Sunday Salon: What I Read Online January 26 - February 08

My work week on January 26th began with a trip to Denver, Colorado. Coincidentally, The New York Times published this article titled What to do in Denver the week before my trip. Though I didn't get to take in all the sites suggested in the video, I did enjoy a couple of meals at local venues. My colleague and I enjoyed lunch at Earle's before a meeting downtown at the Colorado Education Initiative, and we were treated to dinner downtown that same evening. The following day we worked all day with teachers who were analyzing student work and planning revisions to their common assignment units before heading out to the infamous Steuben's (one featured on Diners, Dives, & Drive-Thrus) for dinner.

Morning walk in North Denver

Education

Students in Northern Kentucky took their desire to be makers into their own hands and created this makerspace.

Education is the most powerful weapon to change the world--read about a film exploring this truth.
Pressure for high-stakes standardized tests is apparently ruining creativity in China. Read more here.

"It's now more important than ever to teach students to think and speak critically" says Terry Roberts in this article.

Visions for Shared Leadership from district administrator Mike Stacey are encouraging.

In education (and other field) we are inundated with big data. In this article we are reminded of the importance of human perspective when we analyze data--yes!

Book review for The Test features a school right here in Kentucky using more performance based assessments to measure student learning.

Science teacher, Patrick Goff, writes about re-thinking the way we do science fairs, and I love this idea as a parent and as an educator.

We had the opportunity to see Jack Andraka live last weekend. If you've never heard him, I'd suggest listening to his dynamic TED TALK.

Health/Adventure

For inspiration to stay active, read about the American man who ran 7 marathons on 7 continents in 7 days.

Humanity
 
As we approached the anniversary the 70th anniversary of prisoners being liberated from Auschwitz,  hear and read a survivor's story here.

Female Militants published a manifesto about it being acceptable for girls as young as age 9 to be forced into marriage. How is this possibly right?

For weeks now, I've been following the story of Raif Badawi, and was pleased to hear his flogging was once again postponed, and I keep hoping for his freedom.

Remember the nearly 300 Nigerian girls who were kidnapped? They are still not free. Here's a reminder.

A story about girls from Chibok who escaped and are now returning to school, defying the militants.

Music/Art/Business
Madame CEO, Get Me a Coffee articulates some of the gender bias woman still endure in the workplace.

A story about Bob Dylan's speech at the Grammy's was a fun read as was this article about the intersection between art and literature.

8 New Jobs People Will have in 2025 was intriguing.

A delightful Google Doodle on the birthday of poet Langston Hughes.

Sunday Salon: What I Read Online November 16-30

 Still Life with a Ginger Jar and Eggplants, 1893–94
Paul Cézanne (French, 1839–1906)
Oil on canvas; 28 1/2 x 36 in. (72.4 x 91.4 cm)
Bequest of Stephen C. Clark, 1960 (61.101.4)

 

Thanksgiving

When Thanksgiving Was Weird, an article by Lisa Hollenbach, explores the history of the Thanksgiving holiday in America.

A New York Times article by Sandra Joy Stein titled An Intensive Thanksgiving provides insight and opportunity for reflection based on a year when the author spent the holiday in her son's hospital room.

The band from one of our local high schools played in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, so it was fun to read about they prepared for the big day.

My appreciation for art and my leisure time on Thanksgiving Day led me to this fantastic article by Christopher Jobson. How 10 Famous Artists Would Plate Thanksgiving Dinner.

Dreaming, Hoping, Creating

You Too Can Help Students Achieve Their Dreams @ E blog post by Next Generation Leader, Shannon Treece. Seriously, you should read this blog and see how you can help this group of students change the world.


Continued protests around the country resulting from the Ferguson decision led me to this article by Chloe Johnson. Meet Davonte, the little boy with the big heart.

An art program for low income youth in Lexington intrigued me because of the innovative way they plan to take art to students via a mobile art studio, provided they raise all the money they need for the project by midnight tonight.

A Foundation in Georgia funds innovation projects for STEM learning looks promising.

How Much is Too Much? NPR Story about an 11th grader in Florida who will take more tests his junior year of high school than any other year. Granted, there's too much testing and test prep in all grades in America, and we need to do something about it. This story shares some hope for the future.
The Great Escape, a creative nonfiction piece, by Chris Bell a friend from college, appears in a brand new online literary journal--Grand Central Review.

Picasso Plates for Creative Dining showed up as a holiday gift suggestion in the New York Times. I just thought it was a cool idea to have creative dining options.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art releases 400,000 images for non-commercial use. I actually recall this announcement happening several months ago, but when I read the Colossal post it reminded me of this treasure of images available for use.

_________

Citation

"Paul Cézanne: Still Life with a Ginger Jar and Eggplants" (61.101.4) In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History . New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/61.101.4. (December 2008)

Sunday Salon: What I Read Onlline August 25-August 31

 Posts from Kentucky that Matter Beyond Kentucky

Because she knows I'm interested in improving as a writer and blogger, my boss shared this woman's website with me. Suzanne Gray lives in Frankfort, Kentucky and writes about creativity and art and has this beautiful website not to be missed.


You may have heard by now, but Kentucky is seeking feedback to make changes to the Common Core State Standards in KY.


This week we celebrated the anniversary of a woman's right to vote. Read this blog  by Heather Watson to learn how women from Kentucky played an important role in passing the 19th amendment.

Jason Linden, a public school teacher in Louisville, writes about homeschooling his daughter because the school system places too much emphasis on test prep. I can relate completely, even though my children still attend public school. If you read my blog, you know how much this issue matters to me!

Lexington teacher, Liz Prather, writes about why it's important to pronounce students' names correctly.

Speaking of Lexington, my city made the list of top cities to live for a quality life.

Health & Well Being

Since I was having my cast removed this week, I was eager to read this article about when I might be able to use my right leg again and drive. When I visited the doctor, he confirmed what I read in this article--12 weeks after the break. Well, I'm 6 weeks down with 6 to go...

Helen Bamber, a therapist to torture victims, died this week. Read about her life here.

Sunday Salon: What I Read Online August 4-9

Kentucky Education Happenings

In Kentucky we have a new evaluation system called the Professional Growth and Effectiveness System. This article in the Lexington Herald Leader includes quotes by teachers, principals, and KDE effectiveness coaches. 

In this post, Kipp Hottman reflects on his time at the Let's TALK conference earlier this summer. He specifically notes words from an inspiring speech by Dr. Felicia Cumings Smith about how we all need to work together to get things moving. That's what I love about education in Kentucky, we have movers and shakers here and I couldn't be more proud to be part of the movement.

Art & Literacy

I was so impressed with this article and the photographs about a New York artist who camouflages models into New York City landmarks that I looked for more articles on the same topic. Actually, a Twitter friend sent me this other link to a video showing the art of Liu Bolin. I watched this video twice a day for three days in a row because I couldn't get enough of the amazing art presented here.

When thinking about unit planning and curriculum, does it get much better than an exchange between Grant Wiggins and Jim Burke? 

For years I have been following the happenings at City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco, and then I had the opportunity to visit this past winter.  This week I was excited to learn they are publishing an 80th birthday celebration collection of Diane di Prima's poetry.


Doing School Differently

Five schools in Michigan are rethinking learning spaces.  This article about flexible learning spaces is a must read if you're hoping to switch things up at your school.

Check out this article about helping students innovate as young entrepreneurs.

I am all about interdisciplinary learning--always have been.  A great quote from this article/book chapter "Only in school do we have 43 minutes of math and 43 minutes of English and 43 minutes of science."  Yep.  That's just about right, and why don't we change it?

What if we considered workplace/schoolplace satisfaction of teachers and students just as Google considers workplace satisfaction a key to their success? Read about why people matter at Google.

This article and infographic about jobs for our students by 2020 was fascinating.

Hiking & Being Healthy

While sitting here with my leg in a UK blue cast, I dream of hiking again this fall.  Well, then I read this article about a friend of a friend from North Carolina who came face to face with a grizzly bear at Glacier National Park.

Jennifer Pharr Davis and her company, Blue Ridge Hiking in Asheville, North Carolina continue to provide thoughts and considerations about hiking and trail life. In this particular post, she discusses the positive and negative of trail records. (In case you didn't know this--Jennifer Pharr Davis currently holds the record for the fastest thru hike of the Appalachian Trail--46 days!)

In this Mother Jones article by Chris Mooney, he suggests science says we should stop work and take a walk at 2:00 pm each day.  Sounds good to me.

Issues that Matter to Me

This well written op-ed about how our country thinks about torture was very thoughtful.

This TED talk and article provide hope.  The Terrorist's Son: A Story of Choice, by Zak Ebrahim with Jeff Giles. A young man discusses how he turned from his father's terrorist ways and decided to choose empathy.

I'm not a huge sports fan, but I was impressed to learn this week that the NBA has finally hired a woman as the first female-assistant coach.  This matters to me because I believe women should be able to compete in any job they desire.

How My Son Taught Me to Appreciate STEM

Lucky me.  13 years ago today I became a mom, and this parenting journey couldn't be any better.  From an early age, my oldest son has had an interest in STEM fields, and through him, I discovered that I have a great appreciation for science, technology, engineering, and math.  From my own perspective, art was already appreciated, and I enjoyed sharing art appreciation with Ethan. Together we appreciate not just STEM but STE(A)M (A--art).

Earlier this year, I read an Atlantic article by Jessica Lahey in which she shares how her dad taught her to appreciate STEAM, especially the design and creativity aspects needed to implement scientific and mathematical concepts.  Since reading this article, I began thinking about what I have learned to appreciate. I realized that I started to appreciate the STEM parts of STEAM about the same time I became a mom.

As a baby, Ethan's interest began with all things in nature...worms, caterpillars, trees, flowers, the ocean, the mountains, the stars.  He taught me to look and to listen when I carried him on my back as we hiked trails in the mountains of North Carolina, and he taught me to stop and observe the

greatness of our universe when he was walking on his own.  As he grew older we moved on to thinking more about how things work and move. We built with Lego blocks, looked through telescopes, rode trains, made energy from fruit, assembled circuit boards, made homemade bubbles and play dough, read books about everything science and tested a variety of energy sources.  Always, art was an essential part of our exploration as well.  We drew, painted, and created things for holiday gifts.

Since learning to count around age two and a half, it was apparent that numbers made sense to him.  Ethan didn't just count, he understood from an early age what numbers mean.  Mathematics became an area of strength for him,  and for some reason, he understands and makes sense of mathematical problems that I don't even contemplate (but I do appreciate!).

Around second grade an increased interest in all things solar powered took hold, and we soldered solar panels together, attended E-day at the University of Kentucky, and worked on a science fair projects for school.  In third grade he researched Thomas Edison and built a cardboard monograph for his biography presentation. Edison was his favorite because of his fascination with electricity, and for Halloween one year he even dressed as Edison, his favorite scientist and inventor.  His fourth grade science fair project investigated solar power versus battery power for toy train lights.

Toward the end of elementary school, a stronger interest in computers and video games developed, and everything Ethan knew about science, design, and art fed directly into his interest in technology.  Like many other children his age, Minecraft is a popular pastime.  With this video game, he's able to use all of his design creativity along with mathematical concepts and technology know-how. His next big plan is to build a computer, and he said this will be a father-son project.  I guess my role as mom and explorer is changing as my son grows and matures.  Even with these changes I will forever be grateful to this boy who has taught me to appreciate all things STEM because this is not an appreciation I expect to lose, only one I expect to continue developing.