Friday, April 4, 2014

Response to Mr. Stoner, Mehlville School District's BOE President

This post is in response to a letter written by Mark Stoner who is the outgoing President of the Mehlville School District's Board of Education. Below is the link to his letter.


Although I do not live in the Mehlville School District, I nonetheless receive their literature. I saw Mark Stoner’s essay on the consideration of performance pay for teachers in their district. Mr. Stoner offers no insight to the merits of performance pay. He starts by quoting E. Lipscome. Who is E. Lipscome? I think he means Ed Lipscomb. Nonetheless, it is a quote about freedom and individuality. Then Mr. Stoner states that the antithesis of the individual is socialism. First of all, socialism is a theory of social and economic organization and the individual is one human being. Thus, one is not the antithesis of the other. It would serve his point more to use the word individualism.
Semantics aside, Mr. Stoner’s key point seems to be that teachers cannot be motivated to do better because there is no incentive built into the current pay system. I don’t disagree with the idea of incentives but money is not the only incentive that motivates people. Why would social workers ever go into the field if money was their only incentive? Moreover, why does anybody do anything when they are not getting paid for it? There are numerous sources of motivation and money is one of them but certainly not the only one.
Mr. Stoner’s ends his non informative essay by stating that performance pay is about giving our students an excellent education. But what happens when you give a horse water and he doesn’t drink? If I pay the person who is giving the horse water more money will that cause the horse to drink? Perhaps, but if not, I have to figure out why the horse won’t drink. In the end, I may never figure this out no matter how much money you give the person.
This is what happens in school every day. Indeed, it is not only the job of the educator to provide the student with knowledge on a given topic, but to also figure out why a student is not learning. There are of course many reasons for this but one of those reasons is that some students are not motivated to learn. The reasons for this are also many and varied. One of those reasons is that individuals in a FREE society make decisions about how they want to live their life. Sometimes individuals make choices that make it very difficult for their children to succeed. This is unfortunate but this is the reality of INDIVIDUAL choice.
You could try and teach me all you want about your personal views of freedom and the individual but just as this letter will fall on deaf ears, so too will your views. The same is true with any dissemination of information. Why can’t everybody understand Shakespeare, computer programming, or car maintenance? In fact, in schools the ability and interest levels of individuals are varied yet our educational premise is that everyone must learn the same things at the same times. This sounds like socialism to me. Yes, the very concept of everyone learning the same thing at the same time seems to me a very socialistic idea. Why not let students who are excelling faster than another student move ahead? Why do schools continue to promote students who have not achieved their grade level reading goals? It is commonly known as “social promotion.” One must stay with their age “group.” In fact, the very idea of school spirit is socialistic. You are not an individual you are a Panther or a Flyer. How many times have you heard someone say “be a team player”?
If individual freedom is what you seek then why not do away with mandatory school attendance? After all, why should the government tell me what to do in regard to my child’s education? Shouldn’t the decision to educate or not educate my child be my choice? If you say no to this then you are thinking like a socialist which is to say that you think that our collective good makes it necessary to force someone to do as the group does.

The whole idea of educating the masses serves both our individual and collective good. So, Mr. Stoner, why not state definitively what your point is instead of throwing out loaded words like socialism. These words only serve to distort the many issues contributing to the state of education in the United States. I’m sure there are ineffective teachers out there just as I am sure there are exceptional teachers. I am also sure that rules regarding the dismissal of an ineffective teacher favor the teacher, but how does performance pay address this issue? 
In the end Mr. Stoner, please put some thought into your essays and provide your district taxpayers with information that will allow them to make informed decisions about your district instead of tossing out words like freedom and socialism which add nothing to your promotion of performance pay.  

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Living Things

Here is the opening track for the "album" Island of Life. This song is sung by Stevie "StingRay" Koritta. The drums are performed by Joey "Kangaroo" Wachtel. Yours truly Danny "Dingo" Davinroy plays guitar, bass, and harmonica. The song is housed at Soundcloud.com so please click on the song title to listen. 


              Living Things

Island of life spinning round and round

Carrying the creatures that you and I have found
All of this life different yet alike
We are living  we are living things 


Animals and plants and things too small to see
Living almost everywhere living so simply
From the Antarctic ice to the frozen Bering Sea

There are living There are living things

Nonliving things like the sun, air, and minerals
Are used by living things
We can use them but we must be careful
Not to harm the Earth        
It is our friend don’t let it hurt
I want clean rivers I want to swim in lakes
I want to hike the backwoods I want to participate

Island of life spinning round and round
Caring for the creatures that you and I have found
All of this life different yet alike
We are living we are living things



Below is the lesson to be learned from this song.

Try and think of the Earth as a great big island floating in an endless sea. The Universe is so big that the Earth is like a grain of sand in the Sahara Desert. However, if you tried to walk a short distance of 30 miles it would take you all day. The Earth has a circumference of about 25,000 miles. So, although the Earth is small compared to the Universe it is huge to us little humans.

On our huge planet millions and millions of organisms live together each one affecting how the other lives. You may think that your life has nothing to do with a bird living in South America. But what humans do to survive affects how other creatures survive. So when we have to dig in the Earth or plant on the Earth we are using some other creature's space. This is why we should use care and caution when doing things like mining and planting crops. 

Things like driving the car, running the air conditioner, and throwing out the garbage affect how other organisms live here on the planet. How would you like it if I stopped by your house and told you that I needed your room to throw my garbage in? This is exactly what we humans do to millions of organisms everyday.

You do not need a tree to play a video game but you do need that tree to help you breathe. Trees provide us with oxygen. If you do not have oxygen you will not be playing video games.

Thus, all living things are interconnected. 

Remember this as you live your life, everything we do affects how other living things live or die. This is why we must care for our planet and all the organisms living in it. We have a responsibility to think about how we treat the Earth and the organisms living in it.

THINK AND ACT RESPONSIBLY!

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Burps Are Chemicals

Stay tuned for a whole lot more posts of my educational songs. I would really consider them demos instead of commercial ready tunes. However, they are good enough to use in the classroom as starting points for teachers to get the kids thinking about the various concepts and facts.

When I came across a musician, songwriter, and educator named Dr. Lodge I realized I should be distributing these songs free so that teachers and students can use them. My first set of children's recordings was Island of Life and a few of these have already been loaded on this blog. Island of Life was recorded on a Boss BR-8 track digital recorder. The current batch of earth science themed songs plus the one I have loaded here were recorded using Garageband.

The song below is a song I wrote when I saw a presentation by an educator named Dr. Dana. She had this cool little book with drawings that explained some interesting chemistry concepts. I latched on to the lesson on burps and how they are chemicals too. So with out further ado here is Burps Are Chemicals.

p.s. please click on the name of the song to listen.

Burps Are Chemicals

Well I got some indigestion and it's hurting my belly
My stomach feels like a balloon
The balloon is inflating and it feels like it will pop
Then there came a mighty boom
My teacher didn't like it but I said Ms. Ovaltine
Burps are chemicals too

Burps are chemicals
Burps are chemicals
Burps are chemicals too

You see Dr. Dana told me when we eat we swallow air
There's gases in the food and floating everywhere
So excuse me for the burp and I'm sorry if its rude
I'll slow down when I eat but the burps may intrude

And burps are chemicals
Burps are chemicals
Burps are chemicals too

Chlorophyll

Chlorophyll

I want to share this song from Island of Life. I should note that this is posted on a day when there is absolutely no sign of any chlorophyll. This song was written and played by Steve Koritta. Steve put together the video. Steve is a talented musician, performer, and songwriter.

Chlorophyll


I live on a cul-de-sac
I've got a cactus on the windowsill
Neighbor lady is crazy with chlorophyll

I take a bumpy ride to the countryside
For the weekend just for a thrill
Take in the greenery of the scenery
And every leaf I see has chlorophyll

As the rain fell and the storm passed
As we carried on about our business
Every plant cell in the wet grass
Was in the process of photosynthesis

Every dandelion and every white pine
The ancient redwoods upon the hill
They get their energy from the sunshine
And a substance called chlorophyll



Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Bullfrog

Bullfrog

Bullfrog bullfrog bullfrog bullfrog
Hiding down in the weeds
Croaking by the marshy reeds
Searching for his love
Bullfrog bullfrog bullfrog bullfrog
Hunkered down in the mud
He starts his call when the trees bud
Bluegills swim below
Bullfrog
Rana catesbiena Rana catesbiena
He starts his life as an egg
Hatches in about 5 days
Now he is a tadpole
Bullfrog bullfrog bullfrog bullfrog
He catches bugs with his tongue
Calling out jug-o-rum
Jumping all around
Bullfrog
Rana catesbiena Rana catesbiena

Bullfrog Lesson
The scientific name for the bullfrog is Rana Catesbieana. There is no simple translation for the word Rana but it comes from a Roman word that means "true frogs." The word Cat – is – bee –yah –na comes from the name of a scientist named Mark Catesby. Do you remember how Carl Linne changed his name to Carolus Linneaus? Well the scientists did the same thing to Mr. Catesby’s name.Now on to the important business of describing the bullfrogs. Bullfrogs are the largest frogs in North America. Female bullfrogs lay thousands and thousands of eggs which are then fertilized by the male. Soon these eggs grow into tadpoles which look like fish. Bullfrogs live as tadpoles for up to 3 years! During this time the tadpole grows legs and one day crawls onto the land to begin life as a genuine bullfrogs.

A male bullfrogs picks his territory and defends it from other males. The male bullfrog will fight another bullfrog if he invades his territory. The bullfrog grabs his opponent with his front legs. When the bullfrog has his opponent secure he flips him over with his powerful hind legs. Luckily, male bullfrogs do not always have to fight other males because each frog can hear the mighty roar of the bullfrog mating call. This loud "jug-o-rum" sound lets other bullfrogs know the territory of an individual frog. The only frog allowed in the territory is the female for whom the male bullfrog serenades with his throaty song.

Humans not only enjoy the sound of the bullfrog but also their mighty legs which can be deep fried in batter and eaten like a chicken leg. This tasty treat even tastes like chicken!!

Unfortunately, the bullfrog has been introduced into the Western United States where it has pushed out some of the natural living things in those areas. The cowboys may start lassoing bullfrogs instead of longhorns.



Saturday, March 10, 2012

Back Again

I just realized that it has actually been a year since I stated that I was going to balance my digital reality with my non digital reality. I guess I fell off the wagon. I am once again vowing to develop a routine that will allow me to enjoy both realities. Thus, I have decided to add my hobbies into my professional persona as an alternative school teacher. After all these are the pursuits that make me who I am.
My favorite hobby by far is songwriting. In the last 10 years I have dabbled with writing children's educational songs. One of  the divisions that I thought existed between the children's educational music that I was creating and my job as a teacher was the fact that I worked with high school age students who work individually on a computer based curriculum. However, as I started to create a music appreciation class for my school I realized that the art of writing songs can be introduced to the class that I was creating.
It turns out I found some great ideas about music appreciation class on a blog. The writer of this blog was attending the University of Illinois pursuing a master's of music degree. The drummer of my second hobby, playing in a rock band, is also attending U of I pursuing a doctorate in music. It turns out they know each other.
The digital world merged with my non digital world. So there it is.
I am hoping to use the digital medium to create music and write without worrying about perfection and or making some sort of profit. I learned that as a teacher I should be sharing my ideas so that we can all learn together which inevitably will make us better people. I hope it is enjoyed by someone.

Scientific Method

Scientific Method
This is one of my science songs from the CD Island of Life. It is available on iTunes and many other download sites. It is also available on CD Baby. Below are the lyrics and a brief lesson to accompany the song.

The scientific method is hard they sigh
But all it is, is asking why
Look at the world and what do you see?
Millions of questions floating so free

What do you see?
What is a fact?
The scientific method will tell you that

Ask a question then make a guess
Set out to prove it was there success?
Making discoveries finding things out
Asking what this world is all about

Listen real well 
What do you hear?
The scientific method will make things clear

What will you find?
It may be unknown
The scientific method will you know

Scientists are curious so they make a plan
They set objectives to understand
Scientists are logical to keep things straight
They're open minded people who investigate

Science is real
It's all around
Observing and thinking will make you proud

What will you find?
It may be unknown
The scientific method will let you know



Scientific Method Lesson
Scientists are very curious people. They want to know how things work. By understanding how things work they can solve many problems. Just think of a car mechanic. Car mechanics understand the engine of a car. By understanding how the engine works they can fix your car when it does not run right. Mechanics are the scientists of car engines. Doctors are the scientists of the human body. Can you think of any other kinds of scientists?

Characteristics of a Scientist:
 Scientists are curious
Scientists have objectives
Scientists investigate  
Scientists think logically    
Scientists are open-minded
 The Scientific Method:  
 Identify the problem to be solved 
 Gather evidence
Make a hypothesis
Test the hypothesis
Share your results

Here is an example of how the scientific method works:
 ·        You wake up one morning and you have a sore throat. You do not feel sick so you do not know what is causing your throat to hurt.
Identify the problem – Your throat hurts and you do not know why.
 ·        That afternoon you go to the doctor. You tell her all of the food and drink that you have put down your throat. You tell her what time you went to bed. You try and think of anyone with whom you have had close contact. The doctor looks down your throat and takes your temperature. You have just Gathered evidence.
 ·        The doctor makes a hypothesis that you have strep throat.
 ·        The doctor takes a throat culture from your throat to test her hypothesis in an experiment.
 ·        In her experiment she gently rubs  a Petri dish with your throat culture. She marks this dish “Experimental”. This experimental dish is also known as the variable. She has another Petri dish with a sample of the organism known to cause strep throat. This sample is called the control.
 ·        The doctor says that she will call you in 24 hours with the results. When she calls you she reports that you do not have strep throat. Another kind of bacterium has caused your throat to be sore. Thus, she has rejected her original hypothesis. Now she takes all the information that she gathered from you and records it into her note book. She has noticed other patients with similar sore throats and wants to investigate how people are contracting this bacterium. She will do more research, make a new hypothesis, and conduct more experiments.