How have you done on your summer school goals? I made two goals for summer school.  First, I wanted my students to increase their understanding of how technology could help them learn on their own and how technology could help them create products which will grab other people's attention.  Secondly, I want to learn from my students what best meets their needs. 

I think I have done a fantastic job on the first one.  My student's project speak to that.  There are a lot of projects that I could not post because they were too large and those ones are even better.  I think I have done a good job on the second one as well.  I have not arrived, but I will keep pressing on in the area of assessing my student's needs.  That is something that I will never "arrive" at.  This summer has helped me formulate a class for the regular school year.  During the summer I had in mind, the students I will have next year as well as the students I have had during the summer.  I wanted to create a course that I could teach during the "Study Skills" period.  The course I have taught this summer has been a opportunity to better prepare for that.  I plan to expand the course I taught this summer to create a course that will give the students an opportunity to improve their reading, communication, artistic, analytical and organizational skills.  All of these will be integrated into the projects that the students will complete.  All of the planning, organizing and implementing of the projects will hopefully increase their skills in all of these areas while having fun. 

More details will follow during the school year.

My parents are missionaries.  When they left Scotland in 1962 to go to Malaysia that meant that they used their training as nurses to provide low-cost and no-cost medical care to the families in a small village in North Borneo.  My parents also used this opportunity to share the love of God with these families.  My parents have lots of great stories of working in the jungle.  There are stories of snakes in the house wrapped around the water heater (which was under the kitchen sink) to keep warm.  They left the house and came back later.  Or the story of the log that was blocking the dirt road.  When my dad got out of the jeep to move it, so they could drive on...the log moved.  It was also a snake, big enough to be mistaken for a log!  Of course there was the outhouse.  Our first house had no bathroom inside.  If you needed to relieve yourself you went out back into the little wooden hut.  Running water came from the daily rain that was collected and saved in 55 gallon drums.  That's fresh water! My parents have always had jobs that let them help other people.  For a while my dad worked with university students who were a long way from home and needed a place to hang out.  My parents ran a book store for a while as well and were able to spend their days helping people find the books or gifts that they wanted or needed.  My mom also worked as a teacher at my school and as the school nurse.  If  I was trying to fake that I was sick so that I would not have to go to school it never worked. If it was the middle of the day and I did not want to take the test during the next period, it did not help to go and see the nurse to get out of it.  Mom just said, "Go to class."  My dad also worked as a teacher at my school for a little while.  I had both of my parents as classroom teachers.  There was no excuse at home for missing homework.  Also if I needed help with my classwork I always knew I could get it.  Lastly my parents helped run a school.  It was all about giving the students the very best education they could.  It was about training the students and preparing them to move on to university or trade school to become successful in whatever way they wanted.  I think that is why my brothers, myself, and my sister all have jobs that let us help other people.

It has been a long time since I have been able to do much about my hobby.  I have always enjoyed fixing old cars.  My love of all things mechanical began as early as I can remember.  My earliest memory is of a train set that my dad bought for me before I was born.  I remember seeing some of the model rail cars sitting on the shelves in his study.  I remember them sitting on the shelves to the left of his desk which looked out the window, facing the setting sun.  Later on in life I took this love of all things mechanical and tried to fix an old car.  I was hooked. I never got the car running  but decided to take classes in college to learn about cars.  We had a lab in that class, and in the lab we were required to completely take apart an engine, measure all of the tolerances and and put it back together.  My engine did run after that.  About three years later I had the opportunity to buy an old Triumph GT6+. When I got it almost nothing worked, the tires where flat, the body was rusted and dinged and the windows seals were disintegrating.  Over the next year and a fixed the car up.  Got it running and began to enjoy it. 

We sold the car a few years ago and we sold the car so I have been investing time into my relationships with my wife, children, family and friends.  Now it it time to begin again.  My brother has kindly said he would let us have an old 1967 Mercedes-Benz 230 sedan that he has garaged for the last eleven and a half years.  This time the kids are old enough to join in and the sedan will be more comfortable to ride in that the little sports car.  So, on Friday I leave to go to Oregon to pick up the car and bring it back.  Yes, Oregon.  That is where it has been garaged for the last ten years.

What is your hobby?

Use your Internet Detective skills to find reliable web sites to answer the question.  You may work with one partner.  As you find the answer, write down the URL and author or organization that posted the information you collect.  At the bottom of your page decide whether olives are fruits or vegetables.  I will ask you at the end of the

So, I was going to write about my least favorite subject but the best I could come up with was penmanship.  Last millennial students would have to practice their handwriting skills.  We would have to print our letters by following a model letter.  We would print each letter over and over and use them in words.  We did the same in cursive, or handwriting as some call it.  Since this does not sound dramatic or tragic I'll write about my most favorite.

Art.  Not just any art class with any art teacher, but a Chinese art class with Mr. Roy Chang.  We learned how to make woven wicker baskets (no jokes about doing it underwater), we learned how to make lots of different kinds of pottery, we did a lot of brush painting and character writing with a traditional brush and ink on silk paper, we made the most amazing kites out of bent bamboo and rice paper.  Mostly I learned from Mr. Chang that art came with passion.  I learned from Mr. Chang that I should do my best the first time, be as careful as possible, be meticulous, always work in such a way as to say, "I did my best." 

I learned this from a lot of other people in my life too, but Mr. Chang's combination of love or art, love of people, high standards and integrity made an impression on my.  And by the way.  I had the privilege of knowing Mr. Chang from the time I was in sixth grade (at Latimer Hall)  until I graduated from high school.  Thank you Mr. Chang for being such a great example.

This sounds more like a teacher, doesn't it.  I read my favorite book of all time in 8th grade.  I had a teacher at the time who introduced us to really exciting books.  The one that has become my favorite is The Hobbit.  The story was exciting, it was suspenseful, it was totally believable.  I suppose most boys love stories that involve wizards, goblins, wharves, elves, magic, swords, and the battle between good and evil. 

I particularly liked the character of Bilbo Baggins.  He made me believe that even though I was a very average boy of 14 that I could do much more that I thought.  Bilbo is forced into an adventure that makes him complete many challenges which he though he was incapable of completing.  Mr. Baggins learns that, though he thinks he is feeble, that he can become stronger, that his hobbit skills can be sharpened though they have become almost unrecognizable through years of easy country living.

Bilbo learns to fight with his hands, he learns to fools dragons and he learns that the power of the ring is desired by everything that is evil.  Bilbo learns that if you stand for what is good or have what represents it, the forces will come looking for you.  Evil will not rest.  Edmund Burke said, ""All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."  Bilbo discovers that he cannot avoid the evil that is coming and must fight it.

I am reminded of the famous line from "Fiddler On The Roof" and the song, "If I Were A Rich Man".  I suppose I am a lot like him in his wishes.

He wished for a big house with one long staircase going up and a "and an even longer one coming down".  He wished for free time to do what he wanted instead of work or go to school.  He wanted to provide good things for his family so they would be happy and not worry.  Of course I would invest some so that my family would be taken care of for the rest of their lives.

There are other people I would help, people we know, people who need help, people who deserve a helping hand to get going, people who will later help others.

Since I don't know anyone who is rich I don't know what these kind of people are like.  Oh, sure, I recognize some rich people who help others with their money but I don't know them.  This is a little hard for me to imagine because I would not want to hoard the money, I would not want to sit on all my riches and keep it all for myself.

There are some amazing places that I would want to take my family too.  Beautiful places and historical places.  Places like Rome, London, Paris, Beijing.  Other places like the Grand Canyon, the Andes

Ethan Frome is a book I really did not like.  What bothered me the most about this book is that Ethan Frome, the main character seems to wimpy.  The technical term for this is emasculated...in other words, made to be not masculine!  While reading the story I was constantly finding myself annoyed and frustrated by Ethan's lack of personal dignity, lack of initiative, his fear of his wife, and his apparent inability to make a decision.  I suppose it is possible that this is a credit to the author, Edith Wharton, but since she was a woman who grew up in this kind of atmosphere I tend to think that it is a reflection of her opinion of men.

I had the feeling the whole way through the story that the author had a general disdain for men, a desire to make men, as a group, seem to be powerless and weak.  Each chapter she wrote seemed to add fuel to the fire of my opinion and provided, what I thought to be, more and more evidence of her opinion. 

Being a man, I felt insulted by the tone of the book.  I realize that there are sad, self-conscious, people who waver in their mind much of the time and seem incapable of making even the most simple decision.  I realize that many people grow up in difficult situation and may have learned to act this way in order to survive a difficult childhood.  I also realize that an ending where Ethan would learn to stand up for himself, make a decision, or at least make a choice, might be difficult to believe given his personality flaws.  When I read I want to learn, I don't want to be depressed and irritated.  I want to grow, I want to grow up, I want to learn from other people's examples and gain courage to become a better, stronger person.  Reading Ethan Frome did not do that for me.

I am very fortunate to have visited many places.  Mostly because my parents were working or traveling there.  As my brothers and sister and I grew older we joked about our parents moving a lot, and how we always found them.  I hope I don't have to explain that joke.

The most interesting place I visited was Jerusalem.  It was some amazing to think that many of the places I walked had been there for 2,500 years.  Many of the stones paths we walked on or archeological digs we visited predated the time of Christ.  One of the monuments was supposedly the grave of King David.  That would be about 3,000 years ago. 

The streets in the new city were wide and traveled mostly by cars, buses and motorcycles.  They looked like most other city streets in many cities in the middle east, wide, paved, modern, efficient.  The narrow walkways of the old city were different.

The streets of the old city were not wide enough to allow a car to travel through them.  The buildings on each side rose three of four stories so that you could see very little of the sky.  Often the awnings from the shops on the first floor met, or nearly met each other in the center of the street, making a covering for the street.  Shops on each side sold nearly everything.  One shop in particular I remember was a little restaurant.  We had lunch there sometimes.  After walking up and down the hills and valleys of the city and the surrounding area we were always hungry.  The food was great but the orange juice was amazing!

The oranges sat next to a traditional hand press.  The fresh, ripe, bright orange fruit was cut in half and placed the press.  A clean glass (at least we hoped it was clean) was placed under the press.  As the large handle was lowered the juice  flowed down into the glass.  That's what was delivered to our table.  The juice was cool but not cold, but the unmistakable flavor was what brought us back.  I remember many of the places that we visited but the flavor of that orange juice left an impression on me that is remembered

What would I do if I had the ability to be invisible?  I have to think about that for little while.  I use the ability to help and to hurt.  So the question is which would I choose?  I'd love to play the part of a helper like the angel in "Angels in The Outfield".  I'd love to take the bat of some unsuspecting little league baseball player, you know, the kind who never gets a hit and only plays because the coach has to play him at least two innings.  I'd love to help him belt a home run, I'd love to see him, just once, be the hero of the team.  I'd love to take some child who was having a horrible time with a test, take the hand and help them answer all of the questions.  Of course the problem then will be, how will they feel the next time they try and they fail.  Does that set them up for greater disappointment? 

I suppose what I would really like to do is use the power to help people.  I'd love to see others succeed, I'd love to see them reach their goals, I'd love to see them with a huge smile on their faces because they did something they never though they could...but I want them to be able to do it again, and again, and again.  So I guess that makes me a... teacher!