Here's the New 6th Grade!

We are just two days into our year, and already busy and learning. So -- here they are: the 6th grade class of 2008-2009.

Great Math Resource

Today, I shared information with students about a great set of books written for middle school math students. The author is Danica McKellar, perhaps best known for the role fo Winnie in the series "The Wonder Years." If you are interested, you can find more information at her Web Site . To quote from the site: Straight from Hollywood, this one-of-a-kind guide is guaranteed to make middle school math a breeze! In MATH DOESN'T SUCK, internationally known actress and bonafide math genius Danica McKellar — called a "math superstar" by The New York Times — rips the lid off the myth that math "sucks," helping to show that math can be easy, relevant, and even glamorous—while providing the tools needed to ace the next big math test! With Danica as a personal tutor and coach, even the most frustrated student will finally "get" fractions, decimals, rates, ratios, proportions, "solving for x," and more — the very concepts that, if not fully understood in middle school, have been proven to cause continued problems throughout high school and beyond. I'll be using this resource in the math classes this year. There is no requirement to purchase the book, but students may find it to be both helpful and entertaining.

First Day

We had a wonderful first day!

I'll have pictures tomorrow -- after I charge the batteries for my camera!

For tonight, I hope you talk a lot about the first day of school -- maybe especially about making origami cups to hold our apple juice. Don't forget to discuss what making origami juice cups might have to do with the study of math!

See you on Wednesday!

Five (5) lessons to make you think about the way we treat people

1 - First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady. During my second month of college, our professorgave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions until I readthe last one:"What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?" Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade. "Absolutely," said the professor. " In your careers,you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say "hello." I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy 2. - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain One night, at 11:30 p.m., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab. She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached. It read: "Thank you so much for assisting me on the highwaythe other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away... God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others. "Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole. 3 - Third Important Lesson - Always remember those who serve In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked. "Fifty cents," replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it. "Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired. By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient."Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied. The little boy again counted his coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream," he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill onthe table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies... You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip. 4 - Fourth Important Lesson. - The obstacle in Our Path In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a notef rom the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand! Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improveour condition. 5 - Fifth Important Lesson - Giving When it Counts Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes I'll do it if it will save her." As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away"? Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.

Medalist Won't be Going to Olympics

Joey Cheek is an Olympic gold medal ice skater and an activist for those who are suffering in Darfur. He is the founder of Team Darfur, a group of 70 athletes who work to raise awareness about Darfur. He was set to travel to Beijing for the 2008 summer Olympics when the Chinese government revoked his travel visa. It all seems very complicated to me. Except that it doesn't seem all that difficult to think that the work he's engaged in appears to be good and important. I have a hard time figuring out all these issues. You can read it for yourself here:

Olympic Medalist has Visa Revoked

If we could shrink the earth's population

If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following. There would be:
57 Asians
21 Europeans
14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south
8 would be Africans
52 would be female
48 would be male
70 would be non-white30 would be white
70 would be non-Christian 30 would be Christian
89 would be heterosexual 11 would be homosexual
6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth and all 6 would be from the United States.
80 would live in substandard housing
70 would be unable to read
50 would suffer from malnutrition
(ONE)1 would be near death;
(ONE)1 would be near birth;
(ONE)1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education;
(ONE)1 (yes, only 1) would own a computer.
When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective, the need for acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly apparent.
And, therefore . . .
If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world.
If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.
If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.
If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you are more blessed than three billion people in the world.
If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.
If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful, you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.
If you can read this message, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all. As you read this and are reminded how life is in the rest of the world, remember just how blessed you really are!