One Shining Moment

It's college tournament time, bay-bee!!

I invite everyone to join my ESPN tournament challenge bracket site and make your picks. It doesn't matter whether you want to make your picks based on research, talent, records, uniform color, or mascot (does a "Bonnie" beat a "Billicken?") -- in the end, it's all a random guess anyway! So come join the fun with a little March Mathness!


And speaking of fun, here's a re-seeding that Jonathan Grant of Chain Gang Elementary put together. He took the 68 teams in this year's tourney and put them in order of average SAT score. Go Harvard!

Hope to see you there!

Bracketology

It hit me on Saturday that I had totally forgotten to bring home something that I was going to work on over Spring Break. My laminated Big Bracket poster. I actually didn't use it last year, as it was the first year in my teaching career that I did not hold a March Mathness competition with my kids. Part of that was due to laziness, and part of that was due to me just being particularly annoyed with that group of kids.

However, I don't want to skip it again! So I was a little bummed once I remembered that I had forgotten. Oh well, I can still pair up the kids on a smaller sheet and post them on the poster next week (LOOOONG LONG away still).

In the meantime, INTERACTIVE MONDAY today is not a question, but rather an invitation to join my March Mathness group on ESPN.com. This has absolutely nothing to do with my classroom version of March Mathness, and I'm not offering any prizes other than bragging rights, but it's fun to be part of a group, so why not be part of mine? Just go here: March Mathness
Sign up, if you need to, and join the group called March Mathness. No password necessary.

Also, Dailycheapreads.com is having a March Madness type tourney, featuring books that they like. Learn Me Good is currently doing quite well in the first round voting. Second round will be sometime in late March. I'll post when that happens, and I hope you all will go and vote for me!

Time for March Mathness, Bay-bee!!

It's almost time for the NCAA men's college basketball tournament to get underway again, so as usual, I've created a pool over at espn.com. The name of the pool is March Mathness, and all are invited to enter.

You can create your entry now, but you have to wait until after the pairings are announced to actually make your picks. This will happen late Sunday evening. Picks must be made by early Thursday morning, before the first game starts (the "play-in" game doesn't count towards the bracket choices).

Good luck to all, and I hope to see you there!

Last chance to win!

Hey, just a reminder that today is the last day to get in on March Mathness! Fill out a bracket at http://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/group?groupID=7805&entryID=105947 for the chance to win bragging rights AND a nice 14 disc DVD set from The History Channel!!

So far, there are only 13 entrants, and that's counting me!! So your odds are pretty good if you join! Please don't worry if you don't know Northern Iowa from Robert Morris! The matchups are so even this year, even a total hoops newbie could take it all!!!

Let the March Mathness begin!

OK, so I didn't quite the widespread spreading wide of the new learnmegood.com address that I would have liked (you can always STILL post the link!), but this was a sweepstakes after all, so I am here to honor the effort and pass out prizes!

There were a slew of comments posted between Feb 9 and Mar 9; the FoLMeGs just about doubled in number; the guest book entries increased dramatically. . . If you participated in any of those things, then your name was in the hat for the drawing! Prizes up for grabs were 2 copies of my book Learn Me Good (ask for it at your local bookstore!) and 2 witty T-shirts from Mister Teacher's Spreadshirt Store.

And so, without any further ado. . .

The winners of a copy of Learn Me Good are COLUMBIA LILLY and THE SCHOLASTIC SCRIBE!!

The winners of a T-shirt are MISS PANDA and RAMBLIN' EDUCAT!!

If you are an above named winner, please contact me at learnmegood2@yahoo.com to claim your prize.

And now that that's done with, time to announce the next round of games. As many of you may know, I am a GINORMOUS college basketball junkie. I love March more than almost any other time of the year. I love the fact that my Spring Break once again coincides with the start of the tournament.

I'm inviting everyone who's interested to join my bracket pool at espn.com. The name of the pool is "NO PACKER! YESSSS!" Even if you know absolutely nothing about basketball, this is the year to join anyway, because the teams are so evenly matched that any pick could be a good one.

To sweeten the pot, I'm going to offer a prize for the person with the top bracket. I recently received a lovely package of DVDs from the History Channel, courtesy of A&E Home Video (thanks, Anna) so I thought I'd offer up their set titled "The Founding of America" as a first-place incentive. After all, I'm sure the founding fathers had March Madness in mind when establishing this great nation.

You can find more info about this set by clicking here, and here's a small blurb about the set:

The inspiring early days of America -- the personalities, the battles, the bravery, the losses, and even the romance -- spring to life in spellbinding detail in this sweeping 14-DVD set from A&E Home Video.

FOUNDING FATHERS and FOUNDING BROTHERS examine the relationships of the very human men who risked their fortunes and lives for independence. THE REVOLUTION recounts great battles, devastating losses, and miraculous victories. BEN FRANKLIN and BENEDICT ARNOLD: A QUESTION OF HONOR look at the critical roles played by both men--one a hero, the other a traitor--while WASHINGTON THE WARRIOR and THE CROSSING pay tribute to the soul-stirring leadership of our first president.

With performances by Kelsey Grammar, Aidan Quinn, and Jeff Daniels, rare archival material, and commentary by leading historians, THE FOUNDING OF AMERICA presents historical programming at its comprehensive best.

You can set up your ID and join the pool now, just be sure to go in and make your bracket picks sometime between NEXT Sunday and the following Thursday...

March Sickness

Well, we started the official March Mathness tournament in my classroom a couple of weeks ago, and as of yesterday, we are down to the Great Eight. The kids do seem to be enjoying it, and I think more than anything, they really get a kick out of seeing their names in the brackets up on the front wall.

All of this week though, I didn't have the Madness as much as the Sickness. I woke up Tuesday morning with a really bad cough that only got worse the next couple of days. We're talking that kind of cough that makes you feel like you're going to throw out your back. The cough that actually noticeably rattles your brain. Then yesterday morning, I woke up, took my temperature, and read 100° on the dot.

I always feel a little guilty taking a day off from school, so I downed some Tylenol and slogged through the day anyway. Hopefully, I didn't pass on whatever I have to anyone else. I got up and went to the doctor this morning, and he prescribed some antibiotics. Hopefully this will clear things up soon.

As a friend pointed out this week, it's good that I got sick THIS weekend, rather than NEXT weekend. THIS weekend, I can lounge around on my couch and watch basketball on TV with a glass of water and a box of Kleenex by my side. I can rest my voice. NEXT weekend, I will be up in the rafters of the Alamodome, screaming my lungs out against the University of North Carolina and for whichever team they happen to be playing. The Final Four doesn't really care about my sickness, so I really need to get my health back.

Speaking of college basketball, I have the TV on in the background, and I just heard Clark Kellogg (commentator extraordinaire and non sequitur majestic) say that UCLA's Kevin Love is a lot like baking soda because he can make any situation seem fresh again. Yeah, Clark, just what every aspiring athlete wants to hear. Themselves being compared to a water-soluble Arm and Hammer household product.

Duke's a 2 seed, Learn Me Good's a best of blogs nominee!

The college basketball tournament brackets came out tonight, and the Duke Blue Devils have a number two seed in the West bracket. Now that the brackets are live, you only have until Wednesday night to make your picks if you plan on participating in this year's March Mathness. Make your picks, and see if you can beat Mister Teacher!

Also, I learned that I have been nominated for a 2007 Best of Blogs Award! This is definitely a great honor, and I have the wonderful Mamacita to thank for nominating me!

The 162nd Carnival of Education: March Mathness Edition

Mister Teacher: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the 162nd edition of the Carnival of Education. We're coming to you live, deep in the heart of March Mathness, and with the big tournament mere days away, we've got analysis on many of the top stories of the week. As always, I'm joined by my easily excitable colleague and friend, Dick Vitale.

Dick Vitale: Thank you, Mister Teach! I'm so excited to get things started, baby! But I have to say, the tournament directors have really made things weird by adding a 65th team! How do you get half of 65?? Somebody needs some Fractorix, baby!

MT: And somebody needs some Valium. Remember Dick, basketball is next week; today we're focusing on educational topics, like this post about integrated math at Wayzata High School, from Matt the Scholar.

DV: Oooh, higher mathematics? When it comes to math, I understand 2-point buckets and the deep 3, baby! The kind of math teams will be doing next week in the Big Dance! But speaking of dancing, you gotta check out NYC Educator's post about Tango class going on in the hallway right outside his classroom!

MT: In the words of Pink Floyd... Hey, Teacher! Leave those dancers alone! And in the words of Lead from the Start, let your kids play! If you don't let them play, it might lead to ADHD!

DV: That's what I always say! Let the kids play, ref! Stop calling so many fouls! But you know something that's really foul with a capital F? This post from Joanne Jacobs that says a court ruled that the strip search of a 13-year-old honor student (accused of hiding Advil!!) was reasonable!

MT: Disgusting indeed. As is the prevalence of cheating in schools today. The Science Goddess reports that "Everybody's doin’ it," but not everyone's definition of cheating is the same.

DV: Like Bill Belichick and the Patriots don't think that videotaping other teams' play calls is cheating!

MT: Stick with the sports you know, Dick. But while we're on the topic of secret videotaping, Scott at Dangerously Irrelevant offers up seven YouTube videos for your viewing pleasure. What do they have in common? They are all short videos of teachers, taken during class with cell phone cameras. These vids will make you sad, angry, and sick to your stomach.

DV: Mister Teach, you're dragging us down, baby! Let's get back into the spirit of March Mathness! Here's something that will take us off the bubble, baby! Just look at these ideas from Music Makes Sense and Day by Day Discoveries about using parachutes and comic books in school! That's Awesome with a capital A, baby!

MT: You're right Dick, and here's another fun post from The Elementary Educator, where he asked his kids outright, "What do you really want to know?" He got some excellent inquiries, including "What does God look like?" "What is the Bermuda Triangle?" and "Does life exist off Earth?"

DV: Life HAS to exist on other planets, because how else can you explain Billy Packer? Life also goes on in other countries, and Mom Is Teaching has a few comments about how Finnish kids are outperforming American kids.

MT: Yeah, well, my guess is that the teachers over there don't have to worry about their students putting nasty videos up on FinTube. Dave on Ed might have something to say about Finland's success. In his Management by Fad he complains (rightfully so!) that when something works in another country, schools over here jump all over it and try to push it into play -- but they don't train the school personnel on how to implement it!

DV: Sounds like those guys need a T.O. baby! Hey, while we're still talking about other countries, I should mention The Tempered Radical’s success stories with using digital applications like VoiceThread and Ustream. His students even Skyped students in Denmark!

MT: Oooh, that sounds dirty! But Mark at elearning would be proud to know that he's not alone in considering the technological world that kids live in nowadays. And this should please Loonyhiker that some teachers at least are ready for 21st-century learning. China is part of the 21st century, but Mama Scheiss can't seem to decide is China purple or is it orange?

DV: When I was in school, we called it RED China! Sometimes Oklahoma seems like a foreign country too, baby! Check out this House bill that proposes to make opinions based on religious beliefs just as valid on tests as opinions based on science.

MT: That's from VJack, and while I don't agree with the theme of his blog, he certainly has a point with this post. You know, Oklahoma's definitely not the only state with some questionable practices. There's quite a brouhaha going on in California, due to a recent court ruling that basically outlaws homeschooling.

DV: Henry at Why Homeschool sounded off about that ruling, and Ms. Cornelius shared her thoughts as well. Also, in light of the recent uproar, Rose ponders whether a teaching credential is really necessary. I wonder what Governor Schwarzenegger says about all this, baby!

MT: Probably something like, "My kids will be tutored by the T-2000. Come with me if you want to learn..." before we leave Cali, Darren of Right on the Left Coast takes a few potshots at the latest issue of California Educator Magazine. Closer to home, here in Texas, we gave out the first round of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills last week.

DV: That's right! A lot of Texas teachers weighed in with thoughts and stories about the TAKS! Diaper Dandy Bellringers had ninth graders that day, and when they finished early, she had a hard time keeping them quiet! Also, Nun of the Above shares her thoughts on the TAKS.

MT: Being a Texas teacher myself, I had some Panic a-TAKS as well, and the always unbiased Mike in Texas writes about State Sponsored Torture.

DV: Mike in TX is on my all-Renaissance Team, baby! Just check out his medieval video!

MT: Texas isn't the only one with tests, though. NYC Student has a few Hot Sports Opinions about the Weighted Regents Tests in New York.

DV: You know, Mister Teach, I probably couldn't pass the TAKS or any of those tests even if I had a dictionary and an encyclopedia in front of me!

MT: I'm not going to disagree with you there, Dick. But if you ever have to take the SAT, the good folks at Accepted to College have a few tips on how to optimize your score.

DV: No way, baby! Me and the SAT are a mismatch! A big-time MNMer! You'd have to pay me some serious moolah to get me to take that test again!

MT: Well, no one's going to pay you to take the SAT, Dick. But Out in Left Field reports on a new charter school in New York City that's offering over $125K per year to prospective teachers. Lefty's question is, will money alone attract teachers if there's no assurance of quality?

DV: Sign me up, baby! Right now, I can barely afford lunch at Dairy Queen! But seriously, all that extra money makes me think of the Colossus of Rhodey’s post "I agree with Heather MacDonald." Ms. MacDonald is slamming a proposed incentive program to pay parents to care about their kids.

MT: Hmm… I went to high school with a girl named Heather MacDonald. I often agreed with her, especially whenever she wore those tight sweaters... But I digress. At least sweaters don't need to be tucked in, unlike most shirts at schools with a uniform policy, like mine.

DV: What about the kids who CAN'T tuck their shirts in? That will be more than ever, if Robman’s comments about the state of nutrition and selection in school cafeterias have any merit!

MT: You know who doesn't need to worry about school cafeterias? Homeschooled kids! Becky asks if homeschooled kids are still "real kids" since they don't follow the traditional path.

DV: They are as real as my overuse of the word baby, baby!! Sarah, another homeschooler, points out that we should be wary of relying on Google.

MT: That's good advice! Here's some more! Marc offers "The advice every teacher should give their students" and at Lifelong Learners, Mr. Needleman advises us on the right "Teacher's voice" to use when disciplining students.

DV: Lots of teachers giving advice, but at 3 Standard Deviations to the Left, IB a Math Teacher is seeking it! What do you do when students ask why you're treating other students differently?

MT: A good matchup would be IB and Old Andrew, who has a lot of kids who need to be treated differently in his current "good class." And guest poster Daniel Goleman at SharpBrains can perhaps shed some light, or at least some "Mindsight" on the thoughts behind some childhood feelings.

DV: My feeling right now is I want some sports, baby! Matthew K Tabor compares baseball analysis to educational analysis in "Baseball and Education are Kissing Cousins." That guy can flat out write, I'm tellin’ you!

MT: Well, Dick, speaking of flat, Pass the Torch regales us with the most recent exploits of Flat Stanley (in Europe!). And from the flat to the small, José Vilson imagines what Biggie Smalls might say about school today, were he still alive.

DV: I never followed the rappers, but if we're talking about people no longer with us, how about a crusty old president and a snack cake diva? Elementary History Teacher is making us learn history, baby!

MT: She's very creative, though the folks at Our Educational Books advise parents NOT to put the onus of teaching creative thinking on the teachers -- take on that responsibility yourself!

DV: For a second there, I thought you said anus, not onus, baby! Almost like Terrell at Alone on a Lamb who got too caught up in telling a story and didn't pay attention to how he was misspelling the word "Peninsula!"

MT: I'm sure he would have liked to have spellcheck at that moment. And since computers do so much for us nowadays, Happy Chyck wonders if her kids really need to spend time practicing writing bibliographies.

DV: Bibliographies! Don't they have something to do with books? The Median Sib talks about the advantages of using "Touchstone Texts," or books that the kids read many times over the course of a year so they become very familiar with them.

MT: My Touchstone Text is Learn Me Good, by John Pearson.

DV: Oooooh, blatant self-promotion, baby! You're like the presidential candidates, sneaking in your name wherever you can! John McCain's recent comments on autism and child vaccines led the Eduwonkette to ask if McCain was vaccinated against logic!

MT: I can't speak for McCain, but a few other contributors have made logical claims about the system in general. The English Teacher shares an opinion of why differentiation is necessary, while DaytonOS states public schools need radical reform but asks the question HOW do we as teachers and administrators achieve these goals?

DV: Bring in the Billionaires, baby! David Quintana shares a lengthy, in-depth conversation between the reporter and "five interested parties" discussing "the new world of educational philanthropy."

MT: There you go with the money talk again. You know, sometimes money takes a backseat to free coffee and bagels from the PTA. Though, as Miss Profe points out, some extra time in the workday would be nice, too. Just be sure not to give Edna Lee of Regurgitated Alpha Bits crappy gifts. Especially not tote bags.

DV: Gifts? How about Me-ander’s wish for a day WITHOUT a stink bomb going off in class? Or the concern for Dragonlady when her obvious illness causes a PITA (and you'll have to go there to see what THAT means) to take note?

MT: Let’s also take note of Allison's comment that it's not enough for youths to be mentored and "kept off the streets." She offers a few suggestions for what might be more effective.

DV: Veteran teacher Susan Graham is effective, and she has a few comments on education guru "Checker" Finn’s commentary on Education Week.

MT: On another note, Dr. Homeslice warns of print and media ads, hardly fair and unbiased, targeting teacher’s unions. The Columbus Education Agency has already responded.

DV: Regardless of those attacks, Matt Johnston hopes that Baltimore principals will live by the credo, "With great power comes great responsibility."

MT: And finally, our good friend Joel submits "Around the Blogosphere: NCLB,” a collection of links to posts regarding No Child Left Behind. And that just about does it. Dicky V, I'd like to thank you for being a character, as always.

DV: One more link, baby! M. Cruz of Lesson Plans shows us how to write a paragraph about a character!

MT: Very fitting, my friend. On behalf of all of us at Learn Me Good, I'd like to say it was an honor and a privilege to host the March Mathness Carnival of Education. I hope you've enjoyed it. A link to my post would be greatly appreciated, and I hope that everyone joins in on both the March Mathness Challenge as well as the March Monday Madness Contest. Next week's Carnival will be hosted by Joel at So You Want to Teach? E-mail him or use the handy dandy submission form.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled broadcast.

March Mathness, bay-bee!

Hello, sports fans! The NCAA men's basketball tournament is still a couple of weeks away, but ESPN has opened up their Tournament Challenge, and so I've jumped on that baby like a flea on a dog.

I'm inviting everyone who reads this to join my ESPN group and to make your bracket picks when they become available. It doesn't matter if you're a college basketball fan or not, it's still lots of fun.

Once the tournament starts, you will be locked out, so you want to go and set up your entry right now. First go here to register, then look for the group called March Mathness.

Hope to see you there!

Carnivals, brackets, and breaks, oh my!

Hey everyone, the 100th Carnival of Education is up and running over at The Education Wonks. Check it out, and do your part to stimulate the economy.

Also, today is the last day to get your March Mathness picks in before the tournament starts tomorrow. I just made my picks, and I am downright ashamed of whom I have picked to go all the way. But IMC Guy would be very happy. Actually, right now my biggest hope is that Duke doesn't lose in the first round to VCU.

And since I'm on Spring Break and basketball starts tomorrow, there will most likely be no more posts until next week. Enjoy the break!!