A few thoughts about what I read online December 27, 2015- January 4, 2016

Well over a year ago I started a series where I shared on my blog what I read online each week or two weeks. Keeping up with the links was time consuming but fun, and I was always pleasantly surprised by the responses my readers provided via Twitter, Facebook, email, and even in person. This year, I'm reviving the series and adding a twist. Instead of sharing a larger number of links, I'm going to try sharing thoughts on various articles because sometimes sharing links with only 140 characters just isn't enough room to reflect, and I don't always want to write a full blog post for each article I share either. We'll see how this new format goes, and in the spirit of ongoing learning, I'll revamp or forgo the idea all together if it's not working. So, please let me know what you think!

Star Wars and Women

Please don't judge my skills. This cake was made with love.
I am no cake decorator, but I did challenge myself
to surprise my son five years ago when he longed
for a cake made by me with a Star Wars theme. 

I read two articles about Star Wars: The Force Awakens over winter break, and started a blog post specifically about the movie but then realized I didn't really want an entire post about the movie because to be completely honest, I originally went to see the movie with my family because A) my sons love the Star Wars series and were holding on with eagerness to the movie's release the weekend winter break began and B) I coveted time on Christmas Eve with my husband and sons and our family friends, especially since all our other family live over 300 miles away. We made the movie and lunch afterward a special event.

One article, Star Wars is a Game Changer, resonated with me because while watching the movie, I was pleasantly surprised about the intentional and positive portrayal of women as competent individuals not needing men to protect them. THIS is a message I want my sons to know and understand. Early in the movie when Rey yells "stop grabbing my hand" to Finn, I knew the movie would be different from the previous Star Wars movies which I had seen only as an adult (Neither my husband nor I were allowed to watch the movies as kids). This scene reminds me of the movie Elizabeth when she yells "I am no man's Elizabeth." One of my favorite movies and definitely a favorite line from a movie.

Kentucky & Colorado

While moving to Kentucky never topped my list of most desirable things to do, I've certainly made the most of my life here. Article titles like this one, A wary start to Syrian refugees' new life in Kentucky, from the Washington Post make me wonder if I want to stay here but when you actually read the article, you learn about how some people in Kentucky really are trying to help fellow humans.

Education issues and topics in Kentucky will continue to be controversial in the coming months as debates about whether we should finally join most of the nation in adopting charter schools ensue. Personally, I'm not theoretically opposed to charter schools. What I want is for ALL students to have equitable access to a high quality and enjoyable education, and we have a lot of work to do in Kentucky to ensure this happens either through charter schools or traditional public schools. My biggest question--what evidence do we have that what we are currently doing in traditional schools is working? If we don't have such evidence, why not try something new? Something new might be charter schools. We shall see.

After working long-distance with educators in Colorado, traveling there frequently for work and  vacationing there with my family for ten days last summer, my love for The Centennial State continues to grow.

This week I read multiple articles about innovative work happening in Colorado. This one about inquiry learning moving from teacher-guided to student-driven was one of my favorites. I especially appreciated that the examples were in elementary schools. Who says elementary students can't lead their learning? The article offers practical advice and question- stems to start with teacher guided and move toward student-driven with younger students, and I'd venture to say from my experience with high schoolers that this works with teens too.

Another article about Colorado I appreciated was this one about a group of educators in Boulder who are rehinking high school as part of the XQ America challenge. Here in Kentucky, I'm working with a small group doing something similar.


Finally, I'll share a couple of links to articles about a book I just finished reading (my first book of 2016). Since Nothing Daunted: The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West by Dorothy Wickenden was published in 2011, the articles I read are also a few years old, but the book was terrific (I'll write more about the book itself later this week). Typically when I really enjoy a book, I start looking for articles or other online writing about it to learn more. Wickenden, executive editor of The New Yorker, wrote this article prior to writing the book, so this article is great if you want a synopsis of the story. Since we vacationed in Steamboat Springs and Nothing Daunted was the second book I read that was set in Colorado, I decided to check the Off the Beaten Path Bookstore blog and found an article about a book signing and performance. Though the information was dated, I enjoyed reading about two more Steamboat area museums...maybe I'll visit them next time I make it out there.

Grateful for Creativity, Life, and Hope

I remember fondly listening to Elizabeth Alexander read her poem "Praise Song for the Day" at President Obama's first inauguration. Newly out of the classroom, I watched with a colleague from a television at Capital Plaza Tower in Frankfort. After the hearing the poem, my colleague, also a former teacher, turned to me and said "can't you just imagine several days worth of lessons from that poem"? Yes. I said. I could imagine students engaging in conversations about the poem and the historic day. You see, when we study poetry and art we connect our experiences to universal ideas. Art offers us a way to express ourselves freely. Art offers hope and life.

The same year Elizabeth Alexander read her poem for the inauguration, I met her here in Lexington, Kentucky at the Kentucky Women Writers Conference. She participated in a conversation with other women writers and then read her poems for us at a keynote session. All these memories came back to me when I recently read her memoir The Light of the World. My review posted on the Cake and Whiskey blog today.

In addition to appreciating Alexander's beautiful language, free-expression, and artistry, regular readers of my blog will understand I also appreciated Alexander's mention of her late husband's dream of opening a school..."a school about self-expression...it will be great seeds for healing and peace." I, too, dream of opening a school, a school where we explore creativity and students' interests, a school that offers hope for inequitable situations in life. I also dream of public schools reimagining their approach and offering all students equal learning opportunities.

Since I learned recently that the Ford Foundation named Elizabeth Alexander as director of their Creativity and Free Expression program, I decided to check out other work happening at the Ford Foundation and was pleasantly surprised to see that they also seek creative ways to target drivers of inequality and improve the world. It's refreshing to see a large organization with a focus on improving humanity. In addition to their program for creativity and expression, they also have programs for youth opportunity and learning.

Equity. Social Justice. Creativity. Self-Expression. Learning.

If large foundations can embrace these ideas, shouldn't we embrace them in our schools, too?

Women in Wyoming Equality State

A red-haired retiree (Liz) from Oregon greeted us when we began our guided tour of the Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historical Site. We learned Liz and her husband travel around the USA volunteering at various historical sites. When we met them at the end of June, they had been in Laramie, Wyoming only since May. Lucky for us, our guide's love of history made for an interesting tour of the facility and grounds.

Wyoming Territorial Prison

One of my favorite parts about our visit included learning about women in Wyoming, including these interesting facts shared with us by our guide as I asked her questions about women's rights in the state.

•  In 1869 Women in Wyoming were granted the right to vote, and Eliza Swain of Laramie cast the first vote.
• Nationwide the first female Justice of the Peace was in Wyoming.
• Wyoming elected the first female governor in our country in 1924.
• Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cody Stanton traveled to "the land of freedom" in 1871 via the Transcontinental Railroad.

While there were some female prisoners housed among infamous outlaws such as Butch Cassidy, the woman who captured my attention on our visit was May Preston Slosson, who was one of the few women granted the right to purse a PhD at Cornell University before the twentieth century. She served as Chaplain at the prison from 1899-1903. She was also an advocate of the women's suffrage movement.

Replica of wagon used to transport the prisoners

Slosson gave many speeches about her time as a female chaplain in Wyoming--The Equality State and proclaimed "a woman's rights to absolute equality with a man, in education, financial independence, social and political opportunities." She eventually moved to New York City with her husband and there remained a strong advocate for brining a better world for women, even marching in the 1917 Women's Suffrage Parade.

Slosson was a painter, poet, teacher, speaker, and advocate for women

Other reasons to appreciate Slosson include the facts that she was an artist and had a love of learning and knowledge.  She "cherished books, especially literature and poetry." She at one point taught at at Hastings College in Nebraska and believed that her one gift, one thing she could do--"I could sway an audience."

We spent only 24 hours of our vacation in Wyoming, but I must say it was an experience not to forget, with the massive amounts of open land and the history represented in Laramie. 

Wide open land in Wyoming

I'll leave you with a photo of a beautiful sunset from our one night in Wyoming and a quote from May Slosson "Literature has been the passion of my life, my chief recreation and a resource when in trouble. A long walk under the open sky is reading's only rival."

Sunset in Laramie, Wyoming

Sunday Salon: What I Read Online May 2015

Another busy month, but I've also been taking more weekend time to relax and enjoy my family, so my blogging has fallen slightly behind. Anyway, here's some of what I read online in May.


Women

Margaret Hamilton, The Engineer Who Took Apollo to the Moon serves as a reminder of women in STEM.

With so much of the tech world focused on men, a fun and important post to read is Women of Silicon Valley is an Even Cooler 'Humans of New York'

Women in Leadership: Gender Bias and the Confidence Gap by Jennifer Abrams on Peter DeWitt's blog featuring 18 women all K-12 educators should know.

50 Motivational Quotes from Disruptive, Trailblazing, Inspiring Women Leaders

Working with people most interested in preserving the status quo? If so, check out this article titled Thinking Big from Cake & Whiskey's Sip & Slice blog.


Parenting

Jessica Lahey continues to be one of my favorite authors writing about parenting issues. Check out her post titled: For a Child With Learning Differences, Making Home a Safe Harbor.

Shared with me by my 14-year old son, this video argues video games improve your reaction time.

Reading is Fundamental Combats Summer Slide, another article by Jessica Lahey. This one is relevant to me as a mom and an educator. Plus, I have two friends from the eastern part of our state who both maintain the Book Mobile turned them into readers.

School's Out Forever, a father writes about his views on public education. Worth reading, for sure.

A totally relatable article 40 Things You Should Never Ever Say to Your Teen.

What's Your Teenager Doing This Summer? In Defense of Doing Nothing.


Books and Reading

My book review at Cake & Whiskey. A review of Becoming Odyssa by Jennifer Pharr Davis.

Top Favorites by progressive educator, Nicolas Meier, offers suggestions of professional books to read and includes a few of my own favorites.

47 Books Every College Grad Should Read on Buzzfeed Books offers a few titles you may or may not have on your won reading list.

Ali Smith wins Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction for the book titled How to Be Both. Sounds like an interesting read worth adding to my book a week reading list.

Re-imagining school

When magazines such as Wired begin featuring articles about education, you know we've reached a new era in public education. Check out the article Inside the School Silicon Valley Thinks Will Save  Education.

Common Assignment: An Opportunity to Learn From Collaboration and Researched Practice by Brison Harvey explores what happens when teachers are provided time and resources needed to collaborate in designing lessons for students.

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you won't be surprised that this article made my list. Prioritizing the Arts Over Test Prep.

How Not to Get Fired Implementing Next Gen Learning by Tom Vander Ark is well worth your time if you are interested in new ways of teaching and learning.

Students Need Social Studies Now More Than Ever  by Brison Harvey is one of a few social studies posts I read this month, and I'm still working to curate a few since one of the recent #kyedchat conversations focused on social studies.

The CEO of the organization where I work wrote a blog post in honor and appreciation of teachers during teacher appreciation week. Working with someone who values effective teachers is a bonus in my world.

The Kentucky state education commissioner wrote a letter warning my district of state action if they don't improve assistance to low-performing schools, including the school where I used to teach. I'm still working on a blog post on this article because I'm fearful of the actions the district will take as a reaction to the letter.

177 Days encapsulates the reflection and thinking of a thoughtful mathematics teacher, Brooke Powers.

In Big New Idea: Next Generation Instructional Design, Susan Weston shares her thoughts on the newest project I'm leading.

Politicizing AP US History by Daisy Martin argues in favor of comprehensive social studies instruction to continue the importance of helping students know and understand why we should be involved citizens and why we should learn from the past.

Hiking

Kindergarten Can Wait. Meet Buddy Backpacker the five-year old Appalachian Trail thru-hiker.

Dean Potter Lived Life on the Edge was a never before published article about the late hiker and climber who inspired many before losing his life this spring.

What to do if you see a bear (not really).

Scott Jurek is attempting to beat the current record for the fastest thru-hike on the Appalachian Trail.

Really?

NC Bill Could Send Teachers to Jail for Wearing a Red Shirt.

Chinese Billionaire takes 6,400 staff on holiday to Paris.

The Top 25 Hedge Fund Managers Earn More than All the Kindergarten Teachers in the United States.

An Eleven Year Old Graduated from College with Three Different Degrees.

Authorities File Charges Against Family Members Over Loud Cheering at Mississippi Graduation.

Blogging for Cake & Whiskey Sip and Slice

I delightfully announce that I've been selected as a contributing blogger for Cake & Whiskey Magazine's new blog Sip & Slice.  As you know I've previously contributed to the print magazine, so when they decided to start a blog and began accepting applications, I jumped at the chance to contribute to this source of inspiration for women in business.

Some friends have been surprised that as an educator I am writing for an audience of women in business. Why, they ask?  Why? Because just like I believe our students have stories to share, I also believe women from all walks of life have stories to share, and I believe in the Cake & Whiskey mission seeking to share women's stories with the world.

My contributions to the blog will be focused book reviews aimed at providing busy women (and men) a tiny glimpse into various books by women authors. The first review comes from one of my February books of the week, Marathon Woman by Kathrine Switzer. You can read the post on the Sip & Slice blog. I also encourage you to check out other blog posts and even subscribe to the beautifully designed magazine to read stories about women and to find delicious recipes.

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You can access links about my experiences writing for the print magazine here.

An American Educator's Thoughts on Girl Rising
Writing for an Inspiring Business Women's Magazine

Sunday Salon: What I Read Online September 14-28

The weeks are flying by with plenty of online reading. Here's what I've read the past two weeks.

Women and Girls
I'm committed to continuing my part in raising awareness about violence against women, and so I enjoyed the article Why Global Violence Against Women and Girls Must be a New Priority

I read this article about girls in Afghanistan who dress as boys to obtain an education.

Emma Watson's speech at the UN is worth watching multiple times.


Teachers
My friend, Sherri, has been participating in a 30 day blogging challenge. This post where she shares her three strengths is one of my favorites.

One of my pre-service teachers wrote this great post about presentation styles as part of her reflection on our readings of Crafting Digital Writing by Troy Hicks. Check it out!  Dancing Around Powerpoint

Like many educators, my husband and I have been discussing the concept of Teacher Time. This Huffington Post article, Teacher Time by Peter Green provides food for thought.

Aritcles I shared with my sons
My soft hearted and thoughtful eleven year old and I have had many thoughtful conversations in the past few weeks because he's concerned about the people in Syria. This article was topic for one of our conversations.Three Million Syrian Children Not in School

My 11 & 13 year old sons were disappointed when they learned Microsoft bought Minecraft, and in this article, My Son Says He Won't Play Minecraft Again , by David Boyle I learned my boys are not alone with their concerns. 


Homework Saga Continues
My ongoing quest to explore homework practices continues, and I was encouraged to see yet another educator and parent also begin to question homework practices. Read Brooke's post here.

Sunday Salon: What I Read Online September 1-7

Homework practices

In this post Jason Bodnar talks about three types of homework and which one to avoid.

As a parent and an educator, I related well to this post by Donalyn Miller where she argues for more meaningful assignments and reading practices in language arts classes.

A Quebec elementary school is giving its students a year off from homework.

Teaching and Learning

Ashley Hurley, one of my Achieve EQuIP colleagues blogged about the ABCs of giving feedback to peers when they design lessons when she blogged for The Teaching Channel.

I, too, had the opportunity to blog for The Teaching Channel. It was a fabulous experience and opportunity to share ideas about how to calibrate on a rubric.

This excellent blog post by the National Paideia Center argues for more doing and less lecturing in our classrooms. I'm a huge advocate for the Paideia approach and like to use it in my class with pre-service students just as I did in my high school classroom previously. 

Lillie Marshall writes about effective uses for social media in teaching.

Sherri McPherson shares digital tools for providing feedback on student writing.

Sandy Merz deconstructs a teacher leadership cliche. My favorite line from this post is "like most clichés, this one intends to stop thought rather than deepen it. To deepen thought one needs to probe challenging views rather than dismiss them."

Science and Math

Patrick Goff reflects honestly in this post about questioning and modeling in his middle school classroom.

Both Patrick and Tricia Shelton are leading science educators in Kentucky, and they are involved in national conversations about the new Next Generation Science Standards. In this post, Tricia encourages others to blog about their NGSS implementation and learning.

I appreciate this math 101 reading list for life-long learners, and I added a few titles to my to-read shelf in Goodreads.

Kelly Stidham shares innovative tools for implementing new math standards.

 Other topics of importance to me

Walking! Since I still can't walk, and my body and mind are begging for it, I enjoyed reading this article "Walking Helps Us Think" and dreaming about a day coming soon when I'll be able to walk normally again.

 With sadness, I continue to watch the events happening in the Middle East. This post by Sarah Shroud offers thoughtful commentary.

Don't resist looking at these 52 Powerful Photos of Women Who Changed History Forever