Thing 11 & 12

There is much to help in one's search process. Google has so much "help" that I felt overwhelmed: financial help, geology, book searches, blog searches, images, maps, patents, news... oof da! Plus the information and tools to "customize" the way one works with one's computer: blogger, gmail, calendar, IM, YouTube, Picasa (to share photos), mailing lists and discussion groups, and it just goes on and on. I wonder if Google will become a major target for computer virus-makers like Microsoft is? And would my Mac still be safer and easier to use than a regular (windows) PC? {I do like the fact that Macs run Microsoft Word easier than PCs do and will also run both formats. Training students to use any computer (ie Macs in schools) will help them run PCs in the business world. I am wholly convinced and completely sure of this; yet also know that some are "PC people" and unwilling to believe that it could be true. :-)} It strikes me that as one company seems to begin to "control" the market by growing large that people rebel and then the virus-makers tend to crop up. Just a thought...

There are a lot of search engines that one could use, some which search differently than Google does. I have always recommended Ask.com; I was told of a site that searched with 2 engines together. http://www.polycola.com/ is the URL; it is pretty cool to be able to use 2 engines. There is a drop-down menu of 6 engines each side; Live, Ask, AltaVista, AOL, Dogpile, and Yahoo or Google. It is nice.

My dad has read my blogs and was curious about where the word "blog" comes from. I'm not sure myself, and don't have time to dig out the answer now.

from a book on tape

On my drive to South Dakota, I was listening to a book on tape and the writer said the following: A bad student makes the best teacher. So my question is, how many teachers were not-so-good students in school and how did you decide that teaching was for you? Do you agree with this statement? And does the corollary also apply: that a good student will make a bad (or at least a not-so-good) teacher? That is something with which I don't think I can agree. What do you all think?

Thing 24...

Greetings from Haifa, Israel!
Yes, it is true; I am in northern Israel visiting my daughter who is studying for a term at Haifa University. What a great opportunity for seeing how others live. I have been to Akko (the oldest port in the Middle East), the Mane-Katz Art Museum, the Mount of the Beatitudes on the Sea of Galilee, Tiberius, Nof Ginnosar, and Zippora National Park. I have seen tour buses full of tourists and locals catering to locals as well as the occasional tourist. We drove past a mini-demonstration a few "blocks" from our hotel, presumably for or against the summit taking place in Indianapolis with the leaders of Palestine, Israel and the US. [Not much impact for it didn't make the local news... well, as far as we know... :-) ]

Cross-cultural experiences are truly unique opportunities! They leave us a little bit more humble and grateful. They are good for the spirit but not necessarily so for the pocketbook. :-) They broaden our horizons, our outlook on life, our vision of things important. They allow us time for reflection as well as teaching us about the past and the present. Perhaps even giving us a glimpse into the future. Cross-cultural experiences, however short, can also well inform our teaching content and maybe our teaching methods as well. I saw how adults help their children and how amazed children are at little things. Young adults can be completely overwhelmed ("blown over" or "overcome with awe") at things that we older adults take for granted! We must always provide opportunities for these things to happen.

The time here is now 11pm (3pm in St. Paul) and since we leave to come home tomorrow, I need to close. I look forward to my daughter's return from Haifa on 1 Jan 2008 and will feel a bit sad leaving her now. But study abroad cannot be equaled anywhere else and I am very happy she has had this wonderful experience. I would not have guessed even 10 months ago that I would be here now! Sweet dreams to you all and as I process our trip, I will share more reflections.

David

thing 10

A quick note to emphasize the importance of copyright and the "damndableness" of needing it. As an amateur who writes music and poetry, I often think about royalty fees and how I could make all this money if I could only sell some of what I write. If I spend a lot of time writing something, I would hope that someone would compensate me for the time spent. The practice of copyright allows for the just recompense on such creative output and ensures that this creative output will continue. On the other hand, when musicians get together to "jam," it doesn't seem to matter who's ideas are used for the improvisation. It is also true that when the community gathers, the community is engaged in the creation and is entertained by that product as well. What is good for the community is also what is good for the individual. No individual is above the good of the community. In some churches, prayer is made on behalf of "the common good." It is where all begins and where meaning is true. It seems to me that the "common good" is in some ways in direct opposition to individual rights; and that if the society moves away from community it will fall apart. People used to sit on the steps of their houses and talk to those who walk by. Today people are so absorbed by the music on their iPods that there is little communication. And so which is better? In today's world the realist understands that one person won't change society by individual actions. So protecting the creative output of individuals is one way to also protect the creativity of the community. Today is December 27th; I thought this had been posted last month but apparently distractions ruled. Isn't that a librarian's real task... to be interrupted?

question for all - MILI folk

Hey, is anyone bothering to read my posts? Shouldn't we be commenting on what we're posting?

Things 5,6,7 ...

Gee, reading through all the cool stuff teachers get to try almost makes me wish I was a teacher again. ok ... well, not really. but there are some great innovations that I wish I had had access to when I was a student. It seems to me that the RPC would work just as well in graduate school as in high school. Don't you wish you had had it as you struggled with those 10 to 25 page papers? I've been in graduate school twice, so believe me when I say that it would have been wonderful to be able to have such a resource. sigh... I think the internet arrived 35 years too late... Those 5 procedures: Question, Gather, Conclude, Communicate and Evaluate really help gather thoughts together and the time line heps the organizing and gathering of information. I was thinking of sending the url to my college student children (Central graduates -- 2005 & 2007) because I think it will help them in their papers as well. So what do you think? Am I off base here or not?

I constructed a web site for one of my classes at MCTC. It was about the intentional community to which I belong. Crossroads Community began with prayer and driving around the Frogtown neighborhood in 1990 after my wife and a few others came back from a short-term mission trip to Haiti. Being a hippie from South Dakota, I was always interested in community living and the idea resonated with me (even though I wasn't on that trip.) If I can find the files for the web site I will reestablish them and provide the link.

thing 4 -- the public library

Well, of course the cooperation between the schools and the public library is an important one. And the work of the library to provide services for the general public is vital for an intelligent and informed society. My wife and I went to the new Rondo library and borrowed some Hebrew language books and tapes in an effort to learn a little modern Hebrew in preparation for a visit to Haifa University in Israel where our daughter is studying for this fall term.
And I wanted to share with you a poem written last year:

THE OLD MAN WANTS TO KNOW

“Why can’t things be as they were,”
The old man wants to know;
The promises and dreams of youth
Seem so much long ago.

As the tears begin to well
And start on down his face,
He says, “I want to see my friends
At some familiar place.

The barbershop’s too small these days.
There is no place to sit
And play a quiet game of cards;
It makes me want to quit.

So please don’t close the library doors,
There’s so much yet to know;
It offers us great wisdom.
It’s the place we like to go.”
...Webb

(I tried to paste this in the "Compose" mode and couldn't do it; it worked in the "Edit Html" mode. ...just a word to those who are interested.)
I have never been scared away from any library; I had a wonderful "old" woman who worked at the library when I was kid. I could walk a block, traverse down a ravine, cross the "major" road [no crosswalks there, of course :-) ], back up the ravine, through a narrow walking "alley" and into the entrance of the children's section of the library. It was almost as much fun to get there as it was looking for books inside! I read a series of sports books about tennis {Match Point was the name of one, I remember} and loved them.

This is required for thing 3 - Amazing new technology!

"Greetings all; to all, 'hello'
its really simple syndication;
the analog will have to go -
we suffer through expatiation.
And yet it cannot all be bad;
let's send the question on to dad."

I just set up the RSS feeds on a bloglines account and look forward to reading all the new posts. Although I thought it just fine to click on each one to see what the new comments were, I understand that now I'll be able to see at a glance who has written new things. It should be easier to keep up, right? As easy as putting the puzzle pieces together or following the lines of intrigue in a well-written movie. Speaking of which, my wife and I just saw "Michael Clayton" at the Grandview Theatre. If you haven't seen it, you should.

(thing 2) ...the more things change...

Electric power is great! ... until the storm downs the power lines and you lose power. Then you scramble to find your flashlights and your transistor radio. (remember them? they used to work on batteries!) but if the batteries are low then you are out of luck, as they say.
Computers are wonderful, aren't they? ...until... I called the StarTribune to inquire about our account and was told by the customer service representative that her computer was down and she couldn't look up any information for me. (sigh) Now it was just hers that was down, not the entire system. She suggested that I try again in about five minutes and hope that I get someone else. :-)
I was deleting barcodes at Arlington High school when the system went down. It was hit and miss for over 1.5 hours, I think. (grr) But we managed to find other things to do -- other steps in the process that could be accomplished. It was frustrating; I hope that power remains online and doesn't go down permanently. We'd really be "up a creek..." [or as the character in a book my parents used to read to me says, "Stuck? said little Bill?"

I had a little trouble finding how to add this lovely graphic to this entry. Can you guess anything about me from my friend above? eh?

(thing 1) Digital or Analog? And Education...

The era we are in is the most fast-changing era in the history of humankind, I believe. Being ... ah... over (shall we say) 45?... means that it takes fortitude and courage for me to embrace this new technological age with gusto. It also defines and delineates where many of us are in our lives. There are continuums that can be used. For example: are you more of a rural person or an urban person? Are you a pitcher or a catcher? Are you Classical or Romantic? One can imagine moving to stand somewhere on that continuum. Well, today we could also say, "Are you more digital or analog?" The "a" word seems to denote antiquity or, at best, that which is outdated and old-fashioned. But even those of us who may be more "analog" can and do get excited by the possibilities presented by this digital age.
And so we must educate our children to prepare them for a life in our modern society; information literacy becomes paramount to that education. It must start in the elementary school and progress throughout life. The more formal instruction easily fits into the primary, secondary and post-secondary education systems, but it must also reach beyond to our adults. It may mean that we must rethink our definition of education. Students must take more responsibility in grasping these ideas. Teachers must use all practical means to impress upon students the need and desirability of mastering these technologies and valuing the cooperation. Collaboration with others through this communication helps one learn the power of compromise and creative problem-solving as well as valuing the common good.

Hello, my friends,
I'm glad you're here
and following weighty work;
It may not rhyme,
but will include
musings from a library clerk.