From PBS NewsHour, a very interesting look at keeping kids with learning disabilities engaged in education while not segregating them from peers without similar challenges.
Very exciting to hear about programs that help kids learn to love reading, despite struggles like dyslexia.
From Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Twitter feed:
Well played, Tyson. And yet my heart still calls out for nine. Still, curious to see what the updated version of There’s No Place Like Space! is with eight.
A few more links for today:
A few more links to round out the day:
When I was in high school, I had a lot of friends who were readers but not a lot who wanted to be writers. Not a bad place to be by any means; I had fantastic friends who would swap books and get into debates about which Harry Potter character might die in the next book. But going to the Young Writers Workshop at the University of Virginia was a revelation. There were people who were as wildly excited about writing as I was–from the students to the counselors to the faculty, everyone there wanted to make art. Not just fiction or poetry, either–they offer courses in playwriting/screenwriting, nonfiction, and songwriting as well. My roommate was a songwriter and it was fantastic to get to know more about her process. The students take their work seriously, and everyone I met was fiercely intelligent and creative.
Everyone was so supportive and encouraged taking risks. I tend to dislike reading in public, but every student took part in a final reading/performance series. It was the first time I’d read my work aloud to anyone and was really nervous beforehand. But after I finished everyone cheered and it gave me such a rush. The closest I can think to compare it to is the Nerdfighter community–lots of energy and passion, and a willingness to be silly or wild or unconventional.
I only went one summer (many students return for at least a few years), but the experience really stuck with me. When I came back for my senior year of high school I felt more confident and was even more committed to making writing a part of my future studies. Having enjoyed the setting so much, I ended up back at UVa as an undergraduate (and loved that experience as well)
The program lives on and continues to inspire young writers and their teachers. If you or someone you know might be interested in attending, definitely check out this video for thoughts on YWW. It got me pretty teary-eyed. Although the deadline for this year was March 1, they are reviewing late applications on a rolling basis. And there’s always next summer.
Seriously guys, can we all go back to Young Writers now?
A few more fun links:
We’re coming up on the end of February vacation for a lot of schools. In case you or your kids are on break and you haven’t seen anything cool yet, check out the National Children’s Book and Literary Alliance’s list of awesome museums across the country. Not a bad way to spend a Friday!
Some of the great museums included are the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in MA(somehow I still haven’t been there yet!) and the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.
Another on my to-visit list is the MIT Museum, which explores invention and technology. They have robots!
Have you visited any cool museums lately?
It was the best of birthdays, it was the worst of birthdays…
Well, hopefully not the worst. But it is the 200th birthday of Charles Dickens. Happy birthday, Charles! My favorite of his work is probably A Tale of Two Cities, which I first read when I was way too young to get most of it.
To celebrate, Masterpiece has shared the trailer for their upcoming production of Great Expectations. It looks awesome. I haven’t actually read the book (I know, I know) but this might be the inspiration I need. Also, teachers and librarians should take note:
“Three video-based lessons will be posted in April on the free teacher resource, PBS LearningMedia. Using video clips from Great Expectations, English Lit classrooms can compare and contrast the film with the book, learn about the moral underpinnings of the work, and explore Dickens’s writing process.”
What’s your favorite Dickens novel?
OK Go already does musical videos better than anyone else. So of course their work with Sesame Street is stellar:
Another good example of you can take a basic idea (primary colors can mix together to make other colors) and still make it fun and exciting for kids. There’s a lesson in there, but it’s presented in such an engaging way that it doesn’t feel forced at all.
If you’re online at all today, you’ve probably noticed that some major sites, like Wikipedia, have gone dark to protest SOPA and PIPA. I stopped by Wikipedia this morning to look up some random bit of information and got their dark page instead. It was a good reminder that we rely on these tools to enhance our lives and our knowledge. In very short, legislation like SOPA and PIPA is harmful to most internet users while not efficiently stopping online piracy.
For more info on the protest, check out these articles and posts.