2018-04-21 03:05
About a month ago the History Department was notified that the State of California wanted high school Seniors to partake in the California Science Test. Since English and History were… Read More
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A Passion For Teaching And Opinions Blog
ukiahcoachbrown.blogspot.com
This blog chronicles the journey of a Social Science teacher at Ukiah High School in Ukiah, California. The views expressed in this blog are my own, and do not reflect the views of Ukiah High School.
2018-04-13 04:22
Julianne Benzel teaches AP U.S. History at Rocklin High School outside of Sacramento, California. On the day of the walk-out she asked a question in her classes; “And so I just k… Read More
2018-04-08 15:10
In July 2016, Philando Castile was gunned down in his car in St. Anthony, Minnesota after he told a police officer that he was a registered gun owner and was reaching for his ID. He… Read More
2018-04-04 14:26
Saw The Arrival this week. -Amy Adams is quite good and I’m of the opinion that almost every scene without her is pretty weak. -For a film that’s mostly about how communicat… Read More
2018-03-29 20:55
On Saturday of last week I watched the Washington D.C. protest speeches and then walked downtown for a view of the local March For Our LIves presentations and the march to the court house.&n&hell…Read More
2018-03-26 15:21
There are about 1,650 students that regularly attend Ukiah High School on a daily basis. On Friday only about 800 showed up, thanks primarily to massive social media hysteria in a sm… Read More
2018-03-24 12:28
I was up Friday really early trying to post my classroom instructions on Google and getting Flipgrid ready for verbal FRQs. After a nice omelet, I was ready for Day Two! The Google… Read More
2018-03-21 14:37
Frustrating, inspiring, tiring, enjoyable…..maybe I’m just becoming an old curmudgeon. All these feelings came out this weekend when I attended Spring CUE 2018 in a co… Read More
2018-03-20 05:35
Last Wednesday’s walk-out to memorialize the students shot in Parkland, Florida started with a student coming to me and politely letting me know that she was going to be leaving my c… Read More
2018-03-17 15:51
I’m in Palm Springs for the National CUE conference. It’s my second time here. What is CUE? “CUE inspires innovative learners by fostering community, personali… Read More
2018-03-14 11:59
Yesterday I live streamed a webinar from the Newseum featuring Mary Beth Tinker, the women behind the landmark student free speech Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines. Around 140… Read More
2018-03-13 00:06
I’m not a huge fan of “motivational speakers” type assemblies for both teachers or students. Most I’ve heard are boring and ineffective at making connections… Read More
2018-03-06 15:57
I think I do a good job being non-partisan when it comes to politics in the classroom. I like using evidence, devils advocacy, and hitting as many sides of an issue as possible. Bu… Read More
2018-03-03 17:28
On Friday all five of my classes participated in Socratic Seminars about Gun Control. That’s roughly 140 students. Highlights: -It was unanimous that there needed to be… Read More
2018-03-01 12:58
In Northern California when a soccer team makes it to the Section Finals they are basically guaranteed a spot in the state championship tournament with the winner hosting a home game and los… Read More
2018-02-27 14:08
The State of California released data that shows that more people are leaving California than are migrating to the Golden State. Highlights: -California lost one million residents in the… Read More
2018-02-25 16:41
It’s been a week that I didn’t really want to have. I don’t like the atmosphere of nervous tension around campus. I don’t like that I have to give direc… Read More
2017-10-28 14:36
-With my ankle sore and my wife’s injury flaring up we decided to make an adjustment to flatter terrain. We headed to Many Glacier Valley again. -The plan was to hike the Swift… Read More
2017-10-23 12:04
I woke up the morning of October 9th and did my usual routine; woke up at about 4:30, made my coffee, and opened up Twitter to check out any late breaking news. It was immediately apparent… Read More
2017-10-05 12:33
-With my wife and I both injured we decided to stick with what we knew so we drove up to Sun Point and caught the shuttle up to Siyeh Bend. -Yes, we hiked Piegan Pass again but this time we… Read More
2017-10-03 12:40
My wife and I have a common problem; 1st period tardies. Somewhere down the line or somewhere at home students are being told that arriving a little late isn’t that big of a de… Read More
2017-09-27 11:48
-Left early for Many Glacier, my favorite part of the Glacier National Park. We arrived at 8 a.m. to lots of empty spaces. -That didn’t last long. Later in the afternoon t… Read More
2017-09-24 15:49
My classroom hasn’t changed a little, it has changed a lot. After 16 years of rows I requested a new set of tables (which ended being desks) that would create a greater collaborati… Read More
2017-09-10 22:35
-Made it to Siyeh Bend for our hike to Piegan Pass pass around 8:30 in the morning. By 9 there was limited parking. -Dory was our ranger for the hike and she noted that grizzlies wer… Read More
2017-08-24 12:48
-Flathead Lake is massive and beautiful and a fantastic prelude to Glacier National Park. We got an early start from Polson but didn’t feel we needed to rush. -Visits to Glacier… Read More
2017-08-21 12:05
-The Home 2 Suites in Richland, Washington is outstanding for the price. -The motel also has the slowest elevators in Washington State so take the stairs. -Building in Richland seems to… Read More
2017-08-21 11:57
I never could believe how many people that teach history had bought into the idea that radical ideologies somehow disappear. Lest we forget that official segregation still existed in… Read More
2017-08-16 15:20
-Left Albany, Oregon at around 8:30 in the morning. Really liked our motel, the Comfort Suites. -We were going to pass through Portland but could not resist a few stops on our way to… Read More
2017-08-13 22:27
-Left Ukiah around 8:10 a.m., around an hour later than we wanted to leave. Also passed Highway 20 near Lake Mendocino about 40 minutes before the traffic accident that killed two peop… Read More
2017-08-09 13:46
James Damore got his Master’s in Systems Biology at Harvard, went to work at Google, and has now been fired for a 10 page manifesto about his perception of the workplace environment at… Read More
2017-07-19 01:09
The world melted a couple of days ago when a Pew report stated that Republicans hated education. Ok, not really but the report does say that the partisanship between Democrats an… Read More
2017-05-02 13:35
Hey look, more evidence that laptops probably don’t mix with lecture notes. One study was at West Point and the other was at an unnamed liberal arts college yet the data showed st… Read More
2017-04-28 14:06
There is pretty much no way this is going to go well for anyone and I’ll preface this post by saying the blame should probably be shared by everyone. From the police standpoin… Read More
2017-04-18 12:50
The end is sort of but not really in sight now that Spring Break is over. We only have about a month and a half before graduation sets in but AP tests are coming, State testing is next week… Read More
2017-03-12 16:29
Last Thursday, amusingly coinciding with A Day Without Immigrants, Ukiah Unified School District become a Safe Haven District. What does that even mean? “In this time of un… Read More
2017-02-19 21:24
So here was my attendance rate from this previous Thursday.1st: 4 absent for 85%2nd: 8 absent for 71%4th: 12 absent for 61%5th: 12 absent for 60%6th: 9 abse… Read More
2017-02-04 21:16
And there’s my colleagues. Last week a group of 16 fellow teachers met across the street during lunch to protest the Senate confirmation of Betsey DeVos, nominee to be Secr… Read More
2017-01-28 20:55
Donald Trump has done a great job in making my job a whole lot harder. His election mixed with the intensely politicized vibe of a Mendocino County public school staff creates a fi… Read More
2017-01-26 05:55
About 10 kids were absent from my fifth period class today. I wonder why. Ugh Read More
2017-01-24 04:09
Angela Peoples and her lollipop made that image with a purpose. “(The photo) tells the story of white women in this moment wanting to just show up in a very superficial way and n… Read More
2017-01-21 15:11
I live in Mendocino County in Northern California; aka Bernie Sanders’ Country. In June, Sanders’ garnered 66% of the vote in the California primaries and there is still a… Read More
2016-08-12 22:39
I’ve been to two funerals in my time as a teacher. Those funerals were for ex-students that had their lives end too soon in tragic circumstances that often ripped my heart out.&n&hell…Read More
2016-07-21 16:11
Tyler Cowen, economist at George Mason University and noted blogger, was asked a question regarding why Economics isn’t taught more in schools. In the United States only 20 state… Read More
2016-07-19 14:26
“Hey, school administrators and teachers, we have to talk about something. You uphold antiquated, strident, unbalanced and frankly sexist standards when it comes to female studen… Read More
2016-07-16 18:33
Joanne Jacobs had a very interesting post about a topic that’s all the rage these days; group work. “Teen Hates: Group Projects” Hate is a very strong word and… Read More
2016-07-13 16:18
In the late Spring I recieved a small note on my desk. It stated that a student was tired of my misogynistic attitudes and that I was to prepare to be judged, or something to that effe… Read More
2016-07-08 16:55
Next, all the things, word for word, that the students thought that I did well. -I dont know -Everything -Everything -the presentations -The simulations were fun. -Lots of notes … Read More
2016-07-08 16:10
Here are all my recommendations, live and uncut, from my students. I'm leaving none out, however some students did not fill out every category, which is why the numbers will not be the same… Read More
2016-07-08 15:47
I present to you, part one of a four part series that looks at the "graded" Mr. Silva-Brown. At the end of each year I give out a report card with questions about my performance during the y… Read More
2016-07-07 23:32
I return from the land of the Wasatch Range and seriously dry to give a message out to all those teachers that teach Advanced Placement classes. Oh wait. Yes I understand the m… Read More
2016-05-01 17:36
So my wife went to Chicago and I barely got home. There are fires everywhere. My wife’s family has decided to donate a quilt to the Springfield, Illinois historical society and… Read More
2016-04-23 22:00
Christ, I’m tired. Chipotle is on the table, my wife is reading a book, and we are in a hotel room after a lot of hours of driving. And damn it is hot. We started the morning b… Read More
2016-04-19 00:02
I’ve had a lower stomach issue bothering me for a couple of weeks now and this weekend seems to have been the culminating event. After a Saturday of shopping in Santa Rosa I came… Read More
2016-04-16 15:11
We left early hoping to avoid the crowds at Logan Pass. I’m thankful that we did as our 8:30 arrival time found the parking lot already 2/3 full. Today’s first hike was t… Read More
2016-04-10 16:41
A full day of doing nothing. It was nice. We looked at some gear in Kalispell, grabbed a coffee at a local shop, and then picnicked on Flathead Lake and simply laid around in the suns… Read More
2016-03-27 14:22
Damn, it was cold this morning. We didn’t wake up to rain though and that meant a hike was up and coming, although we needed to hustle because rain was supposed to be ugly later… Read More
2016-03-20 22:18
We left early for Two Medicine because everything we read said that parking was extremely limited. The trip takes about 30 minutes and winds along the east end of Glacier National Park… Read More
2016-03-19 18:53
I’ve been not writing, again. That’s really not that big of a deal since the readership of this blog has probably dropped to that of the local school newspaper. Probably… Read More
2016-03-19 18:53
Remember this from my student evaluations in 2012? The bold was my addition at the time. My guess is that this isn’t the typical RT (aka Russia Today) enthusiast but I’m… Read More
2016-03-19 18:53
Don’t ask. I’m sitting here listening to La Isla Bonita so I decided to title this after the Madonna song while having no qualms in acknowledging that the PISA test is no… Read More
2016-03-19 18:53
A long time ago in Ukiah there was Coffee Critic. It was the local coffee hangout that had all sorts of coffee goodies priced absurdly high with snotty staff that made you feel beneath… Read More
2016-03-12 14:56
The smoke seemed to have lift when we woke up around 6 a.m. It still smelled like a large campfire but you could actually see across the St. Mary’s Valley with the smoke hanging… Read More
2016-03-08 04:54
“Is it possible to be a feminist stripper?” This was the actual conversation from students in my classroom before school started at about 7:15 this morning. No, it wasn&rs&hell…Read More
2016-03-07 04:53
The smoke was still there a-plenty, although the wind wasn’t blowing and breakfast was had with lousy visions but little campfire flavor. We left and headed over to Swiftcurrent… Read More
2016-03-07 04:39
I resigned from coaching basketball. At this point I’m not going to get too long winded about why because a lot about basketball is still clouded with vitriol from particular people a… Read More
2016-03-02 05:47
That’s Taylor Victor. She went to class at Sierra High School in Manteca and a teacher apparently tossed her towards the office where two administrators told her to change th… Read More
2016-02-27 22:00
The death of paper has been greatly exaggerated. Take a look at new growth in used book stores, continued success in paper book markets, and the statistics that e-reader sales have ser… Read More
2016-02-27 16:52
We woke up at 2 in the morning. My wife was worried about the fire and wanted a back-up plan. Part of the town of St. Mary (our next stop) was being evacuated, and we were fair… Read More
2016-02-22 14:54
We were determined not to let the car run the show today. We drove into Jackson early, catching sight of a female moose munching down on the Idaho side of Teton Pass while admiring the… Read More
2016-02-15 16:28
In the last school board meeting there was a set of guidelines and policies that were established regarding how I conduct my social media practices and Internet use. This is a good thi… Read More
2016-02-13 18:38
We started the car and drove down the dirt road when the “low tire pressure” gauge light went on in the car. Dammit. We drove to a gas station and found that the right f… Read More
2016-02-08 06:24
Young teachers are often shown this during their first years of teaching: Parts of this are still a part of a regular teachers’ year long process in my opinion; minus the survival p… Read More
2016-01-18 00:47
Believe it or not I was taught about teacher versus student sexual harrassment in college. Yep. The credential program. We had classes that actually navigate potential inte… Read More
2016-01-15 06:15
We got up late, lounged around the cabin and did laundry and left for the Tetons with no intention to hike. We wanted to drive the park, be mellow, have a picnic at Jenny Lake, and hav… Read More
2016-01-01 21:11
Right now a large, I’m thinking Mormon, family reunion is watching me creating this blog post. Why Mormon? Women are modestly dressed. There are a million kids here. Th… Read More
2015-12-31 04:37
While you’re kissing a complete stranger at midnight on January 1, 2016 there are some new laws that will go into effect for us educational folk here in California. Shall we take… Read More
2015-12-28 00:32
The day changed because of weather. It looked like it might storm early on so we hustled the 35 miles out to the Canyon section (the east side) of Dinosaur that was actually back in Co… Read More
2015-12-26 00:57
Ever notice that this blog seems to disappear around the first two weeks of November, only to reappear around Christmas? Yeah, didn't think so. There is a direct correlation between po… Read More
2015-11-15 17:07
I’ve always been afraid of these kind of grading systems. Now they have hit close to home. “The new system is called the equal interval scale. Essentially, it makes it… Read More
2015-10-26 00:47
The east gate to Colorado National Monument is literally in a nice subdivision in Grand Junction. It was about a ten minute drive from the motel and within 15 minutes we were walking t… Read More
2015-10-26 00:31
I’m at a coffee shop in Rocklin at the moment. It’s fall and I’m doing a little of the hoops thing with our local AAU team. I’m coaching both the U-16 and… Read More
2015-10-11 21:31
Students were sick and slightly depressed this week from the after-effects of Homecoming. Now that it’s over the kids are realizing that the grind is real from now until Thanksgi… Read More
2015-10-10 22:33
No kidding, I saw Willits School Board member Chris Neary rip an employee to near tears. This was a hard working man who wanted to address a legitimate concern over safety within Willi… Read More
2015-10-10 05:42
Our 1960’s style motel is growing on us, probably because the owners care about their motel and we appreciate hard working small business people. We enjoyed a nice breakfast and… Read More
2015-10-05 03:04
I can’t believe that I forgot to post this! Believe it or not I completed parts 1-3 about two months ago so this is a little late. But it’s also a really good updat… Read More
2015-10-03 16:16
Fall is here. The mornings are now crisp, the leaves have started to change and drop, and we are starting to see more animals running around now that the heat has started to dissipate… Read More
2015-10-03 15:22
We wanted to be gone by 6:30 and hiking some nice trails by 9:30 as our stay in the Four Corners, and the overall Southwest, was officially over. We left Farmington and headed north al… Read More
2015-09-27 00:26
Hey guess what? We are a quarter of the way through the semester! That’s right! Cinch notices went out this week and that means we are going to get some of those stud… Read More
2015-09-25 03:08
Chaco Canyon is known for two things. It is the greatest collection of Native American pueblo ruins north of Mexico, and road to get to it is a bitch. We woke to rain and decid… Read More
2015-09-21 04:56
It rained this week. It wasn’t a warm, summerish rain that doesn’t give you any sense of real refreshment. Nope. This was a cool, fall rain. It was a rain… Read More
2015-09-20 23:16
Today was not a rough hiking day. It was an open day meaning that we really had no idea what we were doing except that we had to end up in Farmington. We were mellow getting up… Read More
2015-09-20 21:08
In California we worry about three types of natural disasters; earthquakes, floods, and wildfires. Earthquakes are useless to be concerned about because they are so random and eventual… Read More
2015-09-15 16:32
During 3rd period my Newshour video went out within about a minute. I glanced at the screen with a frown because it had been fine for two classes and figured that maybe the page just n… Read More
2015-09-12 20:59
Damn it’s hot. Like your typical Northern California in September hot. Like triple digits easy hot. Meanwhile.. That’s Upper Grinnell Lake and Grinnell Glacier in… Read More
2015-09-12 05:10
We are starting to slow our roll, chill out, not rush. That’s a good and a bad thing because our places to visit are constantly changing with our mood and it is impossible to sat… Read More
2015-09-09 00:52
When you have a week in September that is in the mid-high 80’s in Northern California, you soak it in. I actually had to wear a jacket out to the car on Friday night because the… Read More
2015-09-07 20:22
We woke up to rain. That’s fine since we basically went to sleep to a lite rain but the night was not a good one. The bed creaked every time we moved, the noise outside our room… Read More
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