dearest students,
I hope this week is good to you – apparently from some e-mails I got this week, some of you are just realizing summer reading has started:) for the rest…

“follow me” – by david platt – my pastor – book that basically makes the case that while other religions of the world tell you to do certain things, Christianity tells you to follow a person – which then means that there’s not a “right way” to do things necessarily in all things – and his ideas are fleshed out in the remaining chapters – that part was a bit different – or I read it or understood it – differently than I have previously – the rest was just what ms. blount and I – seat buddies – have heard for the past few years – obviously, I enjoyed the book:)

“Rumsfeld’s rules” – former secretary of defense, chief of staff, and probably a billion other things, Donald Rumsfeld wrote a book that probably recaps what he tells businesses when he makes presentations today – it was a good book – any book on advice, wisdom, learned from a man at 80 can’t help but be good – it did tick me off after reading it though when I had a meeting Friday that basically violated all the rules in the book:)

so I’ve heard from billy, fred, annMarie, and some sixth grader named bailey that i’m teaching this fall – I guess – b/c that named didn’t ring a bell – anyway, happy band/football/reading days

maf

so last week was a blast – managed to survive a 17-mile run this morning in about 95 percent humidity:)

you’ll notice reading is way down – still reading sports illustrated, runner’s world, and the like – but with media days last week, I read some of the football media guides – which i’m not counting – unless I lose to annMarie on the book count

“the poverty of nations” – great book for the middle school classroom – particularly my gifted one – because it’s an understandable (to the reader) look at what makes nations better off – and what some nations in poverty can do to raise their standard of living – the fact that the authors included a defense of their Christian faith made it all the better for me – but again, it’s definitely something my students could follow and I thought that was outstanding for an economist and a theologian

okay, so has the countdown for summer begun yet? that’s hard to do with days like today – although, I wish summer would go away… 🙂

maf

so tune to ESPN this week for your favorite teacher making cameo appearances – hey, after this year’s championship game with Georgia, you just never know…

“!nnovation” – wonderful book my gifted bunch could both understand and get a lot out of – much less myself – the author, an innovator herself, interviewed many other successful creative people on how they’ve become who they’ve become – I saved a few activities for us to use this fall – most interesting a brainstorming activity one group uses

“better” – study through the book of ecclesiastes from a pastor in LA – los angles – not lower Alabama – very accessible book for my middle school kids who often search for many different things – rather than be content with where they’re currently at – and definitely good food thought for their teacher

“the reason I jump” – we should do a summer book – everyone at school – and all read this book – at 115 pages, it could be done – basically, it’s an autobiography of a 13-year-old with autism – the book is an amazing gift to us into the mind of autism – and how we relate – and what we could do to understand and better appreciate those with it – just tons of ideas to use in the classroom with this book

“the odyssey” i’m guessing this is the third time I’ve read this book – probably the second time on the blog – first time was summer 10th grade year – just a classic story of a guy coming home – I guess the setup – the structure – of the story is what got me this time – just the formalities people go through in that culture with guests

“journey to the center of the earth” – the amazing thing about reading is that your next favorite book is often right around the corner – and I think that’s one reason why I read – the hope I have that something i’m going to read is just going to be great – and Verne’s classic really was great – probably second to 80 days now to me – and I can urge the sixth grade to read this one over 20,000 leagues – I have no idea why someone bought those books for middle school – center of the earth is much more understandable

have a great week

maf

billy, forgot to tell you, but i’m working on several pieces myself – including a fantastic follow up to the Corbo stories – so keep writing away…

“making the call” by Easley – remember the replacement refs in the NFL last year? this book is from the author of one of the infamous calls – great book for my kids about what happens when your 15 minutes of fame in life goes terribly wrong – how you deal or stand with that – and good inside look at the NFL – gets you ready for the fall

“fight” by preston sprinkle – should be required reading for all the troublemakers at my school:) actually, probably only my gifted would get it – but a great book about what the gospel has to say about non-violence – and believe it or not, there’s a lot – really makes you re-examine – particularly with the 4th – how close people tie the USA in with their faith – and whether that’s the right call (spoiler alert: it’s not)

“smartpop summer preview” – great look at several pieces on YA material – including the hunger games – the part that was the best was the essay on how best friends NEVER get the girl in literature – or movies – that while the best friend girl seems to always land her guy, that never works on the opposite side – great, cute point – we may read it in class this fall

“quiet kids” by fonseca – book primarily for parents of introverts – really works well for teachers, like me, and how to teach introverts – we’ll use some of the activities this fall – if nothing else, as a way for everyone in class to realize that not everyone loves dealing with people 24/7 – there are some of us that need our quiet time:)

hope your week is a great one
maf