33% of high school graduates and 42% of College graduates never read a book again.
Reading is a neurobiological workout for the brain. Read for the words.
Reading has the same physiological benefits as meditation.
Add two million words by reading 30 minutes a day in a year...100,000 new words per year. Retain a hundred new words a year at least.
Words are your own personal arsenal.
How we communicate...How we behave - who we are. "It all starts with word choice."
Make a meaningful connection to others - emotional intelligence begins with word choice.
“I am just as deaf as I am blind. The problems of deafness are deeper and more complex. Deafness is a much worse misfortune. For it means the loss of the most vital stimulus – the sound of the voice that brings language, sets thoughts astir, and keeps us in the intellectual company of men.” –Helen Keller
Do you know these words from Kelly Corrigan's TED Talk?
Independent Reading Project: Selling the idea that we read what we want to read (not what we "have to" read).
Watch this video. It makes English teachers cry (in the beginning)...
Penny Kittle argues students should choose what they read:
"I believe each of my students must craft an individual reading life of challenge, whim, curiosity, and hunger. I believe in the collecting, noticing, living work of designing lessons to empower writers. I believe teachers provide vision for students; we live a belief in their success every day we teach."
Check out these lists (please share more lists below):
Design a project in the shop. In addition, write an object label (as they do in a gallery or museum), letting visitors know:
1.The artist's name – that’s you.
2.The title of the work.
3.The medium of the work.
4.The size of the work.
5.And a didactic text: interpretive/educational texts related to an exhibition, usually written by exhibition curators. Also, the price of the work (if applicable).
• Allow yourself to check all digital communications, but then shut everything down and silence your phone.
• Set an alarm for 15 minutes.
• When it rings, give yourself one minute for a tech check-in.
• Repeat this process until you’re comfortable increasing your off-grid time to an hour or several hours.
2. Take breaks every 90 minutes.
Our brains work in 90-minute rest-activity cycles, so we need to pause and recharge every hour and a half or so. This is especially true if we’re multitasking with technology, which leads to cognitive overload.
The following activities have a calming effect and will give your brain the break it needs:
• Walk in nature for 10 minutes.
• Listen to music.
• Look at art.
• Exercise.
• Meditate.
3. Keep technology out of your bedroom.
The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) and Mayo Clinic agree that the use of blue-light-emitting LED devices is detrimental to sleep—a critical period that cements what you learned during the day, while removing useless information.
So try their recommendations for unplugging to see what works best for you.
The goal is to block the release of neurotransmitters that energize your brain and instead promote the production of melatonin, which allows you to rest.
THE NSF’S APPROACH - Abstain from devices starting one hour before bedtime.
MAYO CLINIC’S APPROACH
• Dim screens used at night.
• Keep screens 14 inches from your face.
• Remove screens from the room when you’re ready to sleep.
How should you read? Paper or screen? Your brain wants to choose one. Switching back and forth may not be effective. That is, unless you can develop your 'bi-literate' brain. (Sep 17, 2014)
"There is no use in multiplying examples. The point is that we are all capable of believing things which we know to be untrue, and then, when we are finally proved wrong, impudently twisting the facts so as to show that we were right. Intellectually, it is possible to carry on this process for an indefinite time: the only check on it is that sooner or later a false belief bumps up against solid reality, usually on a battlefield."
Three complete paragraphs - each one should include the following:
1. Embed the links - type (or copy and paste) "select" the title of the article and link
2. Cite the writer(s), the date, and the source (the "publisher")
3. One sentence synopsis of each article.
4. Conclusion:
Why is it important to discern between credible news and faux news?
Why did you select your articles and how did you determine them to be credible, satirical, or fake?
In order to understand a story, a plot diagram or visual storytelling can illustrate the exposition, rising action, plot points, reversals of fortune, climax, falling action, denouement, and resolution.
While dramatic structure has been analyzed by Aristotle to Gustav Freytag and his pyramid to Joseph Campbell's "Hero's Journey."
How to Write a Short Story according to Kurt Vonnegut
Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
Every sentence must do one of two things — reveal character or advance the action.
Start as close to the end as possible.
Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them — in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.
Oskar suffers from PTSD after 9/11 and losing his father.
"Even after a year, I still had an extremely difficult time doing certain things, like taking showers, for some reason, and getting into elevators, obviously. There was a lot of stuff that made me panicky, like suspension bridges, germs, airplanes, fireworks, Arab people on the subway (even though I'm not racist), Arab people in restaurants and coffee shops and other public places, scaffolding, sewers, and subway grates, bags without owners, shoes, people with mustaches, smoke, knots, tall buildings, turbans."
"An exaggerated fear, hatred, and hostility toward Islam and Muslims that is perpetuated by negative stereotypes resulting in bias, discrimination, and the marginalization and exclusion of Muslims from social, political, and civic life.[1]"
"Media stereotypes and misinformation about Muslims are nothing new. In a post-election world, Muslims are finding more allies who often want to help but don’t know much about us. More and more of our fellow Americans have questions and need answers."
Please share your thoughts on this topic, but include a specific quote from an article or the video.
Quote from transcript:
"If we're going to replace people's misunderstanding of the terrorist threat with an accurate understanding of that threat, I suggest starting with a simple recognition: that even if you added up all of the so-called jihadi fighters in the world, and all these different terrorist groups, the ones who were actually violent threats, you end up with a number that by any reasonable estimate is a less than one percent of the world's roughly one-and-a-half billion Muslims.
And that other ninety-nine percent is the key see that moderate majority is first of all the primary victims. The vast majority of terrorist attacks are not happening in Europe and other Western countries like the United States, as tragic as those attacks are, they're actually relatively rare. Far more terrorist attacks are happening on a daily basis in predominantly Muslim countries with ongoing civil wars and insurgencies. And the vast majority of their victims are Muslims.
So, when you think of it like that, it immediately starts to look more like a common enemy, and you can immediately see the basis for a cooperative relationship between moderate Muslims and non-Muslims working against that common enemy.
Now one of the themes I hear come up a lot a lot is: "Hey if there are moderate Muslims out there, why aren't they stopping this? Why aren't they working against this? What are they doing about this?"
And, again, we've got to start replacing this misinformation with accurate understanding, not only do major terrorist attacks consistently get condemned by Muslim groups, all over the world's expressions of solidarity for the victims.
Not only do you have lots of Muslims working very hard against radicalization and recruitment for these agencies, but you've got moderate Muslims, for example, are the primary soldiers on the ground fighting Isis in the Middle East.
Right now, the overwhelming majority of the soldiers physically fighting Isis right now are other Muslims, but even here in Western countries, there are cases that get ignored.
At our peril, you see we have a tendency to pay a lot of attention to the terrorist attacks that actually happened - and of course, we should - we tend, however, to overlook the terrorist attacks that didn't happen, and we miss learning valuable lessons."
Writer Reza Aslan thinks a Muslim Will and Grace could truly change American perceptions of Islam.
It's been an entire year since I posted a blog... As a new faculty member at a traditional and historic boarding school, I admit I have been quiet and even reticent. I have spoken up at chapel (See January 11th), sharing a bit of my story while encouraging the community to engage in the important conversations that we are having at The Hill School. Today, April 18th, some Hill students participated in the National Day of Silence (article on Friday the 15th). Not talking at a school is a challenge where we talk all day. We may take for granted our daily conversations and kind gestures and questions such as, how are you? how was your weekend? However, it's important to remember that not all in our community can speak their truth without being judged harshly or shamed. In my fourth and fifth form English classes, we did the following lesson in class:
TODAY's CLASS: I will be silent...
And I ask that you listen to the videos today with an open mind.
I believe we need to be better informed about why today is a Day of Silence.
From North Carolina to the U.S. Presidential Race to The Hill School, LGBTQ issues are making headlines.
Regardless of where you stand on these issues, I believe we all need a fundamental understanding of the issues which includes knowing important vocabulary - if you are to be culturally competent in 2016.
Understand that words and their meanings matter. You may disagree with this lesson or skeptical, but best to be informed on these matters before making an ignorant judgment.
So, how can you be an ally?
1. Understand Your Privilege
2. Listen and Do Your Homework
3. Speak Up, but Not Over
4. You'll make mistakes! Apologize when you do. Understand this: it's not intent; it's impact.
5. Ally is a verb. Do the work - see 1-4 above.
So, to begin, please review this vocabulary:
Gender Terms from "The Gender Equity Resource Center, fondly referred to as GenEq, is a Cal community center committed to fostering a safe, equitable and inclusive experience for all. GenEq is the campus location where students, faculty, staff and alumni connect for resources, services, education and leadership programs related to gender and sexuality." http://geneq.berkeley.edu/lgbt_resources_definiton_of_terms
1. What words are new or interesting to you? How does vocabulary matter in understanding LGBTQ issues? 2. Please read my blog post from last year's Day of Silence. Feel free to reply in the discussion below. My thinking on the Golden Rule has evolved to the Platinum Rule since reading this article "Creating an Equitable Community in The Andover Magazine.
If you have articles or videos that you wish to share, please do so!
You may finish this later tonight.
Listen to the words of others today with empathy.
We will talk tomorrow. Thank you in advance for being thoughtful today. If you're thoughtful in your replies - an easy 100 points - please be sure to reply to one another as homework. HOMEWORK: What did you hear and learn today?
P.S.
I know some of you may be thinking...
This doesn't apply to me.
Or why does this matter?
Or why do I care?
For me, it's a human rights issue - and a civil rights issue.
And it's a matter of compassion.
I think of the kids that are struggling in silence - and many die by suicide.
• Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among young people ages 10 to 24.
• LGB youth are 4 times more likely, and questioning youth are 3 times more likely, to attempt suicide as their straight peers.
• Suicide attempts by LGB youth and questioning youth are 4 to 6 times more likely to result in injury, poisoning, or overdose that requires treatment from a doctor or nurse, compared to their straight peers.
• Nearly half of young transgender people have seriously thought about taking their lives, and one quarter report having made a suicide attempt.
• LGB youth who come from highly rejecting families are 8.4 times as likely to have attempted suicide as LGB peers who reported no or low levels of family rejection.
• 1 out of 6 students nationwide (grades 9-12) seriously considered suicide in the past year.
• Each episode of LGBT victimization, such as physical or verbal harassment or abuse, increases the likelihood of self-harming behavior by 2.5 times on average.
________________ In each class today, this assignment begins with a sigh or an eye roll or more than mild resistance, yet the comments posted to the online class discussions are heartening. I believe much of the fear around this conversation comes from a lack of understanding, fear of saying the wrong thing, and fear of the unknown, "the other", but once we know more we have more compassion and empathy. While we may wish that everyone would be kind and everyone would be treated equally, we must understand the harsh reality: there's much hate, anger, judgment, shame, and violence in this world.
With education, there's greater compassion, but we must be active in being an ally.
And I confess that fear and frustration holds me back at certain times. I worry if this community is ready for this conversation around sexuality and sexual orientation, especially since there's been such resistance to talks around gender and race.
As usual, I turn to my alma mater and offer a must read for educators and students. Head of School John Palfrey at Phillips Academy shares these sage words that we need to understand:
One point that is more subtle: Gender and sexual orientation are unmistakably a part of any discussion about sexual health, but the conversation should not be thought of as exclusively heteronormative. OK – there were a lot of big words in that sentence. Let me unpack. By that, I mean that a discussion of sex is not only about a dynamic that exists between boys and girls. It is hard to have a conversation about sexual health, and especially about differences in expectations and power dynamics, without talking about differences in gender. I’d urge you, at the same time, not to let stereotypes dominate these conversations. On our campus, we have community members who are boys; we have those who are girls; and we have those who do not self-identify as either or who are in transition. (My PGP is: he/him/his.) And we have a range of sexual orientation at Andover. Every student is learning about their sexuality during this period of life, but not everyone is experiencing the same thing. That diversity is important. We respect everyone equally at Andover.
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