Group Work vs. Individual Work by Mike Siekkinen

When determining your classroom setup and how your students will be seated, there are a number of things to consider. Deciding how students are seated (singly, in pairs, groups-group size?) as well as if assignments will be done together or individually will yield different results. The following are some thoughts from a teacher in the trenches vs an educational “expert” who does not teach. I teach middle school, primarily 8th grade, so these thoughts are based on my experience.

Individual seating and assignments






Pros

• You can see precisely what a student can or can’t do.
• See what a student knows and doesn’t know.
• Usually “quiet" instruction/work environment (some like this/some don’t)
• Many students would rather work alone and provide an individual product.

Cons

• No student collaboration (no exchanging ideas).
• No social interaction (can be a positive or a negative).
• Some students like working with others vs individually.

Groups Work (pairs or small group)






Pros

• Get a more rounded project or assignment as more eyes on the assignment.
• Encourages cooperation among students.
• Students work toward common goal.

Cons

• Students tend to be social, so often can get off task.
• One student can dominate and provide all the answers.
• Don’t necessarily get to see what an individual student knows.

I use a combination of both seating arrangements, depending on what I have students doing. When working with groups, I make expectations very clear on conduct and enforce proper behavior working within a group. I explain that in a group or partner situation, talking should be related to the assignment and work they are doing, not a social time. Even with this explanation, consistent monitoring needs to be done (walking around the room, visiting with students, checking where they are in the assignment, etc.). Students can quickly get off track and forget why they are together and it can become a very social environment. You will get a feel of your students over time and decisions about group size and how often you have students collaborate will become easier.

Dr. Mike Siekkinen, a retired U.S. Navy submariner, became a teacher as a second career. He teaches history at St Marys Middle School as well as Adult and Career Education at Valdosta State in Georgia.

Spare Time Reading by Mike Siekkinen

Though summer has come and gone, I still get some reading time in for enjoyment. I thought I'd share some of my favorite authors and books I may revisit. I do tend toward the fantasy, science fiction and horror genres so if you do also, you may find some of these authors and stories worth a read.

Stephen King  Hands down scariest author for me. Great story telling and he rarely has let me down with his novels. I normally do not want to put a King novel down! Some favorites have been The Stand, The Gunslinger Series and It.

J.R.R. Tolkien  Best fantasy series to date. Established the rules all others use. Compelling and complete. A master story teller with his epic. I know many have read it but if not, give it a try. It has something for everyone.

Dean Koontz  I love the Odd Thomas series but he has many other great books. Another master horror/supernatural story teller. I have enjoyed his series as well as his stand alone books.

Michael Moorcock  From my youth, the Elric of Melnibone series is an epic tale unlike others. His catalogue of novels is extensive and his theme of the eternal hero has a number of series worth reading. Give him a try.

Ursula K. Leguin The Earthsea trilogy is a great read as well as many of her standalone stories. She has fantasy, fiction and science fiction in her writings.

Fritz Leiber His fantasy novels are fun and his Fhaferd and the Grey Mouser series is a blast to read. He has an extensive collection of science fiction and fantasy novels.

Patrick Rothfuss  I just finished his Name the Wind novel and can’t wait to get into the next book. Great storytelling. Another fantasy series I am enjoying.

What are you reading in your spare time?

Dr. Mike Siekkinen, a retired U.S. Navy submariner, became a teacher as a second career. He teaches history at St Marys Middle School as well as Adult and Career Education at Valdosta State in Georgia.

Spring Trips by Mike Siekkinen

All teachers and students look forward to spring break. Typically it's a week off to unwind, relax, sleep in and have fun. Over the last 8 years, I've chosen another route to take regarding spring break. I have organized and led a spring trip for students at my school. Believe me, if I wasn’t enjoying this I wouldn’t do it! 

Last spring break, I led 25 students on a trip to the Florida Keys where we snorkeled the coral reefs, swam with dolphins, visited recovering sea turtles and then toured the Everglades, both during the day and at night. We had a blast! There was still some time for relaxing as the trip was a Monday through Friday excursion, so we had a weekend before and a weekend after to recover. 

I use a tour company for organization and then advertise during the school year. The company I use has been Worldstrides and my experience with them has been excellent. I will say they are not the cheapest company out there, but the support given during all aspects of a trip has been outstanding. For example, on my first trip with them, I had a student get very ill as we were about to depart for the bus ride home from Washington DC. I called their tour central office at 6 PM (it is available and manned 24 hours a day) and they had a doctor come to our bus while we were eating dinner. The doctor diagnosed the student, sent his nurse for medicine and called the parents with an update. This was done free of charge for the student. That kind of insurance and support is unprecedented and is worth the few extra dollars when away from home with someone else’s children!

Students and parents sign up and pay the tour company (I touch no money) and I take care of paperwork, advertising and then supervising the trip. A tour guide is provided and all events, meals, attractions and travel are handled by the tour company. 

I've enjoyed doing this and will continue to give up part of my spring break every year I am able to provide this opportunity to students. Next year will be Washington DC! I alternate between different locations year to year so students can come multiple years, not going to the same location twice. Give it a try, you may find like I do that half a spring break is enough!

Dr. Mike Siekkinen, a retired U.S. Navy submariner, became a teacher as a second career. He teaches history at St Marys Middle School as well as Adult and Career Education at Valdosta State in Georgia.

Google Classroom by Mike Siekkinen

Are you and your students using Google Classroom? If you are in a school with one-to-one technology (all students have access to computers, chrome books, tablets, etc.) I highly recommend this application. Google Classroom is an easy-to-use virtual space where a teacher can post messages, assignments, links, etc. Virtually anything can be posted for your students. It's also an easy way to assign students work and they have the ability to turn things into the classroom. You can also grade assignments and post grades and give individual feedback to students. Very powerful and easy to use application at a great price- FREE! Google updates the platform frequently and there are lots of tutorials on the web to teach you how to use google classroom. 

Setup is easy. Sign in for the first time
1. Go to classroom.google.com and click Go to Classroom.
2. Enter your username and click Next.
3. Enter your password and click Next.
4. If there is a welcome message, read it and click Accept.
5. If you're using a G Suite for Education account, click I'm A Student or I'm A Teacher. ...
6. Click Get Started.

Google Classroom also allows you to personalize each classroom with a picture so as you are teaching a certain topic, you can add a background to your classroom related to your subject area. You also have the ability to post assignments ahead of time and have them become available for students on the date you select. Very handy when you may be away from the classroom and are leaving student work.

At the end of each year, I archive my classes and then start new classrooms for the new school year. The process is easy and allows you to keep student work from previous years to be able to show students good and bad examples of assignments. Also if there is ever a question about grades, you have the actual work done by the student. I find teaching 8th grade that my students now come to me familiar with how it works and I have to do virtually no “teaching” students how to operate within the application. In fact, many students show me new things that you can do! 

If you haven't tried it, give it a go!

Dr. Mike Siekkinen, a retired U.S. Navy submariner, became a teacher as a second career. He teaches history at St Marys Middle School as well as Adult and Career Education at Valdosta State in Georgia.

Put Away the Tech, Part 2 by Scott Harris

Attend a lecture at a local college or even look around at pictures internet, and you’ll see nearly every student behind their (usually Apple) laptop. They are allegedly taking notes, but research suggests otherwise. 

A 2010 study (Journal of Information Systems Education, v21 n2 p241-251 2010  Examining the Affects of Student Multitasking with Laptops during the Lecture.  Kraushaar, James M.; Novak, David C.) found that students spent 40% of their time on things unrelated to coursework. Ninety percent of students were engaged in unrelated activities for at least five minutes, and 60% were distracted for half of the class.

While colleges can block the internet in lecture halls, few do. This begs the question of why any professor or teacher would allow their students to take notes on computers. Some like Dr. Laurie Santos at Yale, have banned laptops. Yet even she got so tired of students asking for exceptions, that she made an exception. However, they have to apply, and she quarantines them in the cheap seats, where they can’t distract anyone else. (See picture below) 

Dr. Santos teaches “Psychology and the Good Life,” the most popular course at Yale. She knows the research is wildly against taking notes with computers. Taking notes by hand has many benefits. Students can type much faster than they can write, which would seem to be an advantage. Yet when an experimental and control group are set up, the students taking notes by hand did better on conceptual understanding, both an hour later and seven days later.

But the typists did better on detail, surely? No. The hand writers did better on that, too. It seems that you can’t keep up writing by hand is the beneficial part. That you have to evaluate, synthesize and condense what is being said is the very thing that forms memory hooks. Typists can essentially record verbatim what is being said; thus, the integration necessary for memory formation is not occurring. 

Then it occurred to researchers to tell the typists to synthesize and not record verbatim. It had no effect. It seems we just can’t help ourselves. If we can keep up, we will. Typing allows to record without really thinking.

Scott K. Harris teaches The Moral Sciences: A.P. Macroeconomics, A.P. Psychology, and Philosophy. He holds a B.A. in History/Psychology and a M.Ed. in Teacher Leadership. He has also taught U.S. History, World History, International Baccalaureate’s Theory of Knowledge, and coached swimming and water polo. He piloted curriculum for Stossel-in-the-Classroom and is an associate producer for izzit.org.  

Put Away the Tech, Part 1 by Scott Harris

While I use technology in my classroom, I pride myself on conducting a fair amount of our learning “old school.” 

We write rough drafts by hand, creating word webs, outlines, and other pre-writing on notebook paper. I can then give feedback in real time, and together, we create a wonderfully organic document, from which something beautiful emerges: a clear, concise thesis. 

An endangered species on many campuses, the clear thesis is often discovered accidentally. One way to discern whether a student really knows how to write a solid thesis is, after having written their first paragraph, ask them to underline their thesis. Many aren’t certain, and point to one thing or another, looking for confirmation. I don’t give it. They need to think more about the topic, about what they want to say. They should be able to tell me what they want to say. 

Many point to something so vague that it does not separate itself from any anti-thesis. Or the student in Gifted/Talented English comes with a complex, multi-faceted first paragraph that could really be an outline for a book. They are so used to being praised for such writing that they are often shocked when I tell them that this paragraph won’t work at all. 

When I ask them to underline their thesis, they’re unsure not because they don’t know, but rather because they have managed to squeeze three viable theses into an opening paragraph! When I tell them to pick one, they really don’t want to, because “issues are more complex,” etc. “Do you know what’s not complex?” I ask. “A thesis.” 

When student finally learn to write a clear, concise thesis – and a methodology for doing so – they find it liberating. Too often they’ve had to stumble across a thesis nearly a page in, or had to respond to writing prompts without developing ideas as much as responding to them. 

Doing all of this by hand is much faster than with technology, allows for arrows and redirects to be made, and is teaching process in a non-linear way. Typing pre-writing on a word processor gives the impression that thought falls forth from one’s head like soldiers marching in columns. 

Once students have written what they want by hand in a solid rough draft, it is time to type it up. One of the benefits of a typed rough draft before the final product is the clarity of thought (or lack thereof) emerges, once messy penmanship is eliminated. Development, connections and refinement are easier to see now. So why not start that way? Because development, connections and refinement are second order concerns. If the ideas and clear thesis are not created first, there is nothing to develop, connect, or refine. First things first.

Scott K. Harris teaches The Moral Sciences: A.P. Macroeconomics, A.P. Psychology, and Philosophy. He holds a B.A. in History/Psychology and a M.Ed. in Teacher Leadership. He has also taught U.S. History, World History, International Baccalaureate’s Theory of Knowledge, and coached swimming and water polo. He piloted curriculum for Stossel-in-the-Classroom and is an associate producer for izzit.org. 

PBL- Problem Based Learning by Mike Siekkinen

Many teachers may have heard the term Problem Based Learning (PBL) but have not attempted this somewhat-new educational strategy. Our school has been making the shift to PBL over the last three years, with the last teachers receiving formal training this past school year.

In a nutshell, PBL is taking real world problems and presenting them to students to research and attempt to solve. It involves all curriculum areas and can be done using a regular class schedule or as a part of a school day specifically set aside to do the PBL.

Ideally, a societal problem is addressed and then each curriculum area (math, science, social studies, and language arts) would determine, based on state standards, what part of the problem solving could be accomplished within their areas. Ideally all are involved, but sometimes this is not the case.

For instance, perhaps a science unit was covering water and teachers wanted to do a PBL on this topic. LA decides they will have students conduct research on water pollution and write a point paper on the subject using curriculum standards in the form of an informational essay. Science will do principles of fluid flow and have students use computer animations and hands-on displays of how water moves. Social studies could do water travel in the historical period they are studying and compare and contrast how things have changed. Perhaps math is not doing anything they can relate, so does not take part in this particular PBL unit.

The guidelines for PBL state that this is fine and curriculum areas need not “force fit” activities if they do not fit with standards taught. We found students enjoy choosing the direction they take based on interests. Guidelines with the PBL are such that standards relate to the unit but allow for some freedom of choice for students. If you have not tried this educational approach in the past, give it a shot. Our school is on board with this and it also works well with STEM activities.

Dr. Mike Siekkinen, a retired U.S. Navy submariner, became a teacher as a second career. He teaches history at St Marys Middle School as well as Adult and Career Education at Valdosta State in Georgia.

Teaching with Videos by Mike Siekkinen

As a history teacher, I regularly use video when teaching. I would love to be able to take my students to the places we study, to actually see and experience where history took place, but that is not really an option in most cases. Video can be the next best thing.

Some of my favorite sites are Discovery Channel and I also use GPB (Georgia Public Broadcasting) frequently. YouTube can also be a great source for content, not just in history but all subjects.  And of course, I can’t forget izzit.org!

As with any video used in the classroom, I always ensure I watch everything first. I learned this early on in my educational career when teaching biology. I found a great (I thought) frog dissection video on YouTube. On the surface, it was excellent, going over each step of the dissection process with the students doing the narration. That was, until several of the students started using cuss words. In hindsight, I am so glad I watched this video in its entirety as this could have been very embarrassing otherwise.

Hollywood has done a great job in a number of circumstances with historical period pieces. As with any video, I always have things for students to do as they are watching. Additionally, for videos of any length, I will often pause and we will discuss points I want to bring up, and/or have students respond to prompts I give them during parts of the video.

Please do look at your school systems policy regarding video use in the classroom. Some districts have very strict policies about video use, while others leave everything up to the discretion of the teacher.

izzit.org has great videos that can be streamed directly by students. This year, I started assigning students videos to watch and then having them take the online quizzes. Students can do these at their own pace from individual Chromebooks. These would be supplemental to instruction. Give them a try. 

Dr. Mike Siekkinen, a retired U.S. Navy submariner, became a teacher as a second career. He teaches history at St Marys Middle School as well as Adult and Career Education at Valdosta State in Georgia.

Student-led Conferences by Mike Siekkinen

This year, my team tried a new approach to doing parent-teacher conferences. We let the student lead the conferences.

As teachers know, a typical parent-teacher conference is called by a parent or by the teachers to discuss student behavior/achievement/effort/etc. The purpose of the conference is still the same, but with student led conferences, the method changes.

Once a conference is scheduled, we provided students with a script (outline) of questions they were required to prepare for prior to the conference. Students would introduce themselves and then discuss their grades, behaviors, strengths and weaknesses. Parents would hear this from their child verses from a teacher. This also allowed students to “own” their behaviors.

We would sit back and respond when questioned or add to student’s discussion. We found that students were generally very honest in answering the questions. We also found that, especially when student performance was the issue, hearing directly from their child had much more of an impact on parents and was much less confrontational between parents and teachers. With this we also came up with a plan on how to proceed from there to help the student.

We came up with an initial script and then fine-tuned it as the year went on. This could easily be adapted to younger children up through high school. I am an eighth grade teacher and this method served us well this year. Give it a try for next school year. I think you will see the positive changes that occur.

Dr. Mike Siekkinen, a retired U.S. Navy submariner, became a teacher as a second career. He teaches history at St Marys Middle School as well as Adult and Career Education at Valdosta State in Georgia.

Educational Travel by Mike Siekkinen

I have written in the past about the benefits of educational travel and continue to push this approach for many reasons. For many teachers, the thought of organizing a trip with students sounds scary. There is a certain amount of risk when taking students outside the safety of the school.

To be honest, there have been years, based on the students I had, that I did not do any field trips. There were a few years where I wouldn’t have taken my students across the street, much less to an educational destination due to student behaviors. So I understand why some teachers shy away from doing “trips.”

At the same time, showing students real world applications, actually touching history and visiting historic places, can be magical for students.

For those new to educational travel, I would start small. Perhaps a single destination for a shortened period of time. A museum or public park program is a good start. To be successful you need to plan, and then overplan. Look at how many students you are taking and consider their age. Obviously the younger the student, the more supervision. You may need parent volunteers to help on the trip.

Also consider cost. Where will the funds come from? Will you need to fundraise and if so, what is your school’s policy concerning fundraising? You will have to arrange transportation to and from the event. Also consider contingency plans if this is an outdoor event. Will you be gone during lunch and if so, how and where will students be fed? Student medications will need to be arranged and brought on the trip as well, so coordinate with your school nurse. Additionally, parent permissions for these events need to be received.

This may seem like a lot to do and can be daunting for someone the first time it is done. I still see this as a rewarding experience for students and well worth the extra work to set up. Give it a try!

Have you taken any students on an extended trip? Share your stories and/or photos with us!

Dr. Mike Siekkinen, a retired U.S. Navy submariner, became a teacher as a second career. He teaches history at St Marys Middle School as well as Adult and Career Education at Valdosta State in Georgia.

From the Homeschool Front … Learning to Drive by Colleen Hroncich

My husband didn’t get his driver’s license until he was 19. One of my favorite stories from his childhood is when his family rented mopeds in Florida and he had to ride in the sidecar of his mom’s bike. As a 19 year old. “Go faster!” he kept urging her. That experience inspired him to get his license that summer.


When we had kids, my husband always said he didn’t want them to get their licenses until they were 18. I was willing to wait until 17, but I thought 18 was ridiculous. I wanted them to have more experience before heading to college … and I wanted someone who could help with errands. As the kids got older and were involved in more activities, my husband sometimes had to be the runner. Suddenly he supported our kids getting their licenses at age 16.


I took our daughter to get her permit on her 16th birthday. She had prepped for the test, largely on her own, for several weeks; she passed with flying colors. We started practicing in an empty parking lot and soon graduated to local roads. Since I don’t really like to drive, my daughter got plenty of practice. After just three months with her permit, she drove five hours home from New Jersey while I “relaxed” (not quite!) in the seat next to her.

What a blessing it has been to have a teenage driver in our house! I mentioned in a previous post that I was in a fellowship program over the summer and wasn’t living at home. There’s no way I could have done that without my daughter being able to drive. Moreover, as homeschoolers, we have to get our kids to all of their activities without school buses. Having another driver makes that much easier. It also helps that I don’t have to get my daughter to and from her part-time job.


I’m shocked at how many kids have no interest in getting their licenses – and how many parents don’t want their children driving. While motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for teens, most teens will not have an accident and most accidents are preventable. Moreover, there is something to be said for having your child learn to drive while he or she has several years left of living at home under your guidance.


Learning to drive is a great way to teach responsibility, too. Kids can pay all or a portion of their car insurance and gas, which can help them understand and appreciate the costs involved in driving. Upkeep of the car can also be part of the deal. The threat of losing driving privileges is a powerful incentive for good behavior.



Having our oldest child learn to drive has been an educational experience for all of us. We know we need to remind her about safety and the risks of driving – especially as she becomes more confident in her abilities. That increased confidence is often what leads to teenage accidents. But all in all, it’s been a huge benefit for our family.

Colleen Hroncich loves that homeschooling allows her to learn right alongside her children. A published author and former policy analyst, Colleen’s favorite subjects are economics/public policy and history. She has been active in several homeschool co-ops and is a speech and debate coach.

Exams by Andy Jobson

Everyone knows that exams are stressful for students.  For students who have not performed well during the semester, the exam can ‘make or break’ the credit, determining if a course must be repeated.  Even for the good students, the ones who care deeply about their grades, the exam can make the difference between an A or a B.

American students, though, might like to know that British students face a much more stressful exam time.  For one thing, the exams tend to come only at the end of the year, meaning that you have to remember a whole year’s worth of material.  For another, the exam can represent half of the final grade; at my school, the exam is only worth 20% of the semester.  When I spent my junior year abroad, stories were rampant of the various ways students coped (or failed to cope) with the anxiety.  One of my favorites involved a student who brought a teddy bear (presumably as a comfort) to the exam; midway through, he received permission to visit the loo.  Upon his return, he glanced at his paper and grew enraged.  “Why haven’t you done more than this?”  he yelled at his bear.  “Don’t you realize the time?”  He then proceeded to tear the bear apart.  (Of course, since I didn’t observe this directly, I cannot swear to its veracity!)

Students need to understand that exams can be stressful for teachers, too.  I always fret about whether I’m being too tough or too easy.  Did I cover the material sufficiently?  Did I ask the questions in a fair way?  Multiple choice tests can be challenging to write; I want my answers to have one clear ‘best’ answer without having too many ridiculous options.  Essay and short answer tests are easier to write, but tougher to grade.  How do I determine the point value of various questions?  What must a student say in order to receive full credit?

Mostly, though, the exam tells me if I’ve been successful in reaching my students.  What do they recall?  Did I manage to make them care about the material enough to prepare?  It’s always disheartening to see the occasional blank page, where a student clearly remembers nothing.  It can be ironic when a student displays absolutely no understanding or knowledge of anything I tried to teach, then writes on the final page something like “Thanks for being a great teacher!” 

I do sometimes laugh at the responses; we’ve all seen our share of crazy answers.  One of my favorites this year was in response to the question, “What book in 1798 launched the Romantic Movement in Britain?”  More than one thought the safest answer was Romanticism for Dummies.  A few others, possibly already thinking of college, wrote Romanticism 101.

Any teachers out there want to share the best ‘wrong’ answers to your exams this year?  Please share below.  Have a great, test-free summer! 

An educator of 22 years, Andy Jobson has taught government, economics, and U.S. History. Currently teaching English literature at Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville, GA, he’s also been an administrator, a STAR teacher twice, and taught elementary school with Teach for America.

From the Homeschool Front … The Law by Colleen Hroncich

In a previous post I discussed Frederic Bastiat, a French economist and politician who lived from 1801-1850.  One of his seminal works, The Law, was published not long before his death in 1850. At the time he wrote The Law, socialists in France were proposing government program after government program to “solve” perceived social and economic problems. Bastiat was trying to show people that the law is meant to protect their rights not violate them.

“The law perverted! And the police powers of the state perverted along with it! The law, I say, not only turned from its proper purpose but made to follow an entirely contrary purpose! The law become the weapon of every kind of greed! Instead of checking crime, the law itself guilty of the evils it is supposed to punish!” Bastiat gets off to a roaring start on the first page of The Law.

Bastiat goes on to note, “Life, liberty, and property do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it was the fact that life, liberty , and property existed beforehand that caused men to make laws in the first place.” The law is the “collective organization of the individual right to lawful defense.” Thus the law should not be used for any purpose other than to defend the life, liberty, and property of all.

When the law is used to take from one group and give to another, Bastiat calls this “legal plunder” and denounces the practice. When the law permits the government to do to citizens what would be illegal for citizens to do to each other then the law has been perverted. Bastiat provides numerous examples of the injustices perpetrated by the government under the socialists’ plans: protective tariffs, subsidies, guaranteed profits, guaranteed jobs, and more. Examine these, he says, and you will find they are always based on “legal plunder, organized injustice.”

The best summary of The Law is probably Bastiat’s frequently repeated phrase, “The law is justice.” More precisely, he points out, the purpose of the law is to prevent injustice. If governments could stick to this definition of the law, freedom would abound.

Colleen Hroncich loves that homeschooling allows her to learn right alongside her children. A published author and former policy analyst, Colleen’s favorite subjects are economics/public policy and history. She has been active in several homeschool co-ops and is a speech and debate coach.

On Idleness by Andy Jobson

It’s funny how quickly bad habits can set in.  After a few weeks of summer lethargy, I found myself struggling to use my time well in pre-planning this year.  That’s when I recalled Samuel Johnson’s essay “On Idleness,” which I have often shared with seniors.

Johnson presents an amusing assessment of a vice which, though not as widely disparaged as pride, may nonetheless be just as problematic.  He argues that idleness can often be hidden in ways that pride or wrath may not.  My students love the description of the truly idle, who rise from bed merely to find their way to the couch, who exercise just enough to get tired so that they can sleep again, who “exist in a state of unruffled stupidity, forgetting and forgotten… and at whose death the survivors can only say, that they have ceased to breathe.”

The real value of the essay, though, is its analysis of the ways we hide our idleness.  We do this by staying busy on the non-essential things.  Maybe we invest

hours of time in preparing our workplace, sharpening pencils and straightening stacks.  Maybe we fill the day with “petty business,” staying busy but not productive.  Hobbies can be entertaining ways to spend time, but Johnson notes his own tendency to while away the hours on something that truly just prevents him from addressing priorities.  One vice I especially have to fight is the fancy that I am engaged in important business when having conversations with fellow teachers. Of course I can learn a lot from them, and sometimes it is time well spent, but it can also be a way of hiding from the work I really have to do. 

I’m probably in the minority of teachers who waste time this way, but I have found his gentle humor helpful in redirecting me when I am tempted by the trivial.  Have a great (and productive) year!

An educator of 22 years, Andy Jobson has taught government, economics, and U.S. History. Currently teaching English literature at Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville, GA, he’s also been an administrator, a STAR teacher twice, and taught elementary school with Teach for America.

econlife - China’s Recycling Reversal by Elaine Schwartz

People living near Portland, Oregon were recently told to hold on to many of their plastics. 

The local recycler was no longer accepting them.

Where are we going? To a massive shift in waste.

The World’s Waste

China has told the WTO (World Trade Organization) that it will no longer take 24 kinds of waste. The decision was a whopper. As the prime destination for the world’s recyclables, China gets a lot of our waste.

China had two reasons:

1. The waste was too dirty. After all, our Amazon boxes are okay but not all of the plastic and foam inside. And beyond that, we discard our clothes hangers, shoes and garden hoses. Most then go to sorting machines that inadequately separate the filthy and hazardous materials from everything else. China used to get it all. Now they are saying “No.”
2.  They are more affluent. China can afford to purchase the new materials they need to make carpets and pipes and all they send us. They can import new plastics.

This is what China’s imported solid waste looked like in 2013:

As polyethylenes imported from the U.S., the images will soon be very different.

Our Bottom Line: Externalities

China recycled 56% of the world’s plastics. It received 20 million tons of US scrap metal in one year. It got hundreds of thousand of tons of waste paper.

No more.

Last year, it told the WTO that, “By the end of 2017, China will forbid the import of 4 classes, 24 kinds of solid wastes, including plastics waste from living sources, vanadium slag, unsorted waste paper and waste textile materials.”

The result will surely be a ripple of externalities. Hong Kong’s elderly waste paper collectors will lose their income. Portland and other municipalities will lose the income they received from selling recyclables. On the other hand, makers of virgin polyethylene (like DowDuPont) will have a new market. In the EU, Australia, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and the U.S., countless businesses will rethink the flow of waste.

Quartz said that when China sneezes, the world…you know.

My sources and more: Always interesting, Quartz reminded me that it was time to return to China’s recycling role. The Quartz article had multiple superb links. It took me to documents that ranged from a WTO notice to an Oregon metro article. I also read what is happening to communities in California and this Bloomberg analysis.

Ideal for the classroom, econlife.com reflects Elaine Schwartz's work as a teacher and a writer. As a teacher at the Kent Place School in Summit, NJ, she’s been an Endowed Chair in Economics and chaired the history department. She’s developed curricula, was a featured teacher in the Annenberg/CPB video project “The Economics Classroom,” and has written several books including Econ 101 ½ (Avon Books/Harper Collins). You can get econlife on a daily basis! Head to econlife.