22. Scumble by Ingrid Law - middle grade - companion novel to Savvy. The story tells about a 13 year old boy's challenge to learn to manage is new talent, his savvy. 8/10
23. Interlude in Death by J.D. Robb - adult - Eve Dallas novella, futuristic crime mystery - 9/10
24. Moo, Baa, La La La! by Sandra Boynton - board book - Love Boyton!! 10/10
25. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown - board book - classic - 9-10
26. Trials to Bear by Linda Wells - adult - Pride and Prejudice what if?, second book of a trilogy - Elizabeth and Darcy's first year of marriage
27. Are You Sleeping? by Debbie Trafton O'Neal - picture book - children's song with additional verse, wonderful illustrations - 10/10
J-K Chronicles: Home, School and All That Jazz
Monday, June 27, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
Summer Book-a-Day Challenge week #3
14. Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs - middle grade - boy investigates the murder of a hippo, after no one believes him - 7/10
15. Junonia by Kevin Henkes - younger middle grade - girl's annual Florida vacation & birthday turn out differently than usual - 8/10
16. Liar, Liar by Gary Paulsen - young adult - boy gets caught in the web of his many lies - 9/10
17. The Tudors by G.J. Meyer - adult - concise summary of the reigns of the Tudor kings and queens; not the best choice for summer reading! - 8/10
18. Our Only May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm - middle grade - the story of the only girl growing up in a family with 7 brothers in 1900's Washington state - 9/10
19. The Trouble of May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm - middle grade - continues the story of May Amelia - 8/10
20. Perfect Fit by Linda Wells - adult - modern Pride & Prejudice story - author Elizabeth Bennet meets William Darcy at his cousin Anne's wedding - 10/10
21. Room by Emma Donoghue - adult - told from the point of view of 5 year old Jack, who has spent his whole life inside the Room with his mother - having no other contact with other people - haunting story - 10/10
15. Junonia by Kevin Henkes - younger middle grade - girl's annual Florida vacation & birthday turn out differently than usual - 8/10
16. Liar, Liar by Gary Paulsen - young adult - boy gets caught in the web of his many lies - 9/10
17. The Tudors by G.J. Meyer - adult - concise summary of the reigns of the Tudor kings and queens; not the best choice for summer reading! - 8/10
18. Our Only May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm - middle grade - the story of the only girl growing up in a family with 7 brothers in 1900's Washington state - 9/10
19. The Trouble of May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm - middle grade - continues the story of May Amelia - 8/10
20. Perfect Fit by Linda Wells - adult - modern Pride & Prejudice story - author Elizabeth Bennet meets William Darcy at his cousin Anne's wedding - 10/10
21. Room by Emma Donoghue - adult - told from the point of view of 5 year old Jack, who has spent his whole life inside the Room with his mother - having no other contact with other people - haunting story - 10/10
Monday, June 13, 2011
Summer Book-a-Day Challenge week #2
Not quite one a day this week, but six more is pretty respectable!
8. Chance Encounters by Linda Wells - adult - Pride and Prejudice what if? novel - Elizabeth and Darcy meet by chance at a London theatre -10/10
9. The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall - middle grade - four sisters spend the summer at a cottage on an estate and have adventures with the neighbor boy -9/10
10. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future by Michael J. Fox - adult - expanded graduation speech, not as good as his biographies - 8/10
11. Hero by Mike Lupica - young adult - a boy discovers he has super hero powers and must learn how to deal with them and who to trust after the death of his father - 7/10
12. Aliens on Vacation by Clete Barrett Smith - middle grade/young adult - a boy spends the summer at his grandmother's B&B and discovers that all the guests are really from outer space! - 8/10
12. The Visconti House by Elsbeth Edgar - middle grade/young adult - Australian novel; a boy and a girl uncover the mystery behind the mysterious Visconti house - 10/10
8. Chance Encounters by Linda Wells - adult - Pride and Prejudice what if? novel - Elizabeth and Darcy meet by chance at a London theatre -10/10
9. The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall - middle grade - four sisters spend the summer at a cottage on an estate and have adventures with the neighbor boy -9/10
10. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future by Michael J. Fox - adult - expanded graduation speech, not as good as his biographies - 8/10
11. Hero by Mike Lupica - young adult - a boy discovers he has super hero powers and must learn how to deal with them and who to trust after the death of his father - 7/10
12. Aliens on Vacation by Clete Barrett Smith - middle grade/young adult - a boy spends the summer at his grandmother's B&B and discovers that all the guests are really from outer space! - 8/10
12. The Visconti House by Elsbeth Edgar - middle grade/young adult - Australian novel; a boy and a girl uncover the mystery behind the mysterious Visconti house - 10/10
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Book a Day Challenge - Summer 2011
So, someone I greatly admire is sponsoring a book-a-day reading challenge for the summer. See her post here. My goal is 79 books for summer 2011, following her rules. Can I do it?
Let's see:
1. The Day of the Pelican by Katherine Patterson - young adult - story of one family's experience with Kosovo, ethnic cleansing, and immigration to America - 8/10
2. School of Fear by Gitty Daneshvari - middle grade - four students come to School of Fear to overcome their various overwhelming fears -9/10
3. School of Fear: Class is Not Dismissed by Gitty Daneshvari - middle grade - students return to School of Fear to help save the school and continue to work on overcoming their fears - 8/10
4. Fate & Consequences by Linda Wells - adult - Pride and Prejudice what if? novel - Darcy saves Georgiana from Wickham, but scandal spreads - the one joy is a chance meeting with a young lady named Elizabeth Bennett - 10/10
5. Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes - middle grades - Hurricane Katrina through the eyes of a young girl and her friend working together to survive - 8/10
6. Ghost Dog Secrets by Peg Kehret - middle grade - young boy finds a dog being abused and is prompted to help by a ghost dog - 10/10
7. The Well by Mildred D. Taylor - middle grade - historical fiction, early 1900's Mississippi - story of a drought and black/white interactions - 10/10
Let's see:
1. The Day of the Pelican by Katherine Patterson - young adult - story of one family's experience with Kosovo, ethnic cleansing, and immigration to America - 8/10
2. School of Fear by Gitty Daneshvari - middle grade - four students come to School of Fear to overcome their various overwhelming fears -9/10
3. School of Fear: Class is Not Dismissed by Gitty Daneshvari - middle grade - students return to School of Fear to help save the school and continue to work on overcoming their fears - 8/10
4. Fate & Consequences by Linda Wells - adult - Pride and Prejudice what if? novel - Darcy saves Georgiana from Wickham, but scandal spreads - the one joy is a chance meeting with a young lady named Elizabeth Bennett - 10/10
5. Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes - middle grades - Hurricane Katrina through the eyes of a young girl and her friend working together to survive - 8/10
6. Ghost Dog Secrets by Peg Kehret - middle grade - young boy finds a dog being abused and is prompted to help by a ghost dog - 10/10
7. The Well by Mildred D. Taylor - middle grade - historical fiction, early 1900's Mississippi - story of a drought and black/white interactions - 10/10
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Speech to WI Senate hearing
by Marjorie Passman on Thursday, March 24, 2011
Despite the accent you are about to hear, I have lived in Wisconsin for the last 40 years. For 25 years I have taught elementary, middle and high school. I am now on the Madison School Board but today I represent only myself and not my school board.
I come to you to ask you to reconsider the Charter School Bill you have before you. The key question before us is what will happen to pubic education if this bill passes as is.
Let’s look into the future – to the year 2025. On one side of the educational spectrum we will see a mass of private Charter Schools, filled with uncredentialed teachers and staff, unrestricted in curriculum and educational philosophy. Those not chosen by lottery will return to the dying embers of our public schools that have had essential funding drained from them for private Charter Schools. Add vouchers to the picture and you will actually have the poor paying for the rich to attend private school.
Those in crowded underfunded schools will not have their needs met – crime and poverty will increase and those needing the most from society will be getting the least.
In addition, Charter Schools have not, by any means, been universally successful. Charter schools were supposed to be the great panacea of education – they would produce great achievement and higher test scores. Recent studies do not find major gains for students in either voucher or Charter Schools. Some were more successful than others but by giving a school a Charter did not ensure success, by any means. In low income areas achievement results were the same as public schools.
Pennsylvania passed a charter law in l997 and in 2008 the RAND Corporation concluded that any gain for students were the same as the public school gains.. Those schools run for profit) did not perform any better than public schools. In 2009 Philadelphia concluded that privatization of schools had not worked.
But, I am not here to debunk Charter Schools. I am here to tell you what they will do to our Public Schools. I am here to ask you to save our public schools. 1) make them instrumentalities of their local school district, 2) finance them independently and not by preempting the funds for local schools, and, 3) Have them judged by the Department of Public Instruction – an agency whose very existence is about education while an independent politically appointed committee will not have the skills or knowledge to determine the validity of a charter’s application.
Our nation was the first to create and support public schools. Those leaders of Federal and State governments wanted to provide all children with universal access to free education. They wanted to guarantee equal opportunities for all children. They wanted our schools to unify (not separate) a diverse population, and they wanted public schools to improve social conditions. Our public schools have always been the great equalizer in our Society. Their doors have been open to any child no matter what their needs were. It is the mix of children that created a vibrancy and energy in education that was so crucial to first generation Americans like myself.
Thank you,
Marjorie Passman
Despite the accent you are about to hear, I have lived in Wisconsin for the last 40 years. For 25 years I have taught elementary, middle and high school. I am now on the Madison School Board but today I represent only myself and not my school board.
I come to you to ask you to reconsider the Charter School Bill you have before you. The key question before us is what will happen to pubic education if this bill passes as is.
Let’s look into the future – to the year 2025. On one side of the educational spectrum we will see a mass of private Charter Schools, filled with uncredentialed teachers and staff, unrestricted in curriculum and educational philosophy. Those not chosen by lottery will return to the dying embers of our public schools that have had essential funding drained from them for private Charter Schools. Add vouchers to the picture and you will actually have the poor paying for the rich to attend private school.
Those in crowded underfunded schools will not have their needs met – crime and poverty will increase and those needing the most from society will be getting the least.
In addition, Charter Schools have not, by any means, been universally successful. Charter schools were supposed to be the great panacea of education – they would produce great achievement and higher test scores. Recent studies do not find major gains for students in either voucher or Charter Schools. Some were more successful than others but by giving a school a Charter did not ensure success, by any means. In low income areas achievement results were the same as public schools.
Pennsylvania passed a charter law in l997 and in 2008 the RAND Corporation concluded that any gain for students were the same as the public school gains.. Those schools run for profit) did not perform any better than public schools. In 2009 Philadelphia concluded that privatization of schools had not worked.
But, I am not here to debunk Charter Schools. I am here to tell you what they will do to our Public Schools. I am here to ask you to save our public schools. 1) make them instrumentalities of their local school district, 2) finance them independently and not by preempting the funds for local schools, and, 3) Have them judged by the Department of Public Instruction – an agency whose very existence is about education while an independent politically appointed committee will not have the skills or knowledge to determine the validity of a charter’s application.
Our nation was the first to create and support public schools. Those leaders of Federal and State governments wanted to provide all children with universal access to free education. They wanted to guarantee equal opportunities for all children. They wanted our schools to unify (not separate) a diverse population, and they wanted public schools to improve social conditions. Our public schools have always been the great equalizer in our Society. Their doors have been open to any child no matter what their needs were. It is the mix of children that created a vibrancy and energy in education that was so crucial to first generation Americans like myself.
Thank you,
Marjorie Passman
To My Fellow Teachers and Staff of MMSD
by Marjorie Passman on Tuesday, March 22, 2011
I am very grateful to the WSJ for printing my Letter to the Editor but they "kinda" mangled it. I have been asked to show the original and here it is:
We all became educators because we couldn’t help it. It was in our blood. There was nothing else we wanted to do with our lives. We unquestioningly assumed the responsibility of educating future generations of our community.
Our children have the best that education can offer right in front of them everyday. You love what you do and you will continue to do that in spite of the storms raging around you. All you have ever wanted were the funds and respect you deserve.
Thanks to our Governor the funds are not to be, but I can assure you that you have more respect than ever from the decent, humane people in our city. You must believe in the essential value of your work. You must cling tenaciously to what you know is right.
You don’t necessarily need a mantra to work in other jobs, but you do in education. You need to hold onto something beyond the daily teaching experience - something you can connect with when life is difficult and overwhelming. So, please believe that what you are doing is the single most important job there is. You are fundamental to the central core of a sane world. Of course, teachers and staff have little time for such self-reflection because you are too busy just getting through the infinitely frenzied world you live in.
Let me end by asking you who you think can return our state and country to its historical commitment to democratic principles. Who can assume the obligation and duty to do this? The answer, simply put is – YOU, THE WONDERFUL TEACHERS AND STAFF OF OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS!
Marjorie Passman
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