Big Hiatus

I didn't read anything for about six months apparently.  Yikes!  Lots of Mayo Clinic and What to Expect, I guess.

This was the first book I read once we settled in to Oshkosh.  The Relief Society sisters had been gathering 100 dresses to donate to the local Women's shelter.  To top of their success, they all got together one night to discuss this book (which is a super easy independent read) and eat cheesecake.  I think they donated more than 100 dresses once it was all said and done.

It seemed a common consensus that the ending just wasn't as fulfilling as one hopes.  At first this really upset me, but after discussing it with the ladies in the ward I realized that was perfect.  If things had wrapped up nicely, with a big bow, we wouldn't have had so much to discuss.  I guess this just felt like the king of book where a big bow would have made me feel better.

Why?  Because as a read you know what it is like to be each of the three main characters.  The girl who wants to be popular, the girl who is teased, and the girl who hurts others feelings unknowingly.  In life, we wish all those situations would easily and quickly resolve themselves.  So it would have been nice if this book could have shown us how to do so.  But it didn't.

Naturally, as a Church function, we were able to pull out some religious parallells.  Which made me feel like this book was a deeper read than it appears.  It would be an excellent book to read with a young daughter, on the cusp of puberty.  It's a great way to talk about the importance of how we treat others and why we shouldn't judge based on appearances.

Initially, I didn't like it.  But a good "book club discussion" can help me see the beauty in any book.  

The Last Great Teacher Read . . . for a while

I read this last summer, as I always pick a teacher read to get me back into my "groove."  Wow, it's crazy that it's summer already.  Anyway, before I go back into teaching I definitely plan on browsing this one through again.  It was so brilliant.

Here's the thing about teacher help books, none of them are going to have something life changing in them.  Teaching is teaching.  But there are definitely ones better than others.  I would like to see University level Classroom Management courses read a book like this one.  It just points out all the little, minute really, details a teacher must think about and plan for if they really want to be successful.

Some complaints I've seen other reviewers mention is it's focus on inner city youths.  Tho I do see how the book comes off as "boot camp" style, I still think teachers at places like Delta High could benefit from some of this technique.

Other complaints of course, are that veteran teachers don't need this.  Well, when a teacher feels like they don't need to read anything for improvement . . . they should just retire.

I'm already eager to get back to the classroom, and this will be one of the first things I pick up.  Schools would benefit greatly if they used this as a "book club" read to guide their Professional Development.