Summer!

HWFDW: Summer Reading

During our fabulous local HWFDW (thanks Kristin and Kamran for rocking it!), I hosted a roundtable discussion for faculty to talk about something they had read this summer and it was maybe my favorite session ever. I came with a mess of books to talk about just in case no one showed up, but it turned out that we had more people, books, and recommendations than we could fit in to a measly hour. We probably could have fit more in, but in the middle of talking about the teaching-related book I brought, Claude Steele’s Whistling Vivaldi (about Stereotype Threat), I started to feel a little bit of it myself and rambled on a bit too long (I know, I know–Dave rambling? how can anyone tell the difference?). Anyway, that aside, I came away with exactly what I’d hoped to acquire: a fantastic and widely varied list of readings I’ve never heard of nor seen that sound too tempting to ignore!

And now, in fulfillment of the promise I made various people in the hours and days following (and with the participants’ permission) here is that list!

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Tuesday (Non)Teaching Question

Tuesday (Non)Teaching Question is an irregular feature that attempts to get a conversation going about (non)teaching.  Typically, the questions attempt to be very impractical and begin with an excessively short preamble.  T(n)TQ is brought to you by CAST.  If you have a question that you’re dying to have featured in an upcoming T(n)TQ, don’t e-mail me at hwc_cast@ccc.edu since this is a one shot deal.

So we survived the semester and final grades are (almost) in…

Those of you teaching summer have a few weeks off; the rest of us have a significantly longer amount of time.

What are you planning to read/watch/see during your time off?

It would be kind of fun if we had a faculty book club of sort (similar to the once existent Pedagogy reading group).  Maybe from these responses we could find a book we could all read and discuss in the fall.

Think, Know, Prove: Chicago Summer Bucket List

Last winter break, I posted something like this one and the thread garnered some truly outstanding possibilities, more than one of which I ended up doing. It worked out so well, I thought I would do the same thing here for summertime favorites.

A few of mine: the Printer’s Row Book Fair, a day at Arlington (either “Breakfast at Arlington” or actual races); the architectural boat tour, canoeing the river, The Folk and Roots Festival, eating rib tips from Lem’s off the hood of a car, and plenty of trips to Foster Beach and Morton Arboretum are all mainstays on the list. Taking the South Shore to the Dunes has been on there for a couple of years now, but we haven’t managed to make it happen yet. Maybe this is the year.

What else have you got?

Faculty Development Week 2011

Have you checked your e-mail in the past minute and a half?  If not, you missed this from hwc_CAST.

Hello all.  I have some very important news.

There is a very good chance that we will have 3 days of local Faculty Development here at HWC this summer and 2 days district-wide .  I received this information from a high authority, but I must warn you that it is not 100% set in stone.  Nonetheless, we need to be prepared.  CAST is charged with planning this event and did so up until last year’s little surprise.

Please follow the link below to fill out the brief survey about the programming for FDW.  Assuming that this does occur, we’ll need to move fast.  My goal is to have things in place, at least tentatively, before the end of the semester.  Yes, this is extremely ambitious, but I am confident that we can make it happen.

https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dDdWclowWEwyMzJreW1OVVF2aS1NTUE6MQ

Thanks again.

Chris Sabino
CAST coordinator

Fall is here, but summer music ain’t gone yet!

OH YEAH!

Welcome to the official start of the Fall 2010 semester. “School” may be back in session but I’m still in summer mode. I don’t think I’m the only one either.

To honor summer, the bliss of being young, and the challenges of being a teacher (or principal per the video clip), here’s a little song to get you started:

Y’all have a good semester!

Tanks for the summer extension PhiloDave!

Whatchadoin’?

So I’ve hesitated to drop this post every time we’re headin’ into another summer weekend ’cause don’t nobody wanna tell me what up, but…

This is THE 4th of July weekend AND somethin’s got to be goin’ on, right?

Here’s what I’m doin’: I’ll be gettin’ together with some family members I ain’t seen in some time and then watching some fireworks. Food, family, and fun.

How ’bout you?

‘Trying to Teach’ Tuesday

Last week, the majority of CPS students officially began their summer break.

CCC students are now in week 3 of their summer semester.

Is it just me, or does anyone else see a disconnect between these two public institutions when it comes to facilitating the transition for graduating high school seniors? Why can’t CPS and CCC coordinate academic calendars?

Administrators can argue that seniors represent a small portion of the student body so why bother doing anything. Well, here’s how I see it:

According to CPS stats and facts, for the 2009-2010 school year there were 115,770 students in grades 9-12. Divide that number by 4 and you have a possible 28942.5 graduating seniors. Take that number and divide it by our seven major city colleges and that averages to 4134.6 possible incoming freshmen. How many can consider starting in the summer? The number is ZERO.

Are we doing all we can to provide learning opportunities for our young citizens, or are the overlapping calendars interfering with our educational goals?

‘Trying to Teach’ Tuesday

I’ll do my best to keep this Tuesday segment alive during summer break since I’ll be in the classroom during the upcoming eight weeks.

With one week to go, I still have a syllabus to complete and I’ve got to get my mind back to academics. Focus… focus. I’ve taught before in the summer and it is quite a different experience than teaching between September and May.

My question for you: How do you, or how would you, prepare to teach during the months of June and July? Does your pedagogy change slightly? I’ll be teaching a course with Chicago Studies emphasis, so I’ll be planning a few educational field trips to enhance the experience for the students. We’ll see how it goes.  What’s up your academic sleeve?

Summer music at The Lounge

Happy Memorial Day everyone!
Here’s a link for more info on this holiday:
http://www1.va.gov/opa/speceven/memday/

According to PhiloDave, the pool is open and no lifeguard is on duty. No problem. I thought to myself: With this being summer and all, why not have some music that is appropriate for the season that unofficially begins today and wraps up on Labor Day?

Here’s one selection you may consider worthy for a summer get-together. Got another? Let me know. Reply with a request or send me an email: chicagorealist@yahoo.com with your best summer song(s). All requests, and even dedications, will be played throughout summer break. Oldies, goodies, whatever you got, we’ll listen and watch.

Be safe. Towels available with a valid school ID.