2009 Animal Collection

I know it is only February, but guess what! The first animal of 2009 has been caught in the trap! A skunk was caught today. I came home and took a picture of the skunk in the cage. The pic isn't as good, but you can see it in the cage.

Book Review

Robin Lee Hatcher has a new book being released in May 2009. It is called, A Vote of Confidence. It is the first book in a new series, about the Sisters of Bethlehem Springs. Gwen Arlington was born in Bethlehem Springs, ID, but raised back East. She now lives in Bethlehem Springs, and the year is 1915. In 1896, Idaho gave women the right to vote, this was before the Constitutional amendment was added allowing women to vote in 1920. Gwen decides to run for Mayor of her town after hearing that the other candidate is the town drunk. The same day Gwen puts her hat in the ring for Mayor, , Morgan McKinley, the owner, of the new health spa that is being built north of town also puts his hat into the same ring. They meet and start to get to know one another. How does this new relationship affect the Mayoral race? Who wins the Mayoral race? Besides this being a love story, it is also a mystery. Somebody doesn't want McKinley to open his new health spa. Somebody causes problems? Who is it? Why does this person want McKinley to fail? Will Morgan McKinley and Gwen Arlington fall in love? Gwen has help in her bid for Mayor, her twin sister helps Gwen on her campaign. I enjoyed the book and I am looking forward to the next book in this series.

Curriculum Weeks 4 & 5

Last week and this week for my Thursday night class we had to read some articles, online, about Marzano. Kinda read and did discussed his book Classroom Instruction That Works. He gives 9 strategies. I had two questions that I had to answer and then respond my classmates' answers. Reading what they wrote was interesting. Having to think how I have used those strategies in my past classrooms and now as a sub was interesting.

For my Wednesday night class, I had to read a book by Counts, that was written back in the early part of the 1930's. This book is also true about right now. Democracy and how that works in the schools. This past week, I had to read the first two chapters of Pedagogy of the Oppressed. That book was written 38 years ago. Was first written in Portuguese, because the late author was from Brazil. This book has been widely sought after. The first chapter is about the oppressor and the oppressed. How the oppressor does not want to give up his power, because then he becomes the oppressed and will be treated like how he had treated the oppressed. The second chapter is on how education is based on the "Banking Theory", teachers just deposit the info and the students just store it away. In that way, the teacher is the Oppressor and the students are the Oppressed. Education needs to change, where the students have more power and will actually think.

I also had to read the second chapter of To Kill a Mockingbird. We took this chapter to help us understand this project that we have to do for this class which includes spending a few hours working in a group in somebody's classroom and mapping the power struggles between the various people and how it affects the learning process and other things.

I have started the initial research process for my Thursday night class which I want to do on staff development. I have gotten in touch with two school districts in this area, and have been unsuccessful in getting in touch with three other school districts. I sent my prof an email to night about including staff development from other countries. i will blog more about this project later.