Knucklehead: Tall Tales and Almost True Stories of Growing up Scieszka by Jon Scieszka
Kill Shakespeare Volume 1 by Conor McCreery
Gone by Michael Grant"borrowed" from ED (but aren't teachers known for borrowing?)
1. Teachers know all the answers.
2. Teachers have to be in control of the class.
3. Teachers are responsible for the learning.
4. Students are obliged to respect teachers.
5. Learning can be measured by a letter or a number.
6. Teachers should plan activities and then assessments.
7. Learners need to sit quietly and listen.
8. Technology integration is optional.
9. Worksheets support learning.
10. Homework is an essential part of learning.
In my opinion, all of the above are outdated ideas. I won’t elaborate at the moment, as I’d rather have your input! Which ones do you agree with? Disagree? Challenge? Question?
The Sixth Grade Nickname Game by Gordon Korman
A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck
Richard Peck is a great ya/children's author. He writes this novel, and it's prequel 
from the point of view of Joey and Mary Alice Dowdel who spend time with their grandmother in her small Illinois town. As everything is seen through the eyes of the kids, the action and motivations of Grandma are not always clear. In this novel, Mary Alice spends a year during the Depression living with Grandma to save her parents money. She has many adventures with Grandma Dowdel, an imposing woman in both size and personality, who has eyes in the back of her heart.
Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet by Erin Dionne
Hebrews 13:2
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
How far would you go to conform?
ating: 3 Berries = I liked it.
I knew that forcing my students to read the same word on the same page of the same book at the same time was wrong, but I didn't know a different way to do it. Just the idea of allowing student to choose their own books excites me for next year. I'm going to need help letting go of the control (I have strict rules about how I think books should be treated), but if I'm half as successful as Mrs. Miller, it will be worth it. Can I teach with the common themes of literary elements or figurative language instead of the same book? Will all my students "get it?" What will I do if they choose not to read? I don't know all the answers, but I can't wait to try.
I'm kinda proud of it. Plus, I feel the need to earn the right to have him wear the "My Auntie is the BEST" onesie I purchased.
~Matt Carr
I’m glad my brain runs counter to Mr. Carr’s assertion that the Internet is making humans stupider, causing a lack of focus & deep reading. He should be glad too, since I read all of his article, didn’t click on any links, remember what I read and care to comment on it. You can read the article here. I cut/paste quotes that rang loudly in my mind with my own comments below.
When we read online, we tend to become “mere decoders of information.” Our ability to interpret text, to make the rich mental connections that form when we read deeply and without distraction, remains largely disengaged.
~ Maryanne Wolf, a developmental psychologist at Tufts University
I think I agree. My anecdotal evidence is conversations with my husband. He is a voracious reader of the ‘Net, & he remembers everything he reads. He imparts to me the articles he’s read, the information he’s gathered. However, quite often there is no connection made or conclusion drawn. We often get in arguments, because I’m asking him, “What’s the point?” and he’s frustrated because “There isn’t one.” He’s just repeating information. Don’t get me wrong; my husband is one of the most intelligent people I know; he remembers everything he reads. I know he applies the knowledge in several situations, but at first he’s just a gatherer/dispenser of information, not a deep reader.
even the adult mind “is very plastic.” Nerve cells routinely break old connections and form new ones. “The brain,” according to Olds, “has the ability to reprogram itself on the fly, altering the way it functions.”
~ James Olds, a professor of neuroscience who directs the Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study at George Mason University
So, you can teach can old dog new tricks. I'm looking forward to continuous learning.
Deep reading, as Maryanne Wolf argues, is indistinguishable from deep thinking.
I again agree with Mr. Carr that the loss of deep thinking would be a tragedy. This is a lot coming from me. I’m an indecisive person who often gets caught up in too much deep thinking. I also value efficiency above most other things. Efficiency is the key to this new thinking & new technology. But think of the tragedy the loss of deep thinking would create. Yes, we’d do our tasks with greater efficiency, but who would invent to tasks? Would they be lost to the goal of efficiency? Learning something new is not always efficient. Thinking for many hours (days, years) about a concept, philosophy, ideal, may not be efficiency, but it can lead to increased understanding & quality of life.
As we are drained of our “inner repertory of dense cultural inheritance,” Foreman concluded, we risk turning into “‘pancake people’—spread wide and thin as we connect with that vast network of information accessed by the mere touch of a button.”
I see this already in our public schools. The Federal & State mandates require so much content that it cannot be covered in a school year, let alone 18 years of school. If all present content is to be taught, we cannot be k-12 schools, we must become k-22. So what is the solution? Pancake teaching, pancake curriculum. We spread ourselves several miles wide, but only a centimeter thick. We have embraced quantity over quality, & in result, sacrificed knowing knowing very much about a very little, & very little about a very much. Efficiency & productivity are great for machines; this country was built on the Industrial Revolution. But while knowing how to make a cog in a wheel earns a paycheck; knowing how to carve the entire wagon earns time with your family, knowledge of a craft, self-sufficiency, & knowledge you can pass along to others.
Comments to the aforementioned article here.
The original article here.
We all know that being a parent doesn't come with an instruction manual, and the one found at Fatherhood.gov doesn't really cut it. Somehow my parents raised me well. I have a feeling they learned how from their parents' example, not a website. In honor of Father's Day, I'd like to share a few of the things my parents taught me.
Daddy taught me (through example):
Mama taught me (through example): 
Being part of this family means unconditional love, support, encouragement, safety, work, and security.
Last summer, we bought the house.
James 1:12
Orson Scott Card is one of my top 5 fave authors. This book kept me riveted. It opened my imagination to science fiction. Just the thought of training in a virtual life sized video game in zero gravity! And the brilliance of Ender. How he defeated not only his opponents, teachers, military leaders, but the GAME itself. Card is a brilliant writer. He keeps so many personalities believable. He sees the workings of government and the human mind clearly. I'm glad Card transformed his short story into a novel. A must read for any science fiction fan.
