1. Mike Phipps

   Thank you very much for this short view of what has and is being done in East Fort Worth’s Tandy Hills Nature Area and Prairie Park. Even though it is a short video is does inform us well of what the park is up against in its survival. Keep up the great work!
   Thanks again

   Jan 18th, 2008

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2. Pete Wann

   

   Damn! If I had kids, I’d send them to Nolan Catholic, despite the second part of that name. I’ve seen worse videos come out of “professional” shops. Combine that with the obvious passion of this teacher for his field and for teaching these kids, it’s no wonder the who’s who send their kids to private schools around here.

   It’s not my intention to turn this into a public vs. private schools thread, but I count myself fortunate that I went to a small school. We got to do a lot of the things that I hear about the private schools around here doing, and I feel like our teachers were just as passionate, despite being paid a public schoolteacher’s salary. I’ve been reading lately that part of the reason our public education system is getting so bad is because the school districts are so focused on consolidation in order to save money. I think that our kids would be better served by smaller, more neighborhood focussed schools instead of the behemoths that are out there now. The only problem is that they wouldn’t field nearly as good football teams…

   Jan 18th, 2008

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3. Bernie

   

   Hey! Lay off the Catholics dude!

   Jan 18th, 2008

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4. Ron W

   I am totally amazed that in the 21st Century there are still people like Pete Wann that have such ignorant prejudice, esp. toward Catholics. I am a Baptist, but my son went to Nolan a few years ago to receive a great academic and Christion education. Our Parochial and Christion Schools like Nolan,Fort Worth Christian, All Saints, and Southwest Christian provide excellence not only in education but development of character and morality. Dr. Kuban is to be commended for his ability to mix learning with fun. My son and his classmates went on a trip to Costa Rica with Dr. Kuban a few years ago and had a blast. Nolan Catholic was instrumental in the success of my son at the collegiate level and in the business world. As a Baptist, I suggest you open up your mind to the greatness that Catholics bring to our world.

   Jan 18th, 2008

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5. peteg

   

   Hey Bro, I was raised Catholic. I feel the spirit of what you are saying tho.

   Jan 18th, 2008

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6. Bernie

   

   Hey Ron… I’m pretty sure PeteW was joking. Or at least only half-serious. Both PeteG and I were raised in the Catholic church, so I’d say that’s pretty good evidence that Pete isn’t prejudiced against Catholics.

   Thanks for coming to our defense, though!

   Jan 18th, 2008

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7. peteg

   

   Pete W is down with Catholics. Pete W is down with everyone. It’s all good. Knowing the dude, I think he made a wisecrack that didn’t carry over to well in the written word. The whole comment thread blows my mind a bit because I have never lived in an area where historically Catholics were the victims of prejudice. Far out.

   Jan 18th, 2008

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8. Pete Wann

   

   My comment had nothing to do with the fact that Nolan is a Catholic school. I would have said the same thing if it were Nolan Jewish, Nolan Christian, Nolan Muslim, or Nolan Pastafarian. I feel that it’s a poor reflection on the state of our public education system when people feel that they MUST send their children to private schools in order to get a decent education. Aside from the FIRST SENTENCE of a two-paragraph response, it sounded to me like I was pretty effusive in my praise of Dr. Kuban and the school at which he’s employed.

   Ron, I’d like to know how you decided that I’m ignorant? Seems to me we’ve never met, but you quickly jumped to the conclusion that I lack knowledge or awareness nonetheless. Not everyone shares your worldview, and I certainly don’t speak for the other folks affiliated with this site on this topic, but I’d be happy to continue this discussion via e-mail (petew@westandclear.com) with anyone who wants to take me up on it.

   Jan 18th, 2008

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9. Don Young

   Hey, dudes, it’s not just Catholics that get criticized. Those are some big chips on your shoulders. Be glad you weren’t raised Baptist!!! One thing I have learned is that, ALL religious beliefs could use a little scrutinizing now and then. A little levity is good for the soul, assuming we have souls. SInce we’re way off topic, I might as well throw a little fuel on this fire by suggesting that everyone go buy or rent the dvd, Fellini’s Roma. Maestro Fellini criticized the Catholic Church in a very entertaining and insightful manner. Even Catholics will find the Vatican fashion show a hoot.

   Now back to Tandy Hills, check this out:

   http://www.durangotexas.com/eyesontexas/fortworth/tandyhillspark.htm

   DY

   Jan 19th, 2008

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10. peteg

    

    By the way, Nolan atudents–excellent job. That’s a really good video. Sorry the bad joke/tolerance discussion stole the spotlight a bit.

    Jan 20th, 2008

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11. Christian Long

    First and foremost, these students (and Dr. Kuban) deserve ALL of the focus in this comment thread.

    Appreciate @peteg making the “spotlight” comment above. Hard to criticize young people for being collectively “distracted” and “self-focused” in this day and age when the very adults taking time to comment on student work demonstrate precisely the lack of attention so oft defined as being a mark of immaturity/respect. Hopefully all comments from this point forward will focus on the kids’ work, thinking, collaboration, and what the potential is if more teachers like Dr. Kuban continue to blend traditional and “School 2.0″ pedagogy to support their students/schools.

    Second, @PettWann’s original point — before the conversation was waylaid — regarding the “professional” quality of the students’ work is to be echoed. Can’t agree with him more.

    Living in a day and age where Web 2.0 technologies and digital storytelling projects continue to be the rage in most front-edge educational conversations (and bantered about in edu-blogs everywhere), I applaud this class and teacher for editing/producing academic content with an eye on their audience’s interest level. This is especially true given the subject matter.

    Ultimately, the video end-product must play second fiddle to Dr. Kuban’s learning objectives. The video is value-added. Given that most student projects that integrate technology (think of the last PowerPoint presentation you’ve seen a student/teacher do; heck, think about the last one you’ve seen in a corporate or community organization arena) rarely manage to engage their audience or show awareness of presentation skills, this is a refreshing video to review.

    It is one thing to be able to “publish” globally or to use new tech. It is quite another to do it well…and keep your audience’s interest at the same time. This is where Dr. Kuban’s class pulled off something really sharp and vital.

    Emerging technologies (i.e. releasing student-produced work via a blog) allow teachers/students like this Nolan team to strike an innovative/inviting cord in the process. When done well, such as in this video, we as an audience (without necessarily being personally connected to the school or these kids/teacher) become fully engaged in a problem set so easily overlooked in a sound-byte culture. This can even be true for “grassland studies” on the edge of Ft. Worth, TX.

    As a college prep, independent school teacher working with high school and middle school students ‘right down the street’ from Nolan H.S., I’d be thrilled to call Dr. Kuban a colleague and these kids my own students. Given the transparent and 2-way nature of blogging, for instance, I can at easily define them as virtual “mentors” and “colleagues” while still loving where I am currently teaching.

    Looking forward at my own 2nd semester (working specifically with 10th graders), I am anxious to consider how we can produce similar caliber work in the months ahead (at least in a beta-test way). Projects like Dr. Kuban’s — and mentoring like his — are precisely why families seek schools like Nolan and my own (regardless of any social/cultural elements that may be at play in an individual school). Getting into college is one thing, as are the opportunities to be “known” by your teachers and be in smaller learning environments. More to the point, programs that focus on authentic and collaborative work that continually reinforce an intellectually curious foundation while supporting innovative expression of our students’ best ideas are what schools like Nolan truly stand for. And it is what all schools — public, charter, and/or private — should consider as de rigeur in this day and age when throughtful research and new technologies merge. It just takes an investment to push beyond the historic blackboard and 4 separate walls of our individual classrooms to show what is possible now.

    I am encouraged that such a legitimate storytelling process (from research to raw footage to storyboarding to editing to publishing the piece globally via the blogosphere) is alive and well in the city which I call home. This will be a project/link I will share with my colleagues and administrative team — as well as my students — in the coming days with an eye on how we as an academic community can emulate the practice of integrating emerging digital storytelling tools into classic educational practice to further our collective academic endeavors and the ongoing success of our students in this day and age.

    Strikes me that such a video — properly placed on Nolan’s home page — would be a striking invitation to new families/students wanting to see what is possible in an independent school setting. Given the attention that forward-thinking education publications/foundations — such as Edutopia (a key asset of the George Lucas Educational Foundation, i.e. “Star Wars” money) — give to digital educational projects just like this, it’d be a shame if this story were only briefly discussed in the local Ft. Worth area. To prevent that, I’ll be sharing it with a wide array of national/international education and technology/media bloggers (via my blog, at the upcoming EduCon 2.0 in Philadelphia next weekend, and beyond) with the hope that Dr. Kuban and his students receive the proper attention they have earned.

    Finally, I’m so pleased that this classroom is available to all of us in this blogging format. I’m looking forward to hopefully meeting Dr. Kuban in the future and seeing what else he and his students are working on in his program. And I’m definitely looking forward to sharing this piece with others in my own network in an effort to broaden the collaborative reach of this group of engaged students (and their teacher).

    Cheers,
    Christian
    Educator/Coach, School Planner/Designer, Educational Consultant/Speaker, Edu-Blogger, and Ft. Worth Resident

    Jan 20th, 2008

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12. Chuck Johnson

    Hi all…

    For those of you who are educators, you can help Dr. Kuban and the school’s ecology program by signing up on the video contest website. Here’s the link:

    http://quantumshift.tv/schools/join.php?id=50&r=1081

    Each of you who sign up at the above link, Nolan receives 10,000 points. All others, if you have time, please sign up as an individual and watch the video on the contest site and comment on it.

    Thanks in advance,

    Chuck Johnson
    Video Producer
    817-429-0818

    Jan 20th, 2008

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