Family drama: hash it out or hush it up?

The New York Times's Room for Debate page asks us to consider this question:

Is it better for families to air their differences or avoid them?

After your Thanksgiving time with family, what would your verdict be?  Comment below!

Northview in the news

The Des Moines Register published an article about a recent issue with one of the 9th grade literature circle books, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer.

How are books selected for classroom use?

If you've been curious about how our school selects instructional materials (e.g. books, articles, etc.), consider reading the school board policies.

They're pretty dense, but if you exercise your close-reading skills, you'll probably be able to make sense of them!

605.00:  Selection of Instructional Materials

605.1:  Instructional Materials Inspection

605.2:  Objections to Instructional Materials

605.2F:  Reconsideration Request Form

You might also want to read the "Materials Adoption" section (page 3) of the English Language Arts Curriculum Review summary or curriculum approved by the school board.
There are similar policies for library materials:

Are you mentally strong?

Take a look at these 13 things that mentally strong people don't do.  

Which ones do you need to work on? How mentally strong are you?  Are there other things you think should be on this list?

We need you to enter our contest!!!

Enter our contest for a free book!

Just read this blog post and enter a comment--don't forget to sign your name!

YouTube is cleaning up its comments

Check out this interesting blog post from the New York Times's Taking Note blog:

YouTube Cleaning Up its Comments

And then comment below:  Do you think it's a good idea?  Or is it censorship?

Bullying . . . or "Drama"?

Last month was Bullying Prevention Month, last week Northview students attended a seminar about bullying during Flex, and earlier this week, Governor Branstad hosted the second Bullying Prevention Summit.  Student-on-student cruelty his a huge issue, and it's on everyone's minds.

All of these efforts are so important, but I also keep thinking about this article I read a couple years ago in the New York Times editorial pages.  The authors are researchers who have studied the language behind bullying, and this interesting op-ed piece talks about how the word "bullying" may be getting in the way of the conversation.

Read their reflections based on their research data, and share your thoughts below in the comments.  Is what teens call "drama" actually bullying?  Does the word "bullying" turn teens away from facing the reality of peer cruelty that they do witness and experience?

Do teens have too much homework?

Freshmen Beth Tejral and Allison Dorpinghaus want your opinion on something--and so does your humble librarian!

Beth and Alison showed me this little estimation of how much free time teens have, and I immediately started poking holes in the writer's logic and math skills.

What do you think?  Is this teen (whose post has been floating around Twitter and other social networking sites) a whiny teen?  Or is he/she bravely pointing out a horrible injustice?

Let's put a little reward on the line...a free book to both the best argument SUPPORTING and and the best argument CRITIQUING this person's math and logic.

Put your argument in the comments below!

Where do you get your confidence?

Writer, actress, and producer extraordinaire points out how rude this simple question is.  Check out the image and quotation on Upworthy--and consider subscribing!  I love getting Upworthy's daily videos, images, and stories that are about building people UP and not down!

Fight Hacking with Hacking!

Got computer skills?  Looking for an up and coming new career?

Check out this story about Carnegie Mellon University's program to train cybersecurity technicians by teaching them to think one step ahead of hackers.

Should high school last SIX years?

Brooklyn P-Tech is the U.S.'s first  6-year high school + college combo, and President Obama recently visited and praised this model of education.

According to P-Tech's website, students in this New York City school that partners with IBM will enter as 9th graders and graduate after "grade 14" with an Associate's Degree and and will be "first in line" for a job with IBM.

Should high school last 6 years?  Read several expert opinions on The New York Times's Room for Debate page.

Comments encouraged below!