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Showing posts from December, 2011

beautiful libraries worldwide

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from bootsnall  It's early, but I only counted 7 .  . .

NC Teacher Evaluation Artifacts

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For those of you NOT in the know, NC adopted a teacher evaluation tool last year developed by McREL . We used to have one that was a few pages long in a 10-12 pt font. Teachers were marked on a five point scale from unsatisfactory to excellent. Most of it was things that could easily be observed in any lesson when the observer walked into your classroom - not all, but most. Enter the NEW evaluation tool. We have training . We have manuals . We have case studies . We have articles written about us. We have forms . We have artifacts . Because a great deal of what the instrument measures cannot be seen in any lesson. Some can, but not all. So now we have an instrument that is 11 pages in an 8 pt font. There are five standards with multiple sub standards which seem straight forward enough on the surface. To make things murky, however, the instrument has separated out things like Global Awareness, 21st Century learning, collaboration and technology. Those (in my poor feeble mind

Oh my! Dolly said what?!

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Sold by Toys R Us!  This is a video. I  was impressed that the minister's daughter told him that the doll needed to be returned to the store!  Gray said he and his wife played with the doll a little longer and it was clear to them the doll sounded as if it was saying an offensive word used toward women. "(It) truly has a potty mouth and hard to shut up once she gets started she enjoys saying it,” Gray said. Read more:  http://www.wxii12.com/news/30091106/detail.html#ixzz1hsVqTlDD Not quite like the Chatty Cathy I got 100 years ago ;)

Reading for Teens

I am about to enter my LAST semester of the MLS program. I'll be taking the practicum (110 hours mainly after school and on Saturdays - please pray that I do not become more unglued than I already am), and the not so anticipated Young Adult materials course. One thing I've discovered is that the Young Adult sections in the libraries round these parts are more than a bit skimpy. The required books for the course are: Crank by Ellen Hopkins - Book of poetry about a girl who goes to visit her father and gets hooked on crank. All the pitfalls are amazingly graphic. The poetry was hard to get into, but once I did, it really flowed. Beastly by Alex Flinn - Teenage retake on Beauty and the Beast. Pretty good. What Happened to Cass McBride by Gail Giles - Snotty girl disses guy who kills himself. Brother kidnaps her. Story is told from several points of view. Great twist at the end. Nicely done. Deadline by Chris Crutcher - Boy gets medical death sentence and decides to liv

Silent Ring Tone

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There's this number that keeps ringing in from Astoria OR. It usually rings during my last class of the day. It's got to be a sales call because they NEVER leave a message and I just don't pick up most numbers when I don't know the caller. Well, I wouldn't pick up during class anyway because most everyone who calls me knows I teach and can't talk just any old time. I try to remember to put my phone on vibrate, but sometimes I forget. I started looking for a solution and thought about a call blocker app. The only ones that seem to work for sure are for jailbreaks. I don't even know how to use "jailbreak" properly in that previous sentence although I do know what it means and am just not sure I'm ready to go there yet. So I searched for another solution and found a silent ring tone . It's in step 1. Download it, add those annoying callers to your contact list and give them the silent treatment. Thank you Mr. Miller !

Birth of Christ in the digital age

I posted this last year and it's still good ;)

Merry Christmas!

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How To Give Your Students Unforgettable Directions

from one of my favorite bloggers on classroom managment: How To Give Your Students Unforgettable Directions

New Church

Yesterday, Ron and I went to see Sherlock Holmes . (yes! it was another really good movie!) We got there a little early when the adds were still on. There was one for New Church . It was a very clean ad with words along the lines of A New Church? In the Bible Belt? Really. And then just gave the url. So I went and found: The New Church is a new Christianity Oh really? Wondering what a *new* Christianity is. Of course I've got some suspicions all people who live good lives, regardless of their religion, are welcomed into heaven. Ahhh, didn't take too long to find it. This is an old church and based on the *theological* writings of the scientist Emanuel Swedenborg (1688 to 1772). Lots of items to read in a search of his name. Add the word cult to his and well, there's just too much to dig through. What I find interesting is that Jesus clearly said,  “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." And still, people who base their