June 2013
4 posts
As the North Rests on Its Laurels, the South Is Rising Fast →
thedailybeast.com
The old Confederate states now have America’s fastest-growing economies, and populations. Joel Kotkin reports on why Northerners have been slow to notice or credit the South’s rise.
Really interesting statistics and predictions in the article, and fascinating to think about where the South is headed in the future, even just thinking about all the rapid changes taking place here in Greenville even while some things never seem to change.
May 2013
8 posts
Do the Doo
Another word my 9th graders don’t know: “dew”
As in, “the wet dew on the grass.” Class response: “Ewww… that’s gross Mr. Ables. Why are you talking about dog doo on the ground?”
After moments of blinking inexplicably at them, I try to explain that the wet stuff on the ground in the morning actually has its own word. And that it’s not “Do the Doo,” but actually “Do the Dew.”
Ernest Hemingway Creates a Reading List for a Young Writer, 1934 →
openculture.com
The list is a great list, but the story is really interesting as well. Check it out.
The Night Heron
The New York Times and The Atlantic both recently highlighted this amazing bar that an artist created out of one of the seemingly millions of unused water towers in New York. There are so many incredible details involved here, from the way that visitors were invited, to the kinds of people who showed up. You just need to read about it for yourself. Here’s the official website and follow the links above.
I think the fact that I just saw The Great Gatsby added to my delight. Unlike the many faux speakeasies out there, this one was actually illegal - and awesome.
A word my 9th graders have obviously never seen in print: wean.
Twice now I’ve gotten “Mrs. Dubose tried to wing herself off of morphine.”
Urban Mamas Get Crafty →
thedailybeast.com
It’s easy to mock the twee, hyperlocal, handmade aesthetic that dominates fashionable enclaves in places like Brooklyn and Portland, Oregon. But in her new book, Homeward Bound: Why Women Are Embracing the New Domesticity, Emily Matchar makes a convincing argument that it actually represents a generational change in values born of a deep disaffection with the modern workplace, one with real implications for gender equality. Inasmuch as this new domesticity represents a desire to live more sustainably and authentically, it’s wholly laudable, if also a bit precious. But a return to home and hearth also has a way of reinforcing traditional gender roles, even if everyone involved says she’s only following her heart.
follow up excerpt from another student that’s just too funny not to share…
In some ways I agree with some women joining the service as like cooking and stuff on safe military grounds.
"I can't think of one thing that women are better than men at"
excerpt from one of my student’s article of the week reflections, on the Pentagon’s decision to allow more women in combat roles.
In this article they talk about how women and men are allowed to be in the military and fight beside one another. I for one think that women should not be allowed in the military. Women arnt as strong and tough as men. Where do you think the phrase “,You hit like a girl” comes from? In fact I cant think of one thing that women are better than men at, driving, shooting, basketball, videogames, Jobs, running, lifting, etc. I feel that there is no point for women to be in the military if men can do their Jobs better. There is NO!! reason why the Government will allow gay people in the military. Gay people are even more weak than girls. So why would they want that kind of people?
I get the feeling that he missed all the lessons that Atticus Finch and Elie Wiesel tried to teach him this semester.
April 2013
13 posts
“
So, how do you raise a reader? Forget the dishes and the laundry. Have some coffee after dinner so you’re awake to read, ‘just one more.’ Snuggle up and read together. It’s as much about being together as it is about expanding their minds and opening their vocabularies.
You get just one chance at this. The time flies away in a blink — but, in every page, the memories last forever.
” —Sherri Duskey Rinker, “How To Raise A Reader (Without Really Trying)” (via schoollibraryjournal)
Senseless. Evil. Silver Linings. Our Misguided Terms of Terror →
thedailybeast.com
Really interesting examination of the words that are used whenever something like Boston occurs: senseless, evil, silver linings, hero, justice.
And we want justice. On the day of the slaughter the president assured the nation and the world that the sadists in Boston would feel the righteous clamp of justice. Boston officials proclaimed justice served after the death of one bomber and the capture of the other. But the word sounds more substantial that it actually is, as if justice will raise the dead, reattach limbs, solder torn arteries, calm the traumatized, siphon the blood from the sidewalk back into the bodies of the slain. It will not. The president and city officials mean punishment. And punishment—one brother is dead, the other will likely be executed or else incarcerated for life—is necessary in that it might mitigate slightly our fanged grief and, more practically, it removes two sadists from our midst. Justice is a crucial and beautiful ideal before bodies are rent to shreds on a city sidewalk. After that, it’s pure punishment—nothing solved, nothing mended.
Cassie – Numb (ft. Rick Ross) DDotOmen.com Follow @DDotOmen
Obsessed with this song right now…
