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Turkey Crossing
Podcast
This is a podcast about education and my attempt to use classroom 2.0 tools in my classroom. I...
Anil Kapoor recommended City Lights (1931) in Movies (curated)
Oei, ik groei! sprongen kalender
Health & Fitness and Lifestyle
App
Blijf altijd op de hoogte van je baby's sprongetjes! Gebaseerd op de wereldwijde bestseller Oei, ik...
Vittle Pro: Recording Video Whiteboard
Business and Photo & Video
App
*** 20% off sale for Vittle Pro today! *** Create Video Screencasts from your Photos and Slides. ...
WolframAlpha
Reference and Education
App
Remember the Star Trek computer? It's finally happening--with Wolfram|Alpha. Building on 25 years of...
Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis in Books
Oct 22, 2017
An untold story of white working-class poverty in the US
J. D. Vance's homage to his poverty-stricken, working class roots in America is essential reading for those attempting to understand how a person like Trump can end up in power.
Without attributing the 2016 election results to Vance and his family himself, the author paints a picture of a total disconnect between establishments and white working class voters. From education, to opportunities in climbing the social ladder, Vance can be seen as an exception due to the lack of outreach from these institutions.
His story can appear both depressing and uplifting at the same time. From experiencing trauma through a broken home, poverty, and an abusive addict mother, to having supportive grandparents who are able to push him into believing in himself. Vance breaks the mould eventually studying at Yale and becoming a venture capitalist. But his doubts in himself are ever present.
Vance, however, also blames 'hillbilly' culture and it's encouragement of social rot. Likewise, he recounts stories about lack of work ethic, and the notion of blaming others for their own misfortune. It highlights the need for stability in families in order for upward mobility.
It is a raw, emotional portrait of growing up in and eventually out of a poor rural community riddled by drug addiction and volatility.
Without attributing the 2016 election results to Vance and his family himself, the author paints a picture of a total disconnect between establishments and white working class voters. From education, to opportunities in climbing the social ladder, Vance can be seen as an exception due to the lack of outreach from these institutions.
His story can appear both depressing and uplifting at the same time. From experiencing trauma through a broken home, poverty, and an abusive addict mother, to having supportive grandparents who are able to push him into believing in himself. Vance breaks the mould eventually studying at Yale and becoming a venture capitalist. But his doubts in himself are ever present.
Vance, however, also blames 'hillbilly' culture and it's encouragement of social rot. Likewise, he recounts stories about lack of work ethic, and the notion of blaming others for their own misfortune. It highlights the need for stability in families in order for upward mobility.
It is a raw, emotional portrait of growing up in and eventually out of a poor rural community riddled by drug addiction and volatility.
Alison Pink (7 KP) rated The First Days Of School: How To Be An Effective Teacher in Books
Jan 15, 2018
I have to tell you I've had about 5 copies of this book. I've given all but one of them away to student teachers I've mentored, people I know who think about going into teaching, or anyone who is interested. I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!!
I was first introduced to Harry Wong in an intro teaching class back in 1999 at CMU. It was the textbook we had to use in that class. I remember seeing it on the shelf in the book store & being glad it didn't cost a $150. That was about the extent of it, but then I inevitably had to crack it open & I was hooked.
Wong's writing style is laid back. His ancedotes are hilarious. The tips & tricks he sprinkles throughout the book are top notch. He is a teacher so he knows if its something you have to spend a massive amount of time planning for & getting materials together for you aren't going to do it. These ideas are things you can put into practice in your classroom the very next day! Speaking as a busy over worked teacher that's about as good as it gets!
If you've been teaching 25 years or are about to set foot in your very first classroom or you are entering a teacher education program this book is a must read!!!
I was first introduced to Harry Wong in an intro teaching class back in 1999 at CMU. It was the textbook we had to use in that class. I remember seeing it on the shelf in the book store & being glad it didn't cost a $150. That was about the extent of it, but then I inevitably had to crack it open & I was hooked.
Wong's writing style is laid back. His ancedotes are hilarious. The tips & tricks he sprinkles throughout the book are top notch. He is a teacher so he knows if its something you have to spend a massive amount of time planning for & getting materials together for you aren't going to do it. These ideas are things you can put into practice in your classroom the very next day! Speaking as a busy over worked teacher that's about as good as it gets!
If you've been teaching 25 years or are about to set foot in your very first classroom or you are entering a teacher education program this book is a must read!!!
ClareR (5879 KP) rated The Colour of Bee Larkham's Murder in Books
Apr 11, 2018
After the first chapter, I didn't think I'd like this AT ALL. It's a grower though! Once you fall in to the rhythm of Jasper's life and the way that he sees the world, it's all rather beautiful. He has synaesthesia - he sees sounds and voices as colours. Numbers and words have colours too. To add to his interesting world, he also has prosopagnosia (face blindness) and autism. He paints pictures of the sounds he experiences, and they sound as though they'll be beautiful.
I really felt for his father: it can't be easy parenting a child with Jaspers complex needs. However, I feel he comes across as being a very capable, loving man. He struggles to understand his son sometimes, but I think he appears to work very hard to help Jasper. And honestly, it must be hard to be Jasper as well.
As someone who works in education, I found it difficult to see how Jasper has slipped through the net of support for his conditions - but it does say in the novel that they have moved around a lot. So this might be the reason (and I'll allow for poetic licence!).
The descriptive language in this novel surrounding Jaspers synaesthesia really is beautiful, and well worth a read purely for that. Then you can stay for the murder mystery event!
I really felt for his father: it can't be easy parenting a child with Jaspers complex needs. However, I feel he comes across as being a very capable, loving man. He struggles to understand his son sometimes, but I think he appears to work very hard to help Jasper. And honestly, it must be hard to be Jasper as well.
As someone who works in education, I found it difficult to see how Jasper has slipped through the net of support for his conditions - but it does say in the novel that they have moved around a lot. So this might be the reason (and I'll allow for poetic licence!).
The descriptive language in this novel surrounding Jaspers synaesthesia really is beautiful, and well worth a read purely for that. Then you can stay for the murder mystery event!
Rachel King (13 KP) rated Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life in Books
Feb 11, 2019
I loved, loved, LOVED this book! Anne Lamott wrote this book as if she were teaching a writing class, but that description only covers about half of what the book is about, as the subtitle hints at with the word "Life." I would consider this book somewhat autobiographical in nature, since Lamott uses her own life experiences to demonstrate how she writes. The descriptions and metaphors were so vivid and on point that they had me at times laughing out loud, in tears, or having to put the book down just so I could contemplate what I had just read. The tips that she gave regarding the writing process were things that any person could both understand and use, whether or not he had any experience or formal education as a writer. Her tips ranged from tell the truth and write about your childhood to find a partner and use index cards to record ideas. She gives wonderful advice about the life of a writer, such as if your life is not enough before publication, then it won't be enough after publication.
I know that I will read this book again and again, gleaning her tips, stories, and metaphors like a prospector sifting for gold flecks. I can't recommend this book enough for any would-be writer or even any aficionado of the written word.
I know that I will read this book again and again, gleaning her tips, stories, and metaphors like a prospector sifting for gold flecks. I can't recommend this book enough for any would-be writer or even any aficionado of the written word.
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.
Everyone has most likely heard the quote, "History is written by the victors." Although the quote is often attributed to Winston Churchill, it is not known who originally said it. However, the author does not matter, only the truth of the quote.
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Young Readers’ Edition Everything American History Textbooks Get Wrong by James W. Loewen is part of his campaign to correct mistakes that have been taught in schools for years. His most famous work, Lies My Teacher Told Me, was originally published in 1995.
This history book is geared toward "young readers". I, as an adult, found the information interesting and some was outright surprising to me. However, I think young readers would find it wordy. This was not a book to sit and read cover to cover. I needed time to reflect, discuss, and to research sections for more information.
Adding it to an advanced or higher level history course to complement a traditional history textbook would be an asset to the student's education. Allowing both books to be read at the same time would probably help encourage the reader's curiosity to not just accept what the textbooks offers as history as fact.
Everyone has most likely heard the quote, "History is written by the victors." Although the quote is often attributed to Winston Churchill, it is not known who originally said it. However, the author does not matter, only the truth of the quote.
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Young Readers’ Edition Everything American History Textbooks Get Wrong by James W. Loewen is part of his campaign to correct mistakes that have been taught in schools for years. His most famous work, Lies My Teacher Told Me, was originally published in 1995.
This history book is geared toward "young readers". I, as an adult, found the information interesting and some was outright surprising to me. However, I think young readers would find it wordy. This was not a book to sit and read cover to cover. I needed time to reflect, discuss, and to research sections for more information.
Adding it to an advanced or higher level history course to complement a traditional history textbook would be an asset to the student's education. Allowing both books to be read at the same time would probably help encourage the reader's curiosity to not just accept what the textbooks offers as history as fact.
