Here's a better version of the profile photo (Feb)

I'm the blonde....
(The other two are psychologists to whom I happen to be genetically related....)

Follow-up: The Homework My Dog Ate

As promised, here's a scan of the evidence.
Her digestive track really did process the information.... Do you think there's a mind-body connection and now Sasha understands universal design? :)

(She does have a lovely scissors-bite. It corresponded well with blank space between topic sections!)

Thoughts about Technology

Having been a history teacher for so long, the company I've kept has in some ways shaped my thinking, especially about technology.

In particular, I have had some excellent friends/colleagues who were (and are) the most amazing Luddites. This is probably an occupational hazard of history, where an affection for the past, and the material conditions of that previous era, are held in the highest regard and greatest fondness.

Me, I appreciate the past more as the cultural anthropologist that I am--material conditions are extremely important for how they shape our way of being "a body in the body of the world" (quote from Peggy McIntosh) which in turn shapes how we see the world, and act in the world, and experience the world, etc. This philosophy is not unlike the feminist axiom that "the personal is the political" (see Sara Evans' Personal Politics for more explanation). But, for me, there is the additional element for the material: knowing how to live in a multiplicity of conditions, successfully. That is to say, knowing how to adapt to a variety of environments and survive is key. My view is anthropological and evolutionary, but it's also just a West Tennessee "country girl" speaking....

[Some day I'll compare this country girl to her suburban husband, but that's a rant for another day. Back to my friends the history teachers/Luddites...]

The wonderful thing about great teachers is that they not only know themselves, they know how to laugh at themselves, especially when confronting their fears and desires about technology and the rapidity of changing material conditions. Certainly, this seemed to be a theme from our T560 class this week. I love the fact that Bart and David are learning right along with us, despite our trepidations--that makes us all the more aware as teachers and learners. In that spirit I want to share the following video segment from YouTube which was sent to me by one of my history teacher friends. I think it's fabulous for its commentary on technology and human nature. I hope you enjoy it too!


Medieval Help Desk

First Blog--The Dog Ate My Homework!

Seriously, it's true; although I should entitle this post "The dog ate my T560 notes!"

Sasha, the dog, is a two-year-old German Shepard/Malamute(best guess)/Collie(best guess) mix. A shelter puppy, whom we adopted last April, she has issues about food and separation anxiety. Given that she was a stray, this makes sense. Also, her behavior indicates rough treatment by her first family. So clearly environment has had an effect on her development. But, as the UDL Handbook notes in chapter 2, some critters are just more sensitive to begin with. (Ok, the supporting research is on primates, which are pretty close to humans, so I'm a little leery of citing this for a canine, but as the DNA has a lot of match between species, the comparison seems to hold...) So genes are a factor here as well. Managing the affect of the dog is a major chore, especially now that we (husband and I) are back in class with the new semester, with a new schedule.

So, yes, three days ago she seriously chewed my notes.

Today she munched on a set of student recommendation envelopes and busted into the kibble container. We're now waiting for the inevitable result...