Blind Side - What Are We Missing?

I was just watching a scene from the movie Blind Side (with Sandra Bullock) and one scene has just grabbed me by the gut and really made me think about what we do as educators. What I am responsible for myself. In the scene, a teacher reads out a discarded piece of writing from Big Mike to  other teachers in the staff room that are frustrated with the lack of effort and ability they see in Big Mike. Here is an excerpt from that essay...

"I look and I see white everywhere: white walls, white floors, and a lot of
white people…. The teachers are not aware that I have no idea of anything they
are talking about. I do not want to listen to anyone, especially the teachers.
They are giving homework and expecting me to do the problems on my own. I’ve
never done homework in my life. I go to the bathroom, look in the mirror, and
say, "This is not Mike Oher. I want to get out of this place."
–Evolution of a Game

Right after that, one of the more skeptical teachers in the room asks, "How's his spelling?"

We have this huge expectation of our students that they should be like little sponges sopping up all the knowledge we impart through lecturing, through getting them to read textbook passages, through worksheets, through reading books, you name it and you know what I am talking about because I have seen it countless times. I am not pointing fingers at anyone but myself because it is not my place to blame or shame anyone but myself. I spout these ideas and theories about what I think a classroom should be like. I have visions and dreams of students "getting it" and creating extraordinary pieces of work that magically appear. The amount of students that can live up to this expectation are far fewer than the norm of students that need more than us just pushing information at them hoping that they will get something out of it and be able to send it back to us in an acceptable fashion.

So I have to ask myself, What do I really believe? What can I really do? and How can I get there?. I start out with good intentions and they all seem to go by the wayside and I get lost in the chaos of my day. Sometimes it's not so great watching those inspiring movies about the difference that teachers make in students' lives. How do you ever live up to that?

What I have to remember is to not lose hope and believe in my ability that I can make a difference. Maybe I'm not going to change the world overnight, but I can make a difference one person and one day at a time.

These are my thought so far and I'm sure there is much more to come. What do you think?

Student Writing: Respecting & Tolerance For Other People's Beliefs

Well I'm now officially teaching High School until the end of the year. I have 2 classes - Humanities 8 (a mix of Social Studies & English with a creative writing focus) and Health & Career Education (HACE 9). For one of my first teaching assignments studying World Religion, I had my Grade 8 Humanities class write about their own beliefs and why they thought it was important to respect other people's beliefs.

The images above are an amalgamation of their thoughts.

Here are some of the statements that I thought were especially poignant...

1. Beliefs are important to all sorts of people in one way or another, but open-mindedness is just as significant.
2. When we can take the time to learn about one another’s beliefs, we get to see another type of thinking.
3. If people could consider other people’s beliefs and walk a mile in their shoes there would be a lot less fighting and prejudice.
4. Religion shouldn’t be seen as a way to judge someone but as a way someone has chosen to live.
5. We all need to understand and accept each other’s beliefs because that is the only way peace in this world will increase.

Review ~ Promises in Death

Title: Promises in Death by J.D. Robb
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
My Review: This series is best when Lt. Dallas is involved with cases that she has a personal stake in. You can feel her pain when she has to tell her friend about the death of his loved one. I also loved how the rest of her crew jumped in to help. The most entertaining part was how all the ladies give their input in the case. I laughed out loud during a few scenes where Eve gets so uncomfortable with the messiness of life around her.

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Review ~ Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Review: This book was hilarious. I laughed out loud so many times that people were starting to look at me funny. I think the biggest selling point of this series is the drawings which was a brilliant idea by the author. It still allows the reader to use his/her imagination, but it conveys the absolute absurdity of the situations the protagonist gets himself into.

As a teacher, it's always great to find books that kids of all ages (especially boys) like to read and the bonus is it's one I can enjoy too! It brought back memories of my own struggles in elementary school, but in a "it's always good to find a way to laugh about it" kind of way.

I know the live-action movie is out this weekend and I'm sure it will do well, but I think it would have been better as an animated film (maybe stop-motion). I think the real people will spoil the fun a bit because real people never live up to our own imagination. I'll update this after I've seen the movie and see if I change my mind. I'll also see what my students thought of the movie.

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Review ~ Devil's Arithmetic

Title: The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen
My Rating: 4 of 5 stars
My Review: Initally I thought this book kind of plodded along and didn't delve too deeply. I started to wonder why it was lauded as an award winning novel. After reading the entire novel, this initial pace and thought process makes sense. I could be wrong, but perhaps it was written that way to make us feel the apathy that Hannah felt about her family get togethers. I think most teenagers feel this way about our history (whether it be family, coutnry, culture or world history) which is really sad.

What sets this book apart is how both the main character Hannah and the reader is transported to another time and place in order to get a real sense of what the time was like by actually living through it. Instead of merely being an observer Hannah is thrust into a life she has only read or heard rambling stories of. I appreciated how the author played with what was real or imagined memories for Hannah through this experience.

As an avid reader of historical fiction, a student of history and an educator, I appreciate the opportunities for learning that a book like this presents. I think students today could benefit from actually living history to make it relevant and come alive. If only it were possible. My challenge as a teacher is to find ways to make that happen in the classroom every day. That's a huge undertaking! I'm glad I have books to help me along the way.

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Books to Movies ~ Alice in Wonderland

ALICE IN WONDERLAND {2010}

I know this isn't where I normally review movies I watch (see This n That), but I was thinking as I went home after watching this movie (and seeing Avatar last Tuesday) that these amazing film directors (Tim Burton and James Cameron) must have read a lot of books growing up. They have such an incredible imaginations and the worlds they paint and create are so vivid, intense, magical, ethereal, dramatic (the list of superlatives goes on and on) that I have to believe that their imaginations conjured up these fantastical pictures from the images in their head as they read extraordinary literature over the years. It makes me want to re-read the book(s) again (Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass) which I'm pretty sure I read as a small child.

I'll add more to this article, but I just wanted to get down my initial thoughts while they were still in my head.

Review ~ The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Society

Title: The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Society

Author: Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Publisher: The Dial Press

Publication Date: July 2008 (Hardcover) | Pages: 288

Genre: Historical Fiction | Age Level: 13+

Website: www.randomhouse.com/rhpg/guernsey, Book Club Guide 

Tags: WWII, Bookclub, letters, Channel Islands, Guernsey, occupation

Summary: “ I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers.”January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb….

As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.

Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.

Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises, and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.

Review: This book was a light breezy,heartwarming read I flew through. I often forgot I was reading a book; instead I felt like I was reading treasured letters from friends. 


It transported me to a fascinating period of history (just after WWII) and through these letters from the Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Society we are transported to the hardships, hope and heart of a small island occupied by the Germans during WWII. We are shown how a shared love of reading can make a horrific situation more bearable and it may even save your life!


After reading this novel, I want to visit Guernsey (which hopefully I'll be able to do one day) and read more about the Channel Islands during the war.


Rating: 5/5

Bookclub Guide