Kevin Brookhouser

Like many other schools, we have a firm social network policy that prohibits teachers from accepting Facebook friend requests from students. I get it. The notion of teachers and students being Facebook friends makes most people uncomfortable. If one of my students sends me a request, I reject it until he graduates. The notion of teachers and students being Facebook friends makes most people uncomfortable. Naturally, when teachers get a similar notification in Google Plus, they also may feel that same uncomfortable impulse. However, there is no “reject” button when G+ notifies us that a student has added us to his circles. So what does it mean? It depends on how you use Google Plus. I have a Google+ account but I never post anything Poor Google+, most people don’t use it very much. If you’re not in the habit of posting articles, photos, or status updates to Google+, welcome to the very large I-don’t-use-Google-Plus club. If you’re a member, you have NOTHING to worry about. Your...

Each October at York, we host a day where students bring their grandparents and family friends to school. For almost ten years on this day, I have been having my students take part in Story Corps , a national program where people record interviews of friends and family. Students get the questions by going through the Story Corps Question Generator . I purposely do not record video of the interviews because I believe people are more willing to express themselves without a video camera pointed at them. So I record the interviews with GarageBand, edit the audio with still photos using Camtasia , and upload the full interviews as an unlisted videos in YouTube. Students can archive these recordings and pass them down to their own children and grandchildren. This might be my single favorite thing we do in my classroom. Here's a short sample of the interviews.

As I mentioned in my previous post, the first thing I do in class is have my students write and deliver two minute introductions. Obviously it gives me a sense of their writing and presentation skills, but more importantly it allows me to know who they are. Here's the prompt I give them: Your first formal assignment is to compose and present a short introduction so I may better get to know you. I'm only looking for a two minute introduction. I would like you to type it out and then read it to the class. Make sure you save your work somewhere because I'm going to ask you to post it in your portfolio (more on that later). I'd like to get a sense of who you are and what your voice is. Not sure what to write? No problem ... here are some ideas to help get you started: What are you passionate about? What are some of your goals for the year? For your life? What is the most important physical object in your life? (take a photo of it and bring it to class) What is y...

Dear Students and Parents of the York School 10th Grade Class, I hope you all had an adventurous and energizing summer. I wanted to write to introduce myself and let you know a little bit about one of the unusual projects we’ll be taking on this year in English III. In 2011 we began The 20% Project in English III. This is a major project-based-learning assignment that spans the entire school year and encourages students to pursue a creative interest they would otherwise not experience in our academic program at York. Before I get into the details of the project, I want to explain why we’re asking students to participate in this activity. For over 20 years a trend in education has been gaining momentum that suggests the role of the teacher ought to shift away from an industrial model where the teacher stands in the front of the classroom to dispense knowledge through lectures, and the students sit to consume the information. Rather than being the “sage on the stage...

Your child is stupendously manipulative, independently wealthy, or unbearably charming. Or maybe you're a good parent looking to give the best tool to help your kid in school. Either way, you are considering letting this kid have an iPad. Before you send those $500 to Cupertino, answer these four critical questions. 1. What is your AUP? Most schools and businesses establish an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) for technology. Consider writing up a family AUP for technology between you and your child. You could clearly define how, when, and where the iPad should be used. Establish what types of websites he is permitted to visit, what kinds of games he can play, and what media he may consume. Explain why you have these rules in place before you purchase the device. Get these rules in writing and have both of you sign it. You could review the details of the policy after six months to meet changing demands and increased maturity. 2. Who controls the Apple ID account? In order to g...