Blog - Page 22 of 47 - John Spencer

Dec 19 2019

Finding Renewal on Your Winter Break

By John Spencer Podcast, Teacher Life 7 Comments

Originally written on December 18, 2015. Each year, I expand on this. I still remember my first winter break in my first year of teaching. I scratched out Christmas Eve and Christmas as true "days off," but then I worked the rest of the time.…

Dec 16 2019

The Best Way to Prepare Students for the Future Is By Empowering Them in the Present

By John Spencer Podcast, Vintage Innovation No Comments

The future is unpredictable. We know that. So, when we try to design learning experiences that "prepare students for the future," we have to recognize that we don't always know what they'll need. In this article, I explore the counterintuitive reality that the best way…

Dec 10 2019

Twelve Creative Alternatives to Showing Movies Before the Break

By John Spencer Creativity, Podcast 29 Comments

Don't forget to scroll down to the bottom of this post to download the Creative Ways to End the Semester Resource Pack. This is a post I first wrote a decade ago, when I was teaching middle school. Each year, I have revised it and…

Dec 03 2019

Designing Innovative Projects Despite the Time Crunch, the Curriculum Map, and the Lack of Technology

By John Spencer Creativity, Podcast, Vintage Innovation 4 Comments

This is my third article in the series on vintage innovation. Last week, I mentioned the Astrodome Effect and the idea of embracing both vintage tools and vintage designs in a mash-up with newer technology and new ideas. I mentioned Camden Yards as a place…

Nov 26 2019

Nine Vintage Ideas to Spark Innovation in Your Classroom

By John Spencer Innovation, Podcast 2 Comments

The Astrodome was a modern miracle, a Space Age wonder, with a glass dome, high-tech air-conditioning, and the world’s biggest scoreboard. When it opened in 1965, reporters dubbed it the “8th Wonder of the World.” This was the future. No more bad weather or quirky…

Nov 19 2019

The Power of Vintage Innovation

By John Spencer Innovation, Podcast 4 Comments

When I was in middle school, one of my teachers called the entire class up to the front of the room. He held up a shiny golden disc in wild excitement. “This will change education forever,” he said, eyes gleaming. “Someday, you’ll be able to…

Nov 13 2019

You’ve Done Enough This Decade

By John Spencer The Epic Life No Comments

I keep seeing this meme popping up on social media reminding us that we have barely over a month left in this decade and so we better getting working to accomplish that big goal before the decade ends. I suppose it's helpful for some people.…

Nov 11 2019

Seven Ways to Crush Self-Doubt in Creative Work

By John Spencer Creativity, Creativity Deconstructed 9 Comments

In a few days, I get to move into my new office. Next to the whiteboard, there's a large blank area that would be perfect for a painting. I have a concept of what I'd like to paint. It's a composite of these two pictures…

Nov 05 2019

How Student Journals Can Spark Curiosity and Inspire Creativity in the Classroom

By John Spencer Creativity, Creativity Deconstructed, Podcast 5 Comments

When I was in the fifth grade, I kept a journal for class. My teacher would give us fifteen minutes to write whatever we wanted. I pretty much only wrote about baseball -- and the Giants, in particular. For me, those fifteen minutes felt like…

Oct 28 2019

The Goal of Education Isn’t Simply a Better Job

By John Spencer Creativity, Podcast 3 Comments

Before I went to Hong Kong, people would ask me, "What about the protests?" and I almost always answered with "I hear you can avoid those." And that statement is absolutely true. The beauty of living in a pluralistic democracy is the freedom to avoid…