The Terror

Every reader his book; every book its reader. S.R. Ranganathan

When the book opens, 120 officers and men of the HMS Terror and HMS Erebus have already been trapped in the Arctic ice of northern Canada for two years. Led by the incompetent Sir John Franklin in search of the Northwest Passage (and based on a mid 19th century historical event), the men are working in temperatures of -50 to -100 F, are running out of food, fuel and medicine, are suffering from the maritime discipline of the day, and are showing signs of scurvy along with their frostbite. There is no game to hunt and no hope of rescue. The ships' ironclad hulls are breaking up from the pressure of the ice floes. Oh, and there is a giant monster with fangs and claws out on the ice that is taking great pleasure in making man-sushi out of the crew one and two at a time.

And for the next 700 pages, things go downhill for the expedition.

The author of The Terror is Dan Simmons, one of my favorite science fiction writers. His Illium, Hyperion and Endymion series are about the best thing going on the sci-fi front. The Terror is a very well-written story told from multiple points of view.  Simmons displays incredible research, provides great detail, and creates well-drawn characters (who for the most part are eaten soon after you get to know them.) This is compelling reading.

But it is grim, as I have been telling the LWW on nearly a daily basis, And she asks in rely why I keep reading the book. I think it might be because Minnesota has experienced 20+ consecutive days of below zero temperatures - and I am identifying. 

I am watching for creatures on the lake ice. Just out the back door.

Middle Jefferson Lake, LeSueur County, MN, January 2008 - D. Johnson

Every book its reader... I guess. 

Meme: Passion Quilt

 

http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/archive/bestof/

I am passionate about creating passionate students and teachers. I chose this picture since astronomy has been much on my mind lately. We are looking for funding to replace our high school's planetarium program with new hardware and software. It ain't cheap - about $60K for the package.

I've never been a big astronomy buff, but I was in awe of this new means of "exploring space." Imagine not GoogleEarth, but GoogleAllTheKnownUniverse. In a totally 3-D immersersive environment. You do go where no person has gone before - from Earth's atmosphere to a point so far away even our galaxy is but a speck of light.

We in education spend millions on dry textbooks, drill-and-kill software, inumerable paper worksheets, and useless testing. What if we took just 10% - or even 5% - of our budgets and spent in on things that actually got kids excited about learning - like an immersive trip to the stars, really good library books, educational games or field trips to interesting local history sites. What would be the ROI?

I've always found that people who want to learn are easier to teach. 

Steve Dembo over at Digital Passports tagged me with this meme. Thes are the rules:

1. Post a picture from a source like FlickrCC or Flickr Creative Commons or make/take your own that captures what YOU are most passionate about for kids to learn about…and give your picture a short title.
2. Title your blog post “Meme: Passion Quilt” and link back to this blog entry.
3. Include links to 5 folks in your professional learning network or whom you follow on Twitter/Pownce.
   

Jane Hyde, Rob Rubis, Rob Darrow, Sara Johns, and Susan Ens Funk are hereby tagged.

Beginning rubric 4 - word processing

This a continuation of the 2008 revision of the CODE77 rubrics - Basic level. An introduction is here.

III.     Word processing (1995)
Level 1    I do not use a word processor, nor can I identify any uses or features it might have which would benefit the way I work.
Level 2    I occasionally use the word processor for simple documents which I know I will modify and use again. I generally find it easier to hand write or type most written work I do.
Level 3    I use the word processor for nearly all my written professional work: memos, tests, worksheets, and home communication. I can edit, spell check, and change the format of a document. I can paginate, preview and print my work. I feel my work looks professional.
Level 4     I use the word processor not only for my work, but have used it with students to help them improve their own communication skills.
 

IV. Word processing (NETS I.A., I.B. V.C.) (2002)
Level 1     I do not use a word processor, nor can I identify any uses or features it might have which would benefit the way I work.
Level 2     I occasionally use the word processor for simple documents that I know I will modify and use again. I generally find it easier to handwrite or type most written work I do.
Level 3     I use the word processor for nearly all my written professional work: memos, tests, worksheets, and home communication. I can edit my document using commands like copy and paste, find, undo, and save as. I can spell check, and change the format of a document. I can paginate, preview and print my work. I can use tables within my documents. I feel my work looks professional.
Level 4     I can save my document as a text or rtf document so it can be opened by others who may use the same word processor I use. I take advantage of collaborative writing/editing environments when available. I use the word processor not only for my work, but have used it with students to help them improve their own communication skills.

 V. Word processing (NETS ?) (2008)
Level 1     I do not use a word processor, nor can I identify any uses or features it might have which would benefit the way I work.
Level 2     I occasionally use the word processor for simple documents that I know I will modify and use again. I generally find it easier to handwrite or type most written work I do.
Level 3     I use the word processor for nearly all my written professional work: memos, tests, worksheets, and home communication. I can edit my document using commands like copy and paste, find, undo, and save as. I can spell check, and change the format of a document. I can paginate, preview and print my work. I can use tables within my documents and insert graphics. I can save my document as a .pdf file. I feel my work looks professional.
Level 4     I can save my document as a text or rtf document so it can be opened by others who may not use the same word processor I use. I take advantage of collaborative writing/editing environments when available, including online word processors and wikis. I can suggest an open source word processor for those who wish or need to use one. I use the word processor not only for my work, but have used it with students to help them improve their own communication skills.

Other word processing tasks? Next up: V. Spreadsheet use