Thinking about Social Justice

I’m doing a little exploring about our social justice projects. Today Wednesday, Aug. 12, President Obama awarded 16 people the Medal of Freedom for their contributions to society. These people all spent their lives working for the greater good. You may like to explore some of them for your American Hero.

Another person in the news this week is Eunice Shriver, President Kennedy’s sister, who died on Tuesday. She initiated the Special Olympics in 1968, and is widely admired for her commitments to this underserved population. You can find more on her here.

There are lots of sites on social justice and tolerance for schools which should be helpful to spark some of your ideas. Let me know when you find others.

Welcome to Silver789 . . .

and you’ll just have to guess who it really is, haha. He joined us today.

I’ve just finished watching the 5th Harry Potter, and reading the 6th in preparation to seeing the movie in a couple of weeks, when some family members can get free. Word is that you like it, huh?

Looks like we teachers will have only a couple of days to get ready for you, so you may be helping me unpack my room, from where I packed it up in May so the floor waxers could get around in there easily. All our stuff is in a closet around the corner – but don’t worry – I’ll at least get your textbooks out in time to meet you, haha.

I’m all done with college until up in August, so here’s a couple more books I finished in the meantime:

Impossible by Nancy Werlin. She based this story on the song “Scarborough Fair,” and it’s a spooky one. Seems as though some evil faery knight has put a curse on the family of Lucy Scarborough, and the women have been under his power for generations. She figures it out, but only after a pretty scary year and humming the song a lot. I liked it, though some of the scenes were a little strong for my tastes; I don’t like kids dying, ya know?

The other one is Blood Brothers, by S.A. Harazin, for ages 14 and up, which is you. Lots of blood – apparently the author worked in a hospital when she was young. The book is kind of preachy, but the main character, Clay, is a fella you can sympathize with. Teens making dumb decisions. More death and destruction. Not a fun book.

Anyway, we’ll have multiple copies of these in the media center, and if you join the Reading Bowl team, you’ll have access to them.

This is Sunday: yike! – you have only a week and a day left of your vacation – sorry! Remember the deadline for your Readers’ Responses is this coming Friday, the 31st.

Welcome to Worth . . .

who has moved into our area and will be joining us in Honors 9. A few of you might introduce yourselves to him before we meet on August 4th.

Sorry to have been so silent lately: I’ve been working on a proposal I want to do in Atlanta in October – it’ll be a movie day for you, unless we are writing some looooonnnnnng paper, haha.

Kamish, can you PUL-EZE tell me how you uploaded your picture to your blog? I’ve looked everywhere and can’t figure it out.

MsW

This was fun at myWebFace

Create your own But it really doesn’t show how OLD I am. In one of my classes at Kennesaw, which I’m just finishing up, we learned all sorts of cute stuff I can show you. Making an avatar is one of many ways you can protect your identity on the web, which as you know is pretty important.  I’ve got a couple of new books to tell you about, but I have a paper to finish this morning, so that’ll have to be later. Meanwhile, don’t forget to see Tater Patch’s The Producers at the high school auditorium, except I’ve heard you should probably not take your great-grandmother if you are embarrassed easily. I’m going tonight if I get done with this last paper . . .

Welcome to Rebecca . . .

. . . whom you will find at curlygirl117 on the right. Say hi to her on her blog.

And I want to tell you about another book I finished which is on the Reading Bowl list: Wake by Lisa McMann. It was quick to read, and very enjoyable, except for some slang I couldn’t use in front of my grandchildren, which I had better get used to, with young adult fiction (*sigh* – my mama woulda smacked me – well, not really, but she would have given me a LOOK). Janie has a mind that reels in other peoples’ dreams and nightmares, plus an interesting buddy named Cabel, who has some questionable activities of his own going on. It’s told in little time sequences, and much of it is in the present tense, making it very immediate.  It was a fun read, and seems like it ought to have a sequel, of course.

Welcome to Patricia and Trey. . .

. . . who join us today. She’s reading The Host for her contemporary – is anyone else reading it also? If so, you can drop her a note, but don’t give away the ending! Trey hasn’t told us what he’s reading yet.

I just finished City of Bones last night, by Cassandra Clare. It actually reminds me a lot of the Twilight series, as the heroine, who is 15 when the book begins and turns 16 during the book, meets up with some kids who hunt demons, so they are kind of supernatural like Edward and his family. The hero, Jace, is mysterious and cool and has perfect hair – you know, all the things a hero should be and have. Apparently there are two more in the series, so I’ll have to hunt for those here in the Canton library, since this first one was very entertaining and I want to see what happens to them next.

Has any of you read these books?

Welcome to Molly . . .

. . . who added her blog on Friday. Visit her site by clicking on 2molly2 on the right. Let her know what you think about blogging and what you are reading.

If anyone wants to join Goodreads, click here, and you can leave reviews of your books there and invite friends to be in your groups. There’s so much you can do on line! If you do, let me know, and I’ll put you on my “Friends” list. So far I don’t have a soul there. You can be the FIRST!

A Good Book . . .

. . . that I just read is Lessons From a Dead Girl by Jo Knowles. (Look! I found the italics!) It is on the list of 20 Reading Bowl books, and is about a girl named Laine who has had a friendship with Leah since 5th grade – or HAS she?  It’s a good look at how kids treat each other. Do you ever talk mean to your friends? Do you have to have your own way? You can read a review or write one yourself at

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/451220.Lessons_from_a_Dead_Girl

It’s pretty in the Tennessee mountains, where I was visiting my dad for Father’s Day this weekend. He wanted to know about Twitter, and how people text each other. He’s 93. Do you think he’ll get connected? That would be so cool.

Welcome to . . .

Chase and Heather.
No report on what they are reading, yet, but you can talk to them via the links I added to their pages on the right: sneakiestpine and officiallavahead. Interesting names! We’ll have to hear why when class begins to meet.
My own reading for fun has slowed down considerably now that my three classes at Kennesaw have begun to meet (June 8). When I get back from the Tennessee mountains this weekend, visiting my dad for Father’s Day,
I’ll write about Lessons From a Dead Girl, Wake, and City of Bones, all from this year’s Reading Bowl list.
Hmmm . . . those titles should be in italics. I wonder where I do that on here?
Let me know how you are doing!
MsW

Welcome to McKala . . .

and add her to your blogrolls. She’s reading  To Kill a Mockingbird – anybody want to comment? Also, McKala, be sure to add the others from our class blogroll to your blog, and then you can talk with others who have read it.

I put a few remarks about Animal Farm on her page, so if any of you need help with that one, you can go there. Of course, there’s lots of help on the Web for each of these classics, but I favor Spark Notes because there are fewer distractions and less silly stuff there.  Please read the books before you go there, though, as they have some notions that aren’t strictly accurate, and besides, I want you to form your own opinions first. Remember, no tests on these books in August when we meet; we’re just discussing them in lit circles, so you need to remember what’s going on in each book – remember your Reader’s Response work.

Here’s the link to SparkNotes.

MsW