Wibbly-Wobbly Introductioney-Wintroductioney... Thing.

[bowlercapfairy]

Sounds like a solid plan to me. Out of curiosity, what types of changes would you ideally like to make? Also, what subject do you plan on teaching?

[spencerxxxi]

`It's a long list, but for starters:
- Reversion to a standards-based education system instead of an accountability-based one.
- Integration of psychological, sociological, and anthropological research into policy, in addition to the philosophical and lawful angles that currently dominate the field.
- A total overhaul of the standardized test as we know it and the more careful selection of those who write and administer these tests. Would also involve research, much of which already exists.
- The redefinition of the role of the teacher to fit the changing times while understanding that the current definition- that is, a soulless practitioner of a pre-written curriculum set out by the state to meet a virtually arbitrary set of basic criterial points- is not only outmoded, but outright destructive.
- The possible reconsideration of Property Tax in its current form as a fair way to fund schools.
- Redefining the role of the Teachers' Union, no longer as a barricade to reform and change but as the ones asking for reform and change which actually have a chance of being well-received. This one might actually be taken care of before I get there, if the RESECT project works out like it's supposed to.

It's a rough list and I have a lot more research to do before I officially state any of it, but these are the points in which I'm particularly interested in changing. There's a LOT of steps in between and of course it's going to take a lot of networking that I've yet to set up. But I've contacted a few mayors and governers on casual bases and am in contact with a slew of researchers through my as-of-six-hours-ago-alma-mater. If anyone's starting in a good place for this kind of project, I'd like to humbly assert that I may or may not be he. :p

Oh, and, I plan to teach History or Biology; they're the two subjects I'm actually qualified to teach, informatonwise. I could also do geometry or anything up to precalc but they're not my personal favorites... too many letters, not enough concepts being conveyed.

[bowlercapfairy]

`I wholeheartedly agree with most of your points. Much of the American educational system has been highly resistant to change in recent years, but it's high time that we broke away from primarily encouraging mindless memorization and began developing the cognitive tools that students will actually use later in life.

It definitely sounds like you have a good start.

Nice subjects, by the way! I'm a definite history fan.

[spencerxxxi]

I started off in Evolutionary Anthropology, so I was naturally drawn to history once I got into Education. After all, when you get right down to it, Evo Anthro is just history from waaaaaay far back. And with more fun Latin words and cool expedition hats. Actually, were I at any other university, I'd actually have that degree as well as my EDS one, since most universities only require 9 classes, but mine required 10 and I'm not paying another $5000 so I can take one more class to have a degree for a field I'm not going into, so. Bitter? A tad. :p But ye roll with it.

But that’s more than enough about me, how about you? What do you do, for academics and hobbies and workings and whatnot? I'd ask you in your thread but I couldn't find it. .

[bowlercapfairy]

`That's possibly the greatest way I've ever heard Evolutionary Anthropology described. ^_^ Varying university requirements can be a pain - you seem to have a good attitude about it, though.

Academics-wise, I'm currently a Russian studies major. I love to read, I also like dancing, gaming, yoga, dabbling in herpetology, attending renaissance fairs & steampunk cons, kayaking (when I can), movies, bicycling, geeky television, playing ukulele, obscure history, & performing in the sideshow.

[spencerxxxi]

`Heh, herpetology, huh? Weirdest thing, I used to be deathly afraid of most frogs thanks to an old "Eyewitness" educational movie about amphibians that had this weird scene with a werefrog... couldn't sleep for a week. :p I've found peace with them now, though. As long as no one around me turns into one under a full moon.

So, I'm curious; what do you do in the sideshow? And if you're the sideshow, what's the main show?

[bowlercapfairy]

`Hahaha, werefrogs? What a bizarre way to try & il----rate something educational about frogs. It's funny how certain things will play havoc with your psyche. When I was a kid, I was totally fine with many horror films I was probably too young to be exposed to. The one that gave me nightmares? "The Blob." It was a campy, 1958 horror movie. The monster was essentially made of jell-o.

It's been ages since "sideshow" strictly referred to a show done on the side. It does still happen, but nowadays most sideshows are standalone. They are still called "sideshows" because there isn't another name for our specific style, tradition or set of acts. Sideshow isn't really comparable to modern day carnivals or circus/cirque-style shows although a sideshow can take place at a carnival or contain one or two circus/cirque-style acts. I am primarily an aerialist (the aerial acrobatics are our circus/cirque-style act), I specialize in aerial silks but can also do aerial hoop and some partner acro. I also do stilt-walking, blockhead painting, ukulele playing (on or off stilts) & snake charming.

[spencerxxxi]

`... and here I was pretending to have all the interesting hobbies. :p Wait, what's blockhead painting? Never heard of it. Not that that's super-unusual or anything, but google was also at a loss, and now I'm curious. .

[bowlercapfairy]

`Don't sell your hobbies short! I find them pretty interesting.

Hahaha, most unappealing skill you could have asked about. :b The human blockhead act, credited to Melvin Burkhart who was a very famous sideshow performer, is a staple sideshow act in which the performer hammers a ten-inch nail into his or her nasal cavity. There are some really amazing x-ray images of sideshow performers' skulls with the nails in them. When I was first taught to blockhead at a sideshow convention, we went to the store to buy some ten-inch nails, but were unable to find any & were forced to improvise with varying objects. I wound up blockheading a paintbrush, & someone had watercolors, so I painted my group's name & logo with my face. It was a joke, but it was actually legible, so I wound up being asked to do it more often. Thus, blockhead painting.

[spencerxxxi]

`... okay, cards on the table, that is the most horrifying thing I have ever heard of. But at the same time I can't say I'm not impressed. I mean, my handwriting is terrible as it is, I can't even fathom trying to write with a paintbrush that was jammed into my skull. And I'm impressed that you found a way to make the whole act your own with the whole... paintbrush... thing. Hell, it's downright artistic! ^_^

[bowlercapfairy]

`Hahaha, well, it's good for the show at the very least. It's a nice bit of ironic humor, using one of the more disgusting acts in our repertoire to create "fine art." :b I definitely prefer aerials & snake charming, though.

[spencerxxxi]

`I'd imagine. :p "Okay, so, you can either maneuver gracefully in the air for a few minutes, exert your will over a wild beast with the power to bite your face off and instead lull it into submission, or jam a pant brush through your nose!" It would take a very, um... interesting kinda person to pick the third. It's weird, though, whenever I see those x-rays, I always think of those hyper-brutal British freak medical shows that come on right before Doctor Who... the ones where they show some dude with a golf ball that went through his eye socket or something. I think the association with DW has made them more interesting to me over time. .

[bowlercapfairy]

`I'm a little morbid, so I always found those kind of interesting. :b How do those sorts of things happen, anyway? If you're playing golf & you wind up with a golf ball wedged inside your eye socket, I think you're doing it wrong. o.O"

[spencerxxxi]

Heh... I don't think it's usually *their* balls, though, they're just in the wrong place at the wrong time. We're all just one swanky debauched yacht club event away from having a piece of projectile sports equipment lodged nanometers from our frontal lobes.

[bowlercapfairy]

`Hahahaha, this is true. :b Remind me to avoid swanky, debauched yacht club events! (Not that that should be a problem, that level of pretentiousness is wayyy out of my league.)