School Library Month

This April is the 25th annual observation of School Library Month! According to the American Library Association, "Every April school librarians are encouraged to create activities to help their school and local community celebrate the essential role that strong school library programs play in a student's educational career. The 2010 theme will be "Communities Thrive @ your library."

In keeping with this theme, I am pleased to offer a presentation to the Board of Education and the NMHS PTO to showcase some of the Web 2.0 applications that I use and that I encourage our students and teachers to use. The presentation will be this Tuesday, April 13th at 7:00 PM, and we will meet in Room 240 - across the hall from the Library. Seating is limited, but I hope all BOE and PTO members will try to join me!

I hope you will agree with the statement made by the 2010 Spokesperson for School Library Month, award-winning young adult author Laurie Halse Anderson: "School libraries are the foundation of our culture, not luxuries.”

Whether the medium is print or online, school libraries are vital to the success of our students. Numerous studies and reports point to the correlation between student achievement and the presence of a certified school library media specialist in each school's library media center.

Please click on the following links for more information:

http://www.blogger.com/www.davidvl.org/research.html

http://http://www.blogger.com/www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/aaslarchive/resourceguides/studentachievement.cfm

During School Library Month, please make every effort to learn more about our school's valuable resource, the Library Media Center. I am always happy to fill you in on the services we offer.

Teachers: Learn More about Web 2.0

Although this post is available to all, I hope to attract the attention of teachers with it. Here is a newly-launched ebook that you can download for free. Just click on the link, http://www.terry-freedman.org.uk/web2_2010/Amazing%20Web%202%20Projects.pdf, and you will have many Web 2.0 resources and lesson plans! Did I mention it's free???

Please give this a try. I'm certain that you will find something here that you can use as is or that you can tweak enough to make it just right for your classes. If you find something of interest, please let me know!! If you need assistance, I will be happy to see if I can help.

Web 2.0 apps are new for all of us! If you haven't tried any out yet, the ideas given here might provide the motivation you need.

I look forward to hearing from you -- Please feel free to respond to this post to let the NMHS community (and beyond) know what idea(s) you will try.

Remember that I am eager to collaborate with you on lessons, especially those involving Web 2.0 technologies. Let's discuss how we can work together!

The United Message at TEDxNYED

On Saturday, March 6th, I attended my first TEDxNYED event. At the suggestion of my principal, Eric Sheninger, I applied to this full-day conference about learning in the 21st century. I am so glad that my application was accepted, as it was a terrific experience! I will provide just a few of the gems that I gleaned there.

I want to know your thoughts about the ideas included here, so please post a comment!!

Online community organizer Andy Carvin spoke about getting teens involved in online volunteering. He gave examples of how using social media has helped to save lives, including during the recent/current crisis in Haiti.


Cultural anthropologist Mike Wesch spoke about the critical need for our students to be more than "knowledgeable"; they must be "knowledge-able".


MIT Professor Henry Jenkins spoke of the effects of participatory media on young people and the fact that social networking allows for a participatory culture.


"Chief Openness Officer" David Wiley gave the important message that without sharing there is no education. He highlighted the idea that our new technologies give us an unprecedented capacity to share and educate. However, we must still overcome the challenge of policies that block valuable websites and do not encourage openness.


Associate professor Jeff Jarvis discussed the notion that our schools are stuck in an outmoded industrial-age model. He stated that our schools should become incubators to identify and grow students' interests rather than remain factories where so-called mastery is often memorization! He stressed that we need to stop the "culture" of standardized tests and emphasize authentic learning.


Chris Lehmann, creator and principal of Philadelphia's Science Leadership Institute, gave a strong conclusion to the day's presentations. He talked about the "maddening paradox" of education in 2010, where we can do amazing things, but nobody cares unless you can pass the test. He said that while technology may not help students pass the test, it will help them learn. To be successful and functional in today's world, he posited that students must be able to think for themselves. Technology provides avenues to accomplish this goal by enabling students to create, research, collaborate, present and network.

Other speakers made equally good and important presentations. Trust me that I am barely scratching the surface in this post. There was tremendous consensus on the part of all presenters about the direction that education must take in order to prepare our students for our current and future world.

While the bulk of the day showcased these presenters and more, participants also had ample opportunity to "meet and greet" and compare notes with other educators. In doing so, I made a contact that I expect will result in my learning from someone who has already used a Web 2.0 app that I would like to try.

It is always excellent to be able to have such conversations with professional colleagues. The give-and-take allows us each to move forward without having to reinvent the wheel. The sharing that occurred at TEDxNYED and that occurs regularly through online vehicles such as nings and Twitter results in new ideas and strategies that help educate our students in 2010.

Let's Hear from You!

I'd like to know what books you have enjoyed lately. Let's use this blog as a place to exchange ideas. I encourage you to write a response to my post -- It's easy, just click on the word "comments" at the end of this post.

We definitely have readers in this school -- Some of you prefer mysteries, some prefer fantasies, some prefer romance, and some prefer to read nonfiction. So, what have you read recently that you might recommend?

For those of you who believe it would be good for you to read more, but you're not sure where to start, you might find some suggestions in my blog posts. Of course, I would love to chat with you about your interests and see if I can make some book suggestions for you. Again, as I mentioned last post, please take a look at www.shelfari.com or www.goodreads.com to get some other ideas. If you scroll down my blog page, and look to the right, you will see my Shelfari bookshelf. Please click "next" to see more of the books on my shelf. If you hover your mouse over any of the books, you will see either my review or the publisher's blurb about the book.

Do any of you use a Kindle or another e-reader? Feel free to post a comment on this blog to let us know how you like using it.

As for me, I have just finished reading Sarah's Key. It is Holocaust fiction, and it is very moving. Next up? I will read BookChat!'s next book, Wintergirls. I also want to read John Grisham's short story collection - all with a legal theme -Ford County. Jodi Picoult's newest book, House Rules, is now available too.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon!!!!

Making Connections

Making Connections --- That's what it's all about!

One of the many pleasures of reading is to share what you have read with friends and other people who like books. Online, there are several social book networking websites that offer you just that. Even if you aren't sure what you'd like to read next, these services can make you aware of many books you might enjoy.

All you need to do is register with a username and password. It's free, easy, and it gives you a chance to reflect on your reading too. You will be able both to inform others (your own friends and new online "friends") about books that you have loved/disliked/other as well as learn from others about titles you have not yet encountered.

Give it a try!

The one that I use is Shelfari (www.shelfari.com). If you look to the lower right side of this blog, you will see part of my Shelfari bookshelf. Click on the next button to see additional titles I have placed there. With Shelfari, you can build a bookshelf containing books you have already read, books you are currently reading, and books you hope to read in the future. Once you read a book, you can write a review for others to see. You can join or form a group to discuss a certain genre of book. You can view the most popular and the most highly recommended titles. You can also search titles by subject or tags. If you click on the cover of one of the books, it will open a page that provides information about that book.

Another website to consider is Goodreads (www.goodreads.com). It is similar to Shelfari, and it is also easy to use. There is a feature that offers additional interactivity: book quizzes and trivia; books selected authors are reading; book quotes popular with members; and a place to submit your writing. You can also install a Goodreads app on Facebook.

Please write a comment to this post to let me know if you have tried Shelfari, Goodreads, or a different social book networking site. Happy reading!

Thanksgiving

It's hard to believe that we are already celebrating Thanksgiving again! Although the year has been a very difficult one in terms of job loss and the dismal state of the economy, it is still important to reflect about the many reasons in our lives to be thankful.

Among those reasons is the access to unlimited reading material. Libraries are phenomenal resources of free information - especially important when every dollar counts. Please take advantage of all that your school and public libraries offer!

Reading opens the mind and allows the reader to consider new ideas. The more you read, the better a reader you become. I hope that students and adults alike will make the choice to be lifelong readers. Books, in all forms, enlighten, educate, and entertain us.

Has it been some time since you enjoyed reading a book just for fun? Over a long weekend, or simply during the months with shorter daylight hours, you have perfect opportunities to read!

Please feel free to send a comment to this post to share some interesting books that you have read recently. Often, you find out about the best reads by word of mouth. So, please share the names of books that have moved you and made a difference in your life. If you want to tell a bit more about the book, that's great - just don't write any "spoilers".

Right now, I'm finishing a novel called, People of the Book. I have a number of books that I want to read next. What about you? Will you choose to read over this holiday weekend?

By the way, I wonder if any of you use an e-reader, such as the Kindle. If you do, please share what you like or dislike about it.

I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving - and happy reading!

The Help

I read The Help by Kathryn Stockett recently. What a book! This novel, set in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960s, is an excellent work of historical fiction. The plot revolves around a group of young white women and the African-American women they employ to run their households and take care of their young children. Remember that the state of race relations at that time and in that place was quite different than now. The Civil Rights movement was barely getting started. There was tremendous fear among most African-Americans about the potentially dire consequences they would suffer for perceived inappropriate behavior -- and for good reason in such a racist society.



The characters are very well-drawn, and readers will care about what happens to them - especially the risk-takers. Lifelong friends, Skeeter, Hilly, and Elizabeth, are the main white women in the book. Their lives are about playing bridge and social climbing. Ambitious Skeeter, a recent college grad, is an aspiring writer. Her career gets launched when she is hired to write a column on housekeeping tips for a local newspaper. Skeeter, who is significantly more enlightened than the others, appeals on the sly to Elizabeth's maid, Aibileen, to give her the advice she needs to write the column.



Aibileen is understandably nervous about spending time with Skeeter that takes away from her duties. Over time, they build a relationship. Skeeter capitalizes on that "semi-friendship" when she shares her idea for a book she wants to write about the real story between the local maids and their employers. Even though their real names are not used, imagine the danger for an African-American to divulge the truth about their employers! Skeeter too risks her social standing and her friendships.



Aibileen ultimately agrees to help Skeeter, and she persuades Minnie, a more outspoken maid, to contribute too. About a dozen maids tell their stories. Some are truly heartbreaking. All are filled with raw emotion and told by hardworking, undervalued, and often mistreated women. The book is fraught with tension as the maids stealthily assist Skeeter by sharing their honest recountings of their experiences with the white families. They were as brave as Skeeter was naive about their undertaking.

The white women, other than Skeeter, are entirely clueless about the racist way they treat the help. They don't see any problem with requiring the maids to use separate toilets from the ones the families use because "everybody knows they carry different kinds of diseases than we do". They feel completely entitled to live their lives without reflection or empathy for anyone who they see as different.


Stockett, the author, is a white woman from Jackson, and she acknowledges that she can never truly know what the experience was like for an African-American maid. The language includes dialect that is authentic to that time period. Some readers may be put off by a white author injecting such
language that could be viewed as the sign of an uneducated person. However, I believe it rings true.


There are triumphs along the way, although some are small. That Skeeter is willing to risk her lifelong friendships as her understanding grows is a testament to her character, and it leaves the reader with a bit of hope. The bravery of the maids is huge -- They are smart women who are ready to expose the realities of their lives, and readers will certainly root for them. There are also elements of humor woven in to lighten the tone of the novel.

If you read this book, please post a comment to let me know your feelings about it. It is a book that I recommend highly.