The Outdoor Club

One of the intelligences identified by Howard Gardner is that of the naturalist.  Multiple intelligences research has been able to identify connections made in the brain based on the reception of certain stimuli.  As different parts of the brain are stimulated, they “light up” because of the activity that is happening in that place in…

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Book Review: The Tipping Point—Malcolm Gladwell

I first read the book Tipping Point when it was published in 2000.  It was interesting reading and I applied it to my current situation as an administrator for an after-school program in a school district.  The premise is that things need to reach a critical mass, and at that moment, the shift begins.  I…

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Not So Usual Celebrations

August 27th is Just Because Day.  Why in the world would be celebrate a Just Because Day?  The answer is simple, “Because.”  This is the day to do things for no apparent rhyme or reason, but simply just because you would like to.  This means that you can act on a whim, take a chance…

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Having A Successful Poetry Club

There are several things that you can do to have a successful poetry club on Fridays or as a club offering in middle or high school.  This genre has a variety of different forms and although we sometimes act if poetry is squishy and mushy, we can find some great examples of poetry used in…

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Not So Usual Celebrations

August 26th is Women’s Equality Day.  August 26th, 1971, by an Act of Congress, was established to commemorate the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution granting women the right to vote—to have full access and equity to vote on national and state policies and procedures.  Women’s Equality Day continues to highlight inequities of…

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Equity and Access

Equity and access—two words that are often seen together in reading about diversity, but what do these words really mean.  Do they mean that everybody has to be treated exactly the same and that square pegs must be driven into round holes?  Does it mean that everybody has to do everything, even if they would…

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Not So Usual Celebrations

August 25th is Kiss and Make Up Day.  To be sure, we do not literally promote “Kiss and Make Up Day”, because kissing is the last thing we want to have happen during this time of COVID 19.  So, when looking at this day, let’s look at the intent of the day, the truth behind…

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Not So Usual Celebrations

August 24th is Vesuvius Day.  Mt. Vesuvius is a now dormant volcano.  It’s last eruption was in 79 A.D. on this day.  The eruption killed 3,360 people in the Roman city of Pompeii.  It is in the ruins of Pompeii that we have found out many things about the daily life of early Romans.  Vesuvius,…

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Not So Usual Celebrations

August 23rd is Ride the Wind Day.  Although this is not a sanctioned holiday, perhaps it should be.  This is the day to be carefree, to hang-out, to take advantage of a dwindling summer.  Catch a breeze and soar high above.  Spend the day relaxing and leave your worries behind you, if just for a…

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Not So Usual Celebrations

August 20th is National Radio Day.  In this day of IPods and CD changers, it may be challenging for you to understand how the radio could be so important, but for those who precede these inventions, the radio was as important as soda.  Listening to the radio is what we did.  Today, on occasion, I…

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