I'M MOVING. . .TO ANOTHER SITE. . .

. . .for various reasons that I will discuss later, I have decided to move to another web site. The new site will give me more flexibility, and will be my very own blog. I'm still going to post lots of pictures of the Class of 2008, Europe, silly time wasting items, useful information, and things that I find interesting. It will have a new name. . .more for myself. . .than specifically for my past students.

I hope you will continue to follow my adventures, because I have found that I LOVE TO BLOG. Writing daily has become a big part of my life lately, and that's thanks to the Class of 2008.

This site will still be on-line, but new entries will be at my new web address.

So click on the link, and don't forget to check back often, because every day there will be at least one new entry.

ALWAYS A PROM QUEEN

NO EASY LESSONS FOR TEACHERS. . .

Being a teacher can be a daunting experience, especially working in a low-performing high school. There are few moments of success, but many moments of complete frustration. With that said, I want all of you to know that I feel blessed to work at IDEA, and my success comes from watching my students become successful. The successes can be far and few between, but when they come, they make everything worth the effort.

As I begin to move toward my 31st year of teaching, I, once again, feel the urgency of my challenges, and want this year to be even better than my previous years. For new teachers, I know how difficult the challenges will be, and clearly remember my feelings of inadequacy.

I treasure my relationships with my students, especially those kids that don't think they will ever like me, or value me as a teacher and friend. I feel blessed to have students that consider me as a friend, especially when I can be unrelenting, and at times, nasty. Saying the truth, which is my way of teaching, can be harsh, but it is the only way to be true to myself, and to you.

In the end, most kids realize that I only want them to be successful, but it takes a whole lot of effort to make it through a school year, especially this past one. The Class of 2008 wasn't an easy group to work with. They fought with me every step of the way. We had a LOVE/HATE relationship, but we made great strides, with many of you achieving your goals and dreams.

Saying all of this now is a result of reading an article in today's USA Today. Below are comments made by a former Newsweek writer, Donna Foote, who has written a book called Relentless Pursuit, after following participants in Teach For America, an elite teacher preparation program. The program recruits top college graduates for two-year teaching assignments in the Los Angeles area. Foote decided to write about "how we teach our most impoverished students through the eyes and experiences of our most privileged." Her book follows four beginning teachers during their first year at Locke High School. Here are some of the comments that she made in the article.

I'm not sure that any first-year teacher assigned to teach in a low-performing school is ever fully prepared. The job is all-consuming and incredibly demanding. Certainly, all of the Locke teachers struggled mightily, especially during the first few months of teaching. But the students of the teachers that I followed all ended up making significant academic gains.

At one point or another, each one of the teachers I came to know experienced moments of self-doubt and feeling of futility. 12% of the teachers in the Teach For America program failed to complete their two-year assignment.

Teachers, regardless of the path they take into the classroom, are leaving in droves. Some 14% of all new teachers quit after their first year; almost 50% are gone within five years. Teacher retention in low-performing schools is particularly difficult. At Locke, roughly 30% of the staff exit annually. Of the four teachers I followed, only one expected to remain in teaching after the two-year commitment was up.

EDITING MY PHOTOS. . .USING PICNIK. . .

I love all the possibilities available using PICNIK, a Yahoo editing web site. Once I've done my adjustments, I can send my photo to Photobucket or Flickr with a simple little click of my mouse. I recommend checking out PICNIK, asap. Here are a few of my pictures from my time with Brandon in Prague and Budapest.

WHAT DOES YOUR SCORE SAY ABOUT YOU???

OVER 60 POINTS : Others see you as someone they should "handle with care." You're seen as vain, self-centered, and who is extremely dominant.. Others may admire you, wishing they could be more like you, but don't always trust you, hesitating to become too deeply involved with you

51 TO 60 POINTS: Others see you as an exciting, highly volatile, rather impulsive personality; a natural leader, who's quick to make decisions, though not always the right ones. They see you as bold and adventuresome, someone who will try anything once; someone who takes chances and enjoys an adventure. They enjoy being in your company because of the excitement! you radiate.

41 TO 50 POINTS: Others see you as fresh, lively, charming, amusing, practical, and always interesting; someone who's constantly in the center of attention, but sufficiently well-balanced not to let it go to their head. They also see you as kind, considerate, and understanding; someone who'll always cheer them up and help them out.

31 TO 40 POINTS: Others see you as sensible, cautious, careful & practical. They see you as clever, gifted, or talented, but modest. Not a person who makes friends too quickly or easily, but someone who's extremely loyal to friends you do make and who expect the same loyalty in return. Those who really get to know you realize it takes a lot to shake your trust In your friends, but equally that it takes y o u a long time to get over if that trust is ever broken.

21 TO 30 POINTS: Your friends see you as painstaking and fussy They see you as very cautious, extremely careful, a slow and steady plodder. It would! really surprise them if you ever did something impulsively or on the spur of the moment, expecting you to examine everything carefully from every angle and then, usually decide against it. They think this reaction is caused partly by your careful nature.

UNDER 21 POINTS: People think you are shy, nervous, and indecisive, someone who needs looking after, who always wants someone else to make the decisions & who doesn't want to get involved with anyone or anything! They see you as a worrier who always sees problems that don't exist. So me people think you're boring. Only those who know you well know that you aren't.

DR. PHIL'S TEST. . .TRY IT. . .

Below is Dr Phil's test. (Dr. Phil scored 55; he did this test on Oprah - she got a 38.) Some folks pay a lot of money to find this stuff out!

Read on, this is very interesting!

Do not be overly sensitive! The following is pretty accurate and it only takes 2 minutes.

Don't peek, but begin the test as you scroll down and answer. Answers are for who you are now...... not who you were in the past. Have pen or pencil and paper ready.

This is a real test given by the Human Relations Dept. at many of the major corporations today. It helps them get better insight concerning their employees and prospective employees.

It's only 10 Simple questions, so...grab a pencil and paper, keeping track of your letter answers to each question.

Ready?? Begin...

1. When do you feel your best?
a) in the morning
b) during the afternoon &and early evening
c) late at night

2. You usually walk. .
a) fairly fast, with long steps
b) fairly fast, with little steps
c) less fast head up, looking the world in the face
d) less fast, head down
e) very slowly

3. When talking to people you.
a) stand with your arms folded
b) have your hands clasped
c) have one or both your hands on your hips
d) touch or push the person to whom you are talking
e) play with your ear, ! touch your chin, or smooth your hair

4. When relaxing, you sit with..
a) your knees bent with your legs neatly side by side
b) your legs crossed
c) your legs stretched out or straight
d) one leg curled under you

5. When something really amuses you, you react with...
a) big appreciated laugh
b) a laugh, but not a loud one
c) a quiet chuckle
d) a sheepish smile

6. When you go to a party or social gathering you..
a) make a loud entrance so everyone notices you
b) make a quiet entrance, looking around for someone you know
c) make the quietest entrance, trying to stay unnoticed

7. You're working very hard, concentrating hard, and you're
interrupted...
a) welcome the break
b) feel extremely irritated
c) vary between these two extremes

8. Which of the following colors do you like most?
a) Red or orange
b) black
c) yellow or light blue
d) green
e) dark blue or purple
f) white
g) brown or gray

9. When you are in bed at night, in those last few moments before
going to sleep you are..
a) stretched out on your back
b) stretched out face down on your stomach
c) on your side, slightly curled
d) with your head on one arm
e) with your head under the covers

10. You often dream that you are...
a) falling
b) fighting or struggling
c) searching for something or somebody
d) flying or floating
e) you usually have dreamless sleep
f) your dreams are always pleasant

POINTS:
1. (a) 2 (b) 4 (c) 6
2. (a) 6 (b) 4 (c) 7 (d) 2 (e) 1
3. (a) 4 (b) 2 (c) 5 (d) 7 (e) 6
4. (a) 4 (b) 6 (c) 2 (d) 1
5. (a) 6 (b) 4 (c) 3 (d) 5 (e) 2
6. (a) 6 (b) 4 (c) 2
7. (a) 6 (b) 2 (c) 4
8. (a) 6 (b) 7 (c) 5 (d) 4 (e) 3 (f) 2 (g) 1
9. (a) 7 (b) 6 (c) 4 (d) 2 (e) 1
10. (a) 4 (b) 2 (c) 3 (d) 5 (e) 6 (f) 1

Come back tomorrow and I will tell you what your score means about you.

By the way, I scored a 51.

AXEL AND MELANIE TRAVEL. . .

. . .ACROSS AMERICA on the beginning of their one year journey. Their e-mail, and pictures are amazing. Their pictures can be seen on Kodak Gallery. Click on the link and enjoy.

E-mail from AXEL:

We thought we would trade off writing the updates we send you all. Since our internet access has either been spotty or expensive, we haven’t been able to send out one about our drive across the States. So here are Axel’s thoughts on that trip. Melanie wrote a good one about our life in Florence so far, and that will follow this one into your inbox.

Without boring you all with the details of our trip across the country I’ll leave you with some highlights and observations:

1) I still love San Francisco.
2) If you’re going to get a flat tire in northern Nevada, at least do it where there is already a tow truck helping someone else.
3) Jack’s in Idaho Falls is a good place to buy tires.
4) If you have not been to Yellowstone National Park, the Bighorns, or northern Wyoming in general, go.
5) Same for South Dakota, especially the Black Hills in the southwestern part.
6) Mount Rushmore is cool, but the Crazy Horse Memorial is much cooler. See them both, in that order.
7) Good eats can be found at 112 Eatery, in downtown Minneapolis.
8) We have lost our connection with the land, both in the wilderness and the agricultural sense. My aunt and uncle, Ann and Sig, have not. If you want to know what birds are chirping outside, when to harvest raspberries, how to grow any kind of plant or tree, how to can tomatoes, and any other skill that seems be vanishing in the technological “advancement” of our society, go visit Ann and Sig.
9) Sitting through a rainy Cubs game at Wrigley Field, then enjoying a nice meal and a good sleep at the W Hotel in downtown Chicago, is worth getting up at four in the morning to drive from Okoboji, Iowa.
10) Family reunions are always special, even more so with really good food.
11) If you go to Cracker Barrel, loosen your belt and order the Country Boy Breakfast.
12) My parents’ farm is the perfect place to end a road trip across the country.
13) We have a beautiful country with wonderful people all along the way. Everyone should drive across it at some point in his or her life.

Thanks to all the people who hosted us for a meal or a night or both: Melanie’s Auntie Corinne and Uncle Ron (and cousin Cherie!), Mel and Linda Dunn, Bill and Linda Holmes (Ryan’s folks for those in the know), my cousin Holly, Aunt Ann and Uncle Sig, Aunt Julie, Cousin Hal, the Twells, and of course my mom and dad. Our trip was much more special with your generosity

THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. . .AND FLICKR. . .

This is an amazing collection of photographs that have become available to the public. The Library of Congress, and several other organizations, have posted their public photography archives. Since the photos have been seen, information about 500 photos have been provided by Flickr users that make the photos even more valuable and interesting. Name of people and places in the photographs have been identified. The library began with two major collections: 1,500 black-and-white photos taken from 1910 to 1920 by the Bain News Service, and 1,600 color shots from the Farm Service Administration/Office of War Information that were taken in the 1940s. The photos were chosen for their popularity with library visitors, and because they had no copyright restrictions. Since being uploaded on Flickr, there have been 8.2 million views and 5,000 comments. The photos are very impressive, and the comments are extremely insightful. Here are a few from the collection. The project is called "The Commons," and can be seen at www.flickr.com/commons.

Uniformed Letter Carrier with Child in Mailbag: This city letter carrier posed for a humorous photograph with a young boy in his mailbag. After parcel post service was introduced in 1913, at least two children were sent by the service. With stamps attached to their clothing, the children rode with railway and city carriers to their destination. The Postmaster General quickly issued a regulation forbidding the sending of children in the mail after hearing of those examples.

Louis & Lola?- TITANIC Survivors: Photo taken before the 'orphans' of the Titanic were correctly identified and returned to their mother. The boys are French brothers Michel (age 4) and Edmond Navratil (age 2). To board the ship, their father assumed the name Louis Hoffman and used their nicknames, Lolo and Mamon. Their father died in the disaster of the RMS TITANIC, which struck an iceberg in April 1912 and sank, killing more than 1,500 people.

Operating a hand drill at Vultee-Nashville, woman is working on a "Vengeance" dive bomber, Tennessee. Photo taken February 1943

Trick photo, decapitated man with bloody knife, holding his head. Circa 1875

SHE KNEW HOW TO WORK A CAMERA. . .

. . .MARILYN MONROE. REMEMBERING AN ICON, A TRUE BEAUTY.

Born June 1, 1926, died August 5, 1962, 46 years ago today.

Grafitti in Berlin. . .

FOODS TO KEEP YOU HEALTHY. . .

1. Coffee - Among its remarkable benefits, new research shows. coffee may reduce the risk of diabetes, heart attack, gallstones, Parkinsons's disease, kidney stones, and cirrhosis (disease of the liver). Black coffee may lead to thinner bones, especially in women, so add milk to your coffee.

2. Chocolate - Dark chocolate, which contains at least 70% cocoa, has proven health benefits. It contains less sugar than white or milk chocolate, and is a rich source of health-promoting compounds such as polyphenols and flavonoid antioxidants (similar to those found in green tea). Studies show that even a small intake of dark chocolate may reduce the risk of blood clots that cause heart attack or stroke and may lower blood pressure. Chocolate also can life your mood and give you a boost of energy. Chocolate is high in calories and contains saturated fat, so enjoy it in moderation - no more than 2-1/2 ounces a day.
3. Pizza - Pizza isn't exactly a health food, but it certainly is a food with healthy ingredients. Tomato sauce is rich in lycopene, a powerful antioxidant. Recent studies suggest that lycopene may have a range of benefits including reducing the risk of cancer and lowering cholesterol and blood pressure. Adding veggies to pizza further improves its health benefits. But stay away from sausage, pepperoni, and other toppings rich in saturated fat - you already get that with the cheese. The biggest concern about pizza is calories and what they can do to your waistline, so order by the slice.

4. Eggs - Eggs get a bad rap. Their negative reputation started because egg yolks are a source of cholesterol. But studies have not shown that the risk of cardiovascular disease increases in egg eaters. In a study of more than 115,000 men and women, there was no association between egg intake and the risk of coronary heart disease or stroke over an eight-year period, except among those with diabetes. Women who ate more than one egg a day actually had the lowest risk of coronary heart disease. Eggs also are a great source of protein, and many organic eggs are now rich in omega-3 fatty acids, thanks to a change in chicken feed.

5. Fish - Eating fish twice a week may cut your risk of heart attack, stroke, and sudden cardiovascular death. Fish are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which may reduce the risk of diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, and inflammation. The best for your health are oily and small fish such as sardines, herrings, anchovies, salmon (organic or wild), and mackerel (except king mackerel). Large fish such as swordfish, tuna, tilefish, and shark live at the top of the marine food chain and accumulate many contaminants. In general, canned chunk light tuna - lower in such contaminants as mercury than albacore or sushi tuna - is also a good choice.


From: The Parade Magazine, July 27

GOTTA LOVE MARTHA STEWART. . .

. . .PAPER TOPS

In minutes, you can make tiny tops that are durable and compulsively twirlable. Since they're made of paper strips wound around a toothpick, you can shape them to the silhouette you like. You'll need toothpicks, some thin strips of paper (quilling paper works well since it's already cut into long, thin strips), and glue. You will want to make several since some are sure to find their way into friends' pockets.

Paint toothpicks with paint pens if you like; let dry. Glue one end of a 24-inch-long strip of paper just above the toothpick's tip. Roll tightly, and secure the end with glue. Glue on another strip and continue rolling; repeat about six times to make a disc 1 1/4 inches across. To decorate, glue on thinner strips in other colors. Press the coiled paper between thumb and fingers to shape the top.

WHO WOULD HAVE EVER THOUGHT. . .

. . .that sugarless gummy bears can prevent cavities????? According to an article, researchers have found a way to reduce cavity-causing bacteria on young children's teeth. Read the article if you don't believe me!

NEW YORK (July 31) - Gummy bears containing a sugar substitute called xylitol seem to reduce cavity-causing bacteria on young children's teeth suggesting, researchers say, that candy could be turned into a weapon against tooth decay.

Xylitol is a natural sweetener found in various berries, corn, birch and other plant sources. Research has shown that the sugar substitute reduces levels of mutans streptococci (MS) bacteria, which are known to cause cavities.

This is because xylitol differs from others sugars, like table sugar and glucose, which MS bacteria use for energy. MS bacteria "take in" xylitol, but can not break it down to use for fuel, explained lead investigator Dr. Kiet A. Ly of the University of Washington in Seattle.

"So in the process of trying to break down xylitol, they expend energy and don't get any in return," Ly told Reuters Health. "That reduces their ability to reproduce and multiply and leads to a reduction in number."

Xylitol-containing chewing gum is available, but it's not considered suitable for young children. So Ly and his colleagues tested the effects of xylitol-sweetened gummy bears in 154 elementary school children.

Each child was given four gummy bears, three times per day, during school hours. Some children received xylitol-containing gummy bears, while the rest were given candies sweetened with maltitol, another sugar substitute.

At the beginning of the study and six weeks later, the researchers measured the amount of bacteria in plaque samples from the children's teeth.

In the end, both the xylitol and maltitol gummy bears reduced levels of MS bacteria in the children's mouths, the researchers report in the online journal BMC Oral Health.

According to Ly, the findings suggest that gummy bears containing either sugar substitute could benefit children's oral health. But, he added, there has been little research on maltitol, and more study is needed to confirm the current findings.

The next step is to show that xylitol gummy bears actually prevent cavities in young children.

Ly said he and his colleagues are collaborating on just such a study with researchers at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

He noted that the xylitol gummy bears were created for the current study and are not yet on the market.

RETRO ADVERTISEMENT. . .

. . .while surfing the net I came upon this old-school poster. It's a good reminder for all of us to buckle up for safety. From Smashing Magazine.

OMG. . .IT'S AUGUST. . .AND TIME FOR ANOTHER CALENDAR. . .

Once again, SMASHING MAGAZINE has some truly awesome desktop calendars available. So many kewl calendars to choose from that I'm having trouble picking just one. Guess I will have to change my calendar 5 or 6 times this month.