Weekend Reading Assignment

It looks like it’s going to be a great fall day around here. My house had three days of rain…not the drenching kind we really need but more of the “fits and starts” kind of rain. I’m thankful for any, however.

Dear Son is home from school (laundry for me), Dear Daughter is busy with her social life (driving for me), Dear Hubby is at church participating in a work day (I get to control the TV remote), and me……

I have a deadline to meet with a paper that MUST be written and what am I doing? I’m preparing a blog entry instead. If you’ve spent any time around here I think it’s fairly clear that I like to write, however, I have to be interested in my topic. The topic of my paper is merely a summary of an eight week course….it should be fairly simply for me to do, but I’m sooooo disinterested. The assignment is a pointless rehash of things I’ve already said. I’ve thought of several ways I could structure the assignment, but unfortunately I’m not the teacher this time and as a student apparently I have no control….

Too often we see kids in the classrooom who are disinterested. They do everything they possibly can to avoid starting an assignment. Often this is due to a lack of knowledge or skills, but more often than not it is simply because the assignment doesn’t challenge or motivate the student. I think the solution is flexibility. Sometimes when I have a child who is avoiding an assignment I sit with him or her and we take a look at the particular standard and narrow down what it is the student should know or be able to do. From there I ask the student to come up at least two ways they could prove to me “they know” or “can do”. Once that is done I take a look at the choices…sometimes we have to tweak it a bit or two….and then I ask the student to choose one of their solutions and get on with it.

A little power and some choice will go a long way sometimes.

Just a thought…..

My first link for this weekend’s reading assignment is a happy one. Sometime ago I posted a lengthy recap of the Genarlow Wilson saga. Yesterday I watched on televison as he was finally released from prison and walked into the arms of his mother and sister. Yes, this young man made a poor choice, but poor legislation by the Georgia General Assembly (even though their intention was good) is at the heart of this matter. Georgia blogger, GriftDrift has the best recap of all issues concerning Wilson’s odyssey.

Speaking of my homeland the Georgia Carnival which I normally host here was hosted this week by Rusty at Radical Georgia Moderate. He did a great job and don’t hestiate to wind your way through a Georgia Carnival thinking it’s all about Georgia and won’t be interesting. There are many postings about other subjects; however, Rusty’s recap of our water woes is a most excellent round up of what might end up being a war with Alabama and Florida.

Did you know that two cabinet members were killed in an explosion in the early 1840s? I wrote about it earlier this week over at American Presidents.

I was also infected with the 10-20-30 virus, but I’m better now.

If this doesn’t give you enough to read the Education Carnival is a must see, and an article regarding America's oldest natural history museum begs for more research regarding the various collections it still holds.

As for me…..I still have that dang paper to write. :(