My good friend, and guest blogger, Chris Taylor, shares his thoughts...


Even before the presidential election occurred, before the first ballot was cast and before MSNBC went all googly-eyed over him. It was somewhere between the Iowa Caucus and Super Tuesday, I began to notice a strange thing going on. Maybe some will call it a happening, a movement or just a trend. But, has anyone, besides me, recognized the fixation that kids have with President-Elect Obama? This fascination is neither subtle nor ...Read More

Comments (1)

A few years back, reporter, Cindy Hsu,  from CBS 2 News, interviewed me for a story featuring Online Educational Resources for Parents.  Basically it's a walk-through, showing parents fun and exciting websites for kids.

And since the holidays are headed this way, I wanted to share the link, in the event that your children have some down time. I know mine will. For some crazy reason, no homework was assigned. 

Anyway, here's the link and I hope you enjoy the story. PLEASE...Read More

Comments (0)

Yes - Peggy paints using her head because that's all she has to work with. And at 83 years old, Margaret "Peggy" Hart is not letting a lifelong handicap keep her from doing what she loves - exploring the world - through art - with a unique device attached to her head..
But before I share Peg's story, here's the background on how I learned about her. 

First of all, it's important to note that my nose-for-news comes via my mother, and like me, she too is always on-the-look-out for interesting stories to blog about.&nb...Read More

Comments (2)

I'll turn that question around. Are you happy? 

How do we really know if, when, and what makes us happy? I know for me, I am happy when things go according to plan and when they don't, I am miserable. It's that simple for me, as contrite as it sounds.

But back to the original question, Are Your Kids Happy? 

My honest answer is this. 

I never stop to think, are they happy? I wonder more...Are they healthy? Did they do some good today? Are their grades up-to-par? Do they understand the lesson? e...Read More

Comments (3)

Marc Aronson made a guest appearance at my school today!!!  Ahhh...two bloggers in the same room - means one thing - who will get the story out first? 

I actually invited Marc in to discuss his latest book, Unsettled: The Problem of Loving Israel (Ginee Seo Books 2008) with our upper school student body. 

Just to get an idea of how the title came about, here's a brief blurb about the book: "A deeply personal investigation of an extremely complex mor...Read More

Comments (2)

"I was watching the eleven o'clock news and they said a fire was in the park..."

As teachers, librarians - even parents, we all understand that everyday heroes are oftentimes those  we try to thread throughout our lesson plans and our everyday lives. We truly want our youngsters to witness - firsthand - those who made and are making our society (and our world) the grea...Read More

Comments (0)

SNIFF, SNIFF! No SLJ Summit for me this year. Hmmm...was it something I said? Oh, well. Someone had to stay home and babysit the blogs. 

Okay, since I am all alone, here's what I am going to do -- want to read some of my e-mails? I know you get enough of those, but these are pretty interesting. 

First up, Fred Roberts from Batian’s View Experiential Education Centre. Remember him? My Kenyan connection? Well, in his e-mail he first shared with me how exuberant the Kenyans were about Barack Obama winning the presidency - how exciting for them too - but he also provided me with blogs and dispatches; my first glimpse into the ...Read More

Comments (0)

It's something we all have to do in life - MEET - please, take me to the dentist first. 

I am definitely from the tell it to me in an e-mail, generation, and yes - meetings are not one of my top 10 favorite things to do. Who came up with the concept anyway? It doesn't even make my top 100 list. So when I saw this posting - Running More Productive Meetings - via a tweet from a colleague today, I said to myself, YES! Now this makes sense.  Btw, I apologize if I am offending anyone, I have to tell the truth. 

Here are my favorites from 43 Folders writer, Merlin Mann:
 
1) "Stay on target - Any item that c...Read More

Comments (0)

We are the ones we have been waiting for. -Alice Walker


Not only has Veterans Day stirred up a wealth of emotions in me today, but I can't believe - just one week ago today - Barack Hussein Obama changed American history as we know it. 

And for me, absorbed and immersed in the flurry of constant news stories, two letters emerged from the coverage that I felt needed more attention. 

The first is Alice Walker's, Open Letter To Barack Obama. In it she br...Read More

Comments (0)

It's Sunday night I know, but I am CALLING - virtually - ALL TEACHERS and LIBRARIANS because there's still time to enter - November 17, is the deadline!!!

Enter what, you ask?

Do take advantage of this wonderful opportunity from Earthwatch. (Thanks, Bonnie Bracey Sutton, for the heads up)

Read the blurb and then click the links for the experience of  a lifetime...

Dear Earthwatcher,

As the Education Fellowship outreach coordinator at Earthwatch, I’m happy to announce that we are currently...Read More

Comments (0)

Just last...

Friday I threw myself a pity party because I had so much to do and waited until the last minute to find a Halloween costume for my daughter. Well...here she is!!! She won the Emmy award for the silliest face. 

Tuesday, November 4, 2008 was still off in the distance.
 
Saturday was lesson planning and coaching basketball (wish I knew how to play) - not too eventful, but my MIND'S EYES were FOCUSED on Tuesday, November 4, 2008....Read More

Comments (3)

Before you watch my first video blog, who will ever forget yesterday? President-Elect, Barack Obama, has changed the ethos of America! And once my over-flooded, tired brain is fully wrapped around what this means for us as teachers, Americans and for our global partners in this world, I will have more.

 
Yesterday we held  a Mock Election for students in grades K-12 and I must say it was quite successful - a historic moment for me as an educator. Students ROCKING THE VOTE! 

School Library Journal writer, Kathy Ishizuka, ...Read More

Comments (5)