Wednesday, March 18, 2020

John Reed, account of Bolshevi essays

John Reed, account of Bolshevi essays How useful is the eyewitness account of the Bolshevik revolution by John Reed for an historical understanding of the Bolshevik revolution? John Reeds, Ten Days that Shook the World immediately stands out as a crucial primary historical source on the Bolshevik revolution. His eye witness account of the events in Petrograd are important as the revolutionary actions that took place similarly replicated events that took place all over Russia. Reed creates an insight into the events, actions, feelings and emotions of the Bolshevik revolution that has not been replicated. There was no other similar documents to Reeds at the time and thus Ten Days stands out as one of the key primary sources on the time period. Despite scholarly debate as to the accuracy and excess emotion rather than fact in Reeds work, it is widely agreed that his text is crucial for a complete understanding of the Bolshevik revolution. As Bertram D. Wolfe writes, Whether because of or despite the dream which possessed him, as literature Reeds book is the finest piece of eyewitness reporting the revolution produced. 1 Immediately, in the preface to the book Reed makes clear the reasons why he has written the text. Just as historians search the records for the minutest details of the story of the Paris Commune, so they will want to know what happened in Petrograd in November 1917, the spirit which animated the people, and how the leaders looked, talked and acted. It is with this in view that I have written this book.2 Here we see the sort of understanding he wants his readers to have achieved, an eyewitness account of the Bolshevik revolution with details on the spirit of the people and incredible insight on the leaders actions and beliefs during the revolutionary period. Like all historical documents, Reeds is undoubtedly biased. He attempts to be a reporter of facts and events but in the preface admits that in...

Sunday, March 1, 2020

Ideas for Collecting Homework in the Classroom

Ideas for Collecting Homework in the Classroom The purpose of homework is to help reinforce what was taught in class or to have students gather extra information beyond what was demonstrated in class. Homework is one part of daily classroom management that can cause many teachers problems. Homework must be assigned, collected, reviewed and assessed. That amount of work means homework must be designed to serve an academic purpose, otherwise, the results may be a great waste of student and instructor time. Here are a few tips and ideas that can help you create an effective method for collecting homework every day. Physical Homework New teachers find out very quickly that day-to-day instruction is made much more effective when there are organized daily housekeeping routines. In developing these routines, if there is homework to collect, the best time to collect it for use in instruction is at the beginning of the period. Methods you can use to accomplish this include: Station yourself at the door as students walk into your room. Students are required to hand you their homework. This greatly reduces the time it takes to complete this task because it is mostly finished before the bell even rings.Have a designated homework box. Explain to students how they are to turn in their homework each day. To keep track, you might remove the homework box after the bell rings and class begins. Anyone who does not get it in the box will have their homework be marked late. Many teachers find it a good idea to give students a three to a five-minute window after the bell rings to avoid possible confrontations and to keep things fair. Digital Homework If the technology is available, in school and at home, teachers may prefer to give a digital homework assignment. They may use a course platform like Google Classroom, Moodle, Schoology, or Edmodo. Students may be asked to complete homework individually or collaboratively. In this cases, the homework will be time-stamped or a digital student is associated with the work. You may use that time stamp to show the homework has been completed on time. Digital homework may include programs that provide immediate feedback, which will make assessing much easier. On some of these platforms, there may be an opportunity for a student to repeat an assignment. Digital platforms allow teachers to keep an assignment inventory or student portfolios to note student academic growth. You may choose to use a â€Å"flipped classroom† model. In this model, the instruction is assigned as the homework in advance of class, while the hands-on practice takes place in the classroom. The central idea with this kind of digital homework is similar. In a flipped classroom, the homework serving as the teaching tool. There may be videos or interactive lessons to provide the instruction that happens in class. A flipped learning model allows students to work through problems, suggest solutions, and engage in collaborative learning. Homework tips When it comes to daily housekeeping chores like collecting homework and taking roll, creating a daily routine is the most effective tool. If students know the system and you follow it every day, then it will take up less of your valuable teaching time and give students less time to misbehave while you are otherwise occupied.Come up with a quick system to mark an assignment as late. You might have a brightly colored highlighter which you use to make a mark on the top of the paper. You could also mark it with the number of points that you will be taking off the paper. Whatever your method, you will want to make it something you can do quickly and efficiently. See How to Deal with Late Work and Makeup WorkReturn homework within 24 hours for optimum effect.The flipped homework in class as part of instruction. The homework is not assessed, but the students are. Ultimately, it is not the assigning or collecting of homework that is important. What is important is understanding the purpose of homework, and that purpose can help you determine the kind of homework, be it physical or digital, that works best for your students.