AVID next year. Although that saddens me very much, I also know that all the things that come to us we have to take in a positive way.

The video is password protected. If you would like to see it, please shoot me an email and I'll send you the password.

AVID Freshmen 2009 - Spring from Mr. Duez on Vimeo.

Spring video for my AVID Freshmen class in 2009. What a great spring.

Miss You Zach.

I really miss Zach. He passed away 3 years ago today. Zach was in my first period class. I'll never forget the last time I saw him... he had the BIGGEST smile on his face. When he was absent, I knew something must be up... because he was always there.
Zach passed because he came into contact with a a bat that had rabies.
More info can be ... Read Morefound on: For more info: ZachJonesMemorial.org

Miss you Zach. Your passing taught me to enjoy every day with my students. I always regret not having had a chance to see you grow.

Would You Want A Kindle?

Wall Street Journal: Amazon to release Kindle for texbooks

Would you trade your textbooks for a Kindle? The price would be a great deal smaller for a school district that would be purchasing thousands of them. Interesting.

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon.com Inc. will release a larger — and more expensive — version of its Kindle electronic reading device that is geared toward periodicals and textbooks.

During a press event Wednesday at Pace University in New York, Amazon founder and Chief Executive Jeff Bezos showed off the $489 device. It has a grayscale screen that is 9.7 inches on the diagonal, up from 6 inches on the regular Kindle. The new Kindle DX also includes a QWERTY keyboard like the current Kindle.

The announcement comes three months after Amazon revealed a slimmer, updated version of the original $359 Kindle, which wirelessly downloads books. Some analysts have said the unit needed must-have content like textbooks to become more of a mainstream gadget.

Three textbook publishers said they have agreed to sell books on the device.

Would you want a Kindle instead of having to carry ALL of your textbooks?

Crisis of Credit - Understanding Why American is Having Economic Problems.

We watched part I of this video today in class. It does a great job of explaining in a straight forward way what the credit crisis in America is all about.

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

Comparing H1N1 to the Spanish Flu

Free Hugs

We watched this video today during the end of AVID class. Interesting phenomenom. One man - giving free hugs. Millions of people see the video.



You can see the video here:
Free Hug Campaign

Read the story in The Sydney Morning Herald:
Sydney Morning Herald Story - Free-hug man speaks out

Here is their official website:
Free Hugs Campaign dot org

Isn't it amazing that a video like this can result in world wide fame and change people's lives so much?

What did you think about the video? Leave a comment.

AVID Field Trip

Some of you may have been wondering, "Where was Mr. Duez on Tuesday?"


Yesterday we took our AVID freshmen class to Rice University. It was a great trip and a BEAUTIFUL day. Perfect weather. It is really an amazing university. The kids were blown away and exhausted when we got back to school.

This is a picture of me and my other AVID freshmen team member. She has a class of freshmen AVID as well. I am so lucky to work with such great people.



I told you it was a beautiful day. But, we are now 4 for 4 in beautiful days for field trips. We have had amazing luck with the weather over the past two years.

Juniata College, Where Mr. Duez went to school

This is Mr. Duez at his 10 year reunion at Juniata College. These are my two best friends from college. Your friends from college are like family.

I put this presentation together for AVID. The students have been doing their own college presentations. We've been taking cornell notes and practicing our note taking ability during the presentations. I put my college presentation together, too. This is all about Juniata College, where I went to school.

Juniata

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Academic Work college Juniata

Juniata College Website


Mr. Duez was #40. This was such a long time ago. I can't get that much "air" anymore. :)

Everything You Need to Know About Writing

Stephen King gives great advice in this piece: Everything You Need to Know About Writing in 10 Minutes

Stephen King (Stephen King.com) has published over 40 books and has become one of the world's most successful writers.

King's advice begins with a story about editing. Upon editing a first draft - eliminate the unneeded. Be concise. Reduce.

I had been writing first drafts of stories which might run 2,500 words. The second drafts were apt to run 3,300 words. Following that day (a story about his first writing boss's advice), my 2,500-word first drafts became 2,200-word second drafts. And two years after that, I sold the first one.

Here is his advice quickly:
1) Be talented. (here he is talking about what it takes to get published)
2) Be neat. Type. Double space. Use heavy white paper.
3) Be self critical. "If you haven't marked up your manuscript a lot, you did a lazy job. Only God gets things right the first time. Don't be a slob."
4) Remove every extraneous word. Be concise.
5) Never look at a reference book on a first draft. Good advice to avoid writer's block - just let it flow.
...

9. How to evaluate criticism (I love this) Show your piece to a number of people - ten, let us say. Listen carefully to what they tell you. Smile and nod a lot. Then review what was said very carefully. If your critics are all telling you the same thing about some facet of your story - a plot twist that doesn't work, a character who rings false, stilted narrative, or half a dozen other possibles - change that facet. It doesn't matter if you really liked that twist of that character; if a lot of people are telling you something is wrong with you piece, it is. If seven or eight of them are hitting on that same thing, I'd still suggest changing it. But if everyone - or even most everyone - is criticizing something different, you can safely disregard what all of them say.

Smart advice from someone who knows.

Financial Aid Even at AHS - Thursday, March 26 7 pm.

College Financial Aid Event: Due to an overwhelming response to the first financial aid event hosted in January, the Humble ISD Student Support Services Department will host a second College Financial Aid Event for high school junior and senior students and their parents on Thursday, March 26, 2009, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Atascocita High School Performing Arts Center, 13300 Will Clayton Parkway. The evening will include an overview of college financial aid, the opportunity to complete the on-line Free Application For Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the chance to speak to financial aid representatives from several universities including Texas Tech University, Texas A&M University, Sam Houston State University, Lonestar College Kingwood and possibly the University of Texas and the University of Houston. Sam Houston State University will have a mobile enrollment center available to provide additional on-line assistance. Please join us for this informative meeting to help students and parents gain a better understanding of college financial aid. For more information or for questions, please call 281-641-8405.

Private Houston Schools Making Recession Decisions

According to this Houston Chronicle article, Private Houston colleges taking steps to ward off recession, schools are making some serious changes. Here are a few:

HERE’S WHAT SCHOOLS ARE DOING

Private universities across Texas are coping with the recession in various ways. Here are steps some schools are taking:

Rice University: Will cut next year’s operating budget by 5 percent, while increasing financial aid. Hasn’t announced 2009-10 tuition.

Houston Baptist University: Will cut 10 percent of faculty. Applications and requests for financial aid both up. Tuition for next year up 6.2 percent.

University of St. Thomas: Will cut next year’s budget by an undetermined amount. Will add at least $250,000 to next year’s financial aid budget. Tuition for next year up 6.2 percent.

Baylor University: Applications up, but acceptance rates expected to drop. Tuition for next year up 7 percent.

Southern Methodist University: Will cut next year’s operating budget by 5 percent. Tuition for next year up 6 percent.

Texas Christian University: Will cut next year’s operating budget by 8 percent. Financial aid budget increased by 5 percent for 2009-10. Tuition for next year up 5 percent.

Is a smaller private school an option for you? According to the article be careful about deciding no too quickly:

“Without financial aid, I wouldn’t be here,” said Tammy Vo, a freshman at the University of St. Thomas.

Vo graduated from DeBakey High School in Houston last spring and applied to universities in and outside of Texas. She said the University of St. Thomas, a Catholic college in the Montrose area, proved a better deal than most public schools.

Private schools are making that argument more often in light of rising unemployment and a weak stock market.

“If you look at the sticker price, people say, ‘I can’t afford this,’ ” said Scott Moore, dean of scholarships and financial aid at the University of St. Thomas. “But you have to look at the sticker with the package you receive.”

The financial aid package is what matters. Not just the sticker price of tuition, room and board. What are those smaller private schools willing to give you? It may be increasing in this poor economy.

Some smaller and private Houston Colleges:
Houston Baptist University
Rice University
University of St. Thomas Houston

College for all?

Is Obama's dream of having every American attend college realistic? Could the US become a country that leads the world in percentage of college graduates?

Some interesting perspectives in this article:

College For All?

It is a collection of expert opinions on whether the President's goals can be reached. Many are pretty optimistic, but stop before saying the goal will be accomplished.

Reminds me a lot of AVID the whole way through the article. Our mission is so similar.