Book Review- Sentenced to Prism

The book Sentenced to Prism by Alan Dean Foster is one of the few classics in my book-world. This is pure Science Fiction, and it is the cream of the crop.

Evan Orgell is the main character who lives like all future modern humans, in an all-serving and servicing suit. When his not-very-likable character is sent to mine a planet made of crystal, he is stranded. Not just that, but the harsh world slowly ruins his suit, and he is force to leave it. Never having been out of his suit, he is exposed to some serious truths about the human body in that harsh world. Not only that, but he finds local life forms that are willing to befriend him (but he despises them). It takes so many twists and turns for him to begin changing, but ultimately he becomes a good man, and learns all kinds of lessons from his new life.

The end of the story leaves the reader in a semi-state of shock, as his newly appreciated humanity is taken from him. After finishing the novel, the reader will be more open to appreciating others' not like them and will appreciate their humanity more. Not just the morals to be learned, but the animals and scenery are marvelous and jaw-dropping. Think Pandora from Avatar, but the world is made of prisms. Beautiful.

This book is so very suitable for Middle Schoolers for these reasons:
Cool animals
Cool scenery
Gory details
Lots of action
Moral teaching is present, but not overt

I hope you find it and enjoy it!

Slaves and Students Passive Rebellion Comparison

I had the joy of teaching how slaves passively rebelled against their owners. How did they do it? They purposefully lost or broke tools, worked slowly, pretended to be sick, and other annoying ways. I thought, "Man, that sounds like what my 6th graders do!!"

I thought about how my students complained they didn't have pencils, but one magically appears when I offer a golf pencil to them, how they say they need to go to the nurse all the time, and how they take FOREVER to copy anything. They sounded just like the slaves we were studying about.

I drew up a couple of graphic organizers on the board, and we studied how the slaves rebelled. I then pretended to have an insight, and I began comparing how the students are so much like slaves: we tell them when to start working and when to stop, we tell them when they can speak and when they can't, they are forced to come to school and have no choice, they are punished if they do not do what we say. You should have heard them getting worked up! I turned the tables on them, at that point.

I pointed out how the slaves rebelling against forced work hurt the owners, and they eventually got what they wanted- Freedom!

I then pointed out how students rebelling against their own education hurts only themselves, and they will get what they fight for in the end- Ignorance!

You should have heard their silence. After a few seconds, one good-natured, trouble-making boy said, "Mr. Carroll, you're making me think things that I don't want to think. I don't like this lesson!" Needless to say, some students actually took this to heart and changed their classroom behavior, including the good-natured, trouble-making boy.

I teach for moments like that.

Document Camera

I finally got a new document camera, and it is wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is unbelievable how long it takes to give instructions to the 6th graders, but the document camera can SHOW them exactly what to do so there is very little confusion. I used to think that the students were just trying to annoy me before, but their genuine relief at getting the document camera was a welcome surprise to me. It seems they were just as frustrated as I was. Go figure!

Book Review of The Summer of the Monkeys

Summer of the Monkeys Author: Wilson Rawl

This book speaks to the soul of our human nature, with humor, goodness, and tears of joy flourishing within the pages of this book. Puberty, puppy-love, old-fashioned family, and young adult-hood challenges are all approached with surprise, suspense, humor, and light. This book is perfect for JHS or HS students, as it covers so many issues they are dealing with, and it does it in a positive manner. It is at the perfect reading level for them.

Jay Berry is a 14 year old poor boy growing up in the Oklahoma Ozarks in the early 1900s, and he dreams of getting his own horse and gun. When a circus train crashes nearby and some monkeys and one chimpanzee escape, a reward is offered for their capture. Accidentally, Jay Berry and his dog, Rowdy, happen upon the monkeys hiding out nearby their home.

There are MANY altercations, fights, tricks, and hilarious moments as Jay Berry and Rowdy try to catch those monkeys, get the reward, and get his horse and gun.

Jay Berry and Rowdy have tried every trick under the sun to try and catch those monkeys. They have had incidences involving moonshine, coconuts, slingshots, metal traps, apples, britches, fights and bites, ribbons, his home, his grandfather’s cart, and more. They have also been getting in trouble with his parents and sister (also hilarious) because of the monkeys, and are getting really tired of being bested by what are supposed to be animals with lesser intelligence.

One night at the end of summer, a storm blows in, and it is a terrible storm- trees upended, serious flooding, and tornadoes everywhere. The monkeys surely could not survive the storm.

Will Jay Berry catch the monkeys, get his reward, and get his horse and gun?

Did the monkeys die in the storm?

Here’s a question for you: Who will win when a country bumpkin boy from the Oklahoma Ozarks tries to catch circus-trained monkeys and a chimpanzee living in his backyard? For the punch-line and answer, you’ll need to read the book!

Thanksgiving Day Address

I have the intention to pass this out to my Social Studies students after Thanksgiving. It is the Thanksgiving Day proclamation given by President George Washington way back in the day. I would have given it to my students the Friday before we were out for the holiday, except my kids got sick and I had to go back home to take care of them.

Here it goes:

Since it is right and good that all nations should accept the authority of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful and thankful for his blessings, and to humbly ask for God’s help and kindnesses; and since the U.S. government has, by their mutual agreement, asked me to “suggest to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, and on this day the people should give credit to God with thankful hearts for the many important blessings that have come from God, most recently by allowing us the opportunity to peaceably start a new government for their safety and happiness.”

So, I declare Thursday, the 26^th of next November, to be a day dedicated by all Americans to give thanks and praise to the great and glorious God who is the kind Creator of all the good that was, that is, or that will be. We should all unite and join together to give Him our sincere and humble thanks for:

• His kind care and protection of Americans since before the Revolutionary War,
• to the amazing and wonderful kindnesses to help finish the Revolutionary War,
• to the peace and prosperity following the Revolutionary War,
• to the peaceful and intelligent way we have been able to create a government to help keep safety and happiness for Americans (and including this new day of Thanksgiving),
• to the freedom from unneeded governmental laws and freedom from government-led religious persecution,
• to the way we Americans get and share knowledge to build up our intelligence and economy,

· and for all the other great and many blessings that God has been kind enough to give to us.

After all of this, we should then join together to humbly pray and plead to the great Lord and Ruler of all Nations to:

• ask Him to forgive our nation’s, as well as our individual, sins;
• help us all, whether we work for the U.S. government or not, do our jobs fairly and wisely;
• help our National Government to be a blessing to all Americans by always being a government that makes wise, just, and Constitutional laws, and that the workers in it would be humble and trustworthy in doing their jobs and duties;
• bless and guide all Kings and nations (especially those that have shown their faithfulness to us), and that He would bless them with good governments, peace, and harmony;
• to promote the general knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue;
• to promote the increase of science among all peoples;
• and to give all mankind the material blessings that He knows to be best for us.

Signing this with my own hand in the city of New York on October 3^rd, 1789,

G. Washington