Juxtaposed Eulogies

One of my favorite words in the English language is "juxtaposition." Read Wikipedia's entry for Juxtaposition

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You promised academic integrity, remember?



As I think about the Senior Presentation of Learning, perhaps my favorite mode of communicating growth and insight is through juxtaposition. Quite simply because juxatoposing images with words or words with words or images with sound immediately creates a comparison and a contrast where there might not otherwise been one. As humans, we thrive by creating order from the chaos that we experience through our senses, thus, a great communicator manipulates or plays with this inherent characteristic. We want to make sense of things, so placing two unexpected items together tickles our brains....

Eulogies are quite another matter from juxtaposition. Eulogies are those speeches, or oral tributes given at funerals for the dead. Eulogies can be difficult to write if the person was just not such a nice person, as their intention is to praise the dead. If you don't believe me, look at the etymology of the word (the history). We have "eu" from Greek which means "good" and "logos" (also Greek) which means word, phrase, or speech. In other logos, we mean a speech made up of good. While I don't wish any of you death, I do thiink that thinking about your Senior Presentation of Learning as an opportunity for you to eulogize the death of your high school career. You are laying to rest a part of your life, and your P.O.L. ought to highlight the "good works" that you experienced. Now, just as it's troublesome to write a eulogy about a bad person, so it might be difficult to eulogize (write good words) about parts of your high school career that might be unaccomplished or off-track...I encourage you to rethink those times that you or others might even see as wasted and discover what was good about it?

So, to keep this short....

I encourage you to collect all your materials together in a box. Read every shred of history you have over the last 4 or 5 years. Start placing objects and words together to create a juxtaposed eulogy of your high school career.

I have been ending these blogs with questions. This time, it's your turn. What questions should be asked at the end of this blog???? Post them...Answer other people's questions...Be engaged.

Academic Growth in 2007

Academic Growth in 2007

At the heart of public education is the idea that we as a citizenry should educate our populace. According to the PBS documentary, School: the Story of American School Eucation (2001) three questions have been at the heart of the educational debate since as far back as Plymouth Rock. Those questions are:

What is the purpose of a public education?
Who is to receive the educational services provided by the public?
How does government ensure the quality of these educational services?

With our school’s fate hanging in the balance, these questions take on even more importance as we as a school are asked to demonstrate the school’s commitment to academic achievement. You as seniors are being asked to demonstrate your academic growth in your portfolios and presentations of learning. And this is precisely why, I want you each to think about what does academic growth mean. As you formulate your definitions, I hope you consider multiple ways of demonstrating your growth, and challenge yourselves to show your learning in ways that might be outside of your own comfort zone.

Most P.S.1 students are people who take great pride in being individuals, in not conforming to what some might call the dominant society. I certainly am one to champion those who stand up against oppressive belief systems; however, as I grow older, I am less likely to simply discount the dominant society as being stupid or annoying or just plain wrong, and rather, I strive to understand where might there be common ground between the various sides, and look for solutions there.

I encourage you to take pride in what P.S.1 does well (respectfully allowing for creativity and individuality). I also challenge you to take into consideration deeply:

• How DO you demonstrate that you have grown academically?
• What observable measures can you bring forth?
• How can you use descriptive statistics to show your acquisition of knowledge?
• How can you do this succinctly, perhaps in a graph?
• How are you measuring yourself and your journey?
• How do you know that you have achieved academic growth?
• What areas are you still deficit in?
• How are you pushing yourself now to learn and grow?

Structure is Important

Structure has a bad rap. Often we hear the word, “structure” and we think, “boring,” “non-creative,” or “technical.” This is far from the truth…at least the way I see it.

Structure is (according to Wikipedia) “is how the parts of it relate to each other, how ‘it is put together.’” In other words, structure is the frame on which things are placed; it is the pattern that is established in order for us to make sense of something. We can think of a blueprint or ground plan of a house or a building. The blueprint or ground plan visually represents and describes the house’s fundamental structure. If its structure is too familiar to all the other buildings in the vicinity, we might very well degrade the structure by referring to ticky-tacky track housing. If its structure diverges excessively from the other buildings in the vicinity, we might end up confused and displeased. We want some things in certain places; we want familiarity, but we also want surprise and originality. Too much surprise and originality leads to poor structure. It would be like entering a house and finding yourself in the bathroom. While this is a very original idea, it lacks logic. Who will want to live in such a house? Intrinsic to a bathroom’s function is privacy. The choice to structure a house with the bathroom as the entry way undermines the functionality of the bathroom. Not enough originality and too much similarity make for boredom. One might imagine a house which is a long hallway with doors that lead to exactly the same size and shape room all painted white. It might have perfect symmetry and exacting dimensions, but each and every room is exactly the same, even the electrical outlets are placed in the same locales. While we might marvel at the precision of its repeated structure, it would likely be maddening to live in such a home. Also, different rooms function in different ways, kitchens need sinks, living rooms do not. Again, too much of something undermines the functionality.

Thus designing your structure is vital step in any Senior Presentation of Learning or Senior Portfolio. Structuring your portfolio is different from structuring your presentation because their functions are similar but different. Perhaps the greatest distinction is that your portfolio is a tangible product, whereas your presentation is an intangible event to be experienced. These two requirements for graduation necessitate different skill sets. A portfolio, like a book, is experienced by the reader independent of its creator. I do not want the author of a book standing over my shoulder as I read. I want the product to work in such a way that I have my own experience with it. I should be able to understand it without guidance from the author. A presentation is an experience with the creator. It is like a good concert or performance. Ultimately, the performances I most enjoy are the ones that feel tailored to the here and now. If I feel like the performer is going through the motions, I feel cheated out of my money.
Thus in structuring your portfolio and presentation here are things to think about:

• What does my reader/audience expect?
• Am I giving them enough familiarity so they feel comfortable, but not so much that they are bored?
• Am I both logical and predictable without being so logical and predictable that my audience gets ahead of me?
• If I were not in the room, would my portfolio make sense without me explaining it?
• Am I creating an experience I would myself enjoy attending?
• Is my portfolio an appropriate length?
• Have I focused on quality or just quantity?
• Do I buy into the product/experience?
• Am I just going through the motions?
• What other questions should we ask ourselves???
  

Thoughts on Presentations and Portfolios

I often hear students say, “How am I going to talk for/fill up 2 hours?” when approaching their Senior Presentation of Learning. Well, if that’s how we approach it, no one will enjoy it. Not you, not your audience, not even the molecules of oxygen in the air…

When I think about the word “presentation,” for me, perhaps because I’m an etymology junkie, or an analytic freak, I think about deconstructing the word. So, I think about the word “present” like a gift or “present” like the here and now, or we have the words, “pre” and “sent” as in something that has been delivered before. Ok, yeah, big deal, right? Right, big deal…how are you approaching your senior presentation of learning as a gift to yourself as well as a gift to your audience? Are you thinking about giving yourself, risking something, but not so much that your audience feels unnerved? Are you thinking about how you will allow yourself to be present in the room and react honestly and authentically in the same way that you do when you find yourself in a trusting relationship? Are you thinking about delivering your message of yourself to the audience?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, hokey, but hey…it’s me…I asked you all to write your own vision statement, and if I had to write mine, perhaps it would be something like, “Always strive for authenticity, integrity, and solidarity. For if we are authentic with each other, then we have the opportunity to accept each other; if we act with integrity, we will likely avoid hostility; and if we seek solidarity with each other, we will yearn to understand and support each other…

Yeah, wordy….yeah, optimistic….yeah, idealistic…oh, yeah, and trusting…

Since my title includes “portfolios,” I’ll address it as I did “presentations.” I think of the word “portable” meaning I can carry this here or here, and I think of the word “folio,” which I feel like I know what it means, and at the same time, think, “uh, yeah, some Italian word that means leaves?” which I think comes from my context of having heard the word “folio” as in “Shakespeare’s First Folio” meaning his first published collection of works, so maybe folio means “collection?” So, looking this up online, I find I’m close… So, a portfolio is a bunch of papers or pictures that can be carried anywhere? I am very intrigued by the idea of 3-D portfolios, and I’ll likely post more on that another time.

At present, this entry is a bit wordy, and a bit long, but you’ll cope…And you may be wondering, what was the point in reading this? Ah, yes, what might have been the point? You tell me…whose responsibility is it to find the point in a student exercise? Or is this an exercise in teaching? Hmmmm…..

Despair and Action

"Never despair, but if you do, work in despair"

"All that's necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing."

-Edmund Burke, 1729-1797

As I think about the news we received at school today, I thought of these two quotes. Of course, I excuse Sir Burke for referring only to men as he was a product of his male dominated world, but that's another post...

I encourage the seniors of P.S.1 to remember these two quotes in the coming weeks, as we either wait for our fate to be told to us or we become active participants in our lives. I encourage the seniors to be both self-interested as well as community-minded. I believe that each and every one of you can use this news to your advantage and be better for it!

I look forward to our conversations about requirements and action tomorrow.

Well wishes, petra