Last Friday I had the privilege of attending the Channel 13 Celebration of Teaching and Learning in New York City. One of the highlights was hearing Secretary of Education Arne Duncan speak about his vision for our our schools and our students.

Although this speech has not yet been posted on the Department of Education website, another recent speech has, and covers many of the same points Duncan made on Friday. Here are his remarks:

Education, as President Obama has said, "is no longer just a pathway to opportunity and success—it's a prerequisite to success." We are convinced we must educate our way to a better economy.

The second challenge is the civil rights challenge, the imperative to live up to the great American Dream of equal opportunity. Education has always been the great equalizer in America. No matter what your race, national origin, disability, or zip code, every child is entitled to a quality public education. Today, more than ever, we acknowledge America's need—and a public school's obligation—to teach all students to their full potential.

And yet we know that we still have a long way to go to achieve that dream of equal educational opportunity. Nearly 30 percent of our students today drop out or fail to complete high school on time.

Nationwide, researchers have identified 2,000 high schools that have been dubbed dropout factories. These 2,000 high schools produce half of the nation's dropouts, two-thirds of all Hispanic dropouts, and nearly three fourths of black dropouts. That is why education is the civil rights issue of our generation. Our work either builds upon Dr. King's legacy, or lets him down—there is no middle ground.

For years, states and districts have largely ignored chronically low-performing schools, or tried to tinker around the edges of institutions that were in educational meltdown. The lack of outcry, the lack of urgency, and the absence of innovation has frankly been deeply disturbing. But the federal government has a special role to play in protecting the rights of disadvantaged and minority students.

We are no longer willing to gloss over the educational failures of the bottom five percent of the nation's 100,000 schools. We are going to insist on rigorous change in chronically underperforming schools, and the federal government is going to provide generous incentives to implement those changes. But to turn around our lowest-performing schools, we will need a new generation of principals and teachers prepared to take on this difficult challenge, in addition to new support for teachers currently in these schools who are committed and ready to transform the educational opportunities of their students.

The third and final challenge is demographic. A massive exodus of Baby Boomers from the teaching force in the next decade is going to drive demand for more and better teachers. We currently have about 3.2 million teachers. But more than half of all teachers and principals are Baby Boomers.

During the next three to five years, we could lose a third of veteran teachers and school leaders to retirement. The challenge to our schools is not just a looming teacher shortage, but rather a shortage of great teachers in the schools and communities where they are needed the most, and that have been historically underserved.

As you know, high-poverty, high-needs schools still struggle to attract and retain good teachers. Teacher openings in science and math are often hard to fill with effective instructors. Students with disabilities and English language learners are still underserved. Rural classrooms are facing shortages as well—and we have far too few teachers of color. Only two percent, one in 50 teachers today are African-American males. Something is fundamentally wrong with that picture.

These problems are not self-correcting. They must be tackled by everyone, head-on, including colleges of education. At the same time, it is no secret to any of you that the bar has been raised for successful teacher preparation programs.

We ask much more of teachers today than even a decade ago. Teachers are now asked to achieve significant academic growth for all students, yet instruct students with ever-more diverse needs.

Teaching has never been more difficult, it has never been more important—and the need for student success has never been so urgent. I am convinced that our ability to attract, and more importantly, retain, great talent over the next five years will shape public education for the next thirty years. It is truly a once-in-a-generation opportunity.

posted by Nancy Brown

posted 3/9/2010 1:02 PM | comment | view comments (0)

 Doodle4Google is back, along with the chance to win big bucks for your design! This year, the theme is "If I Could Do Anything, I Would …"

For more information, click here.

posted by Nancy Brown

posted 3/4/2010 2:58 PM | comment | view comments (0)

Added to the list of questions you never thought would be posed is this one, from the New York Times: Do School Libraries Need Books?

My answer is brief: Of course! To read the article, and other responses, click here.

posted by Nancy Brown

posted 2/12/2010 9:11 AM | comment | view comments (0)

The images of the children in Haiti--scared, lonely, hungry--are heartbreaking. Recently, Dr. Jane Aronson, a pediatrician and specialist in international adoptions, spent some time in Haitian orphanages. You can read the blog of her experiences here.

posted 2/4/2010 12:55 PM | comment | view comments (0)

I want to make you aware of a remarkable audio collection at the Library of Congress, and available online.

Voices From the Days of Slavery: Former Slaves Tell Their Stories includes recordings of interviews (and some songs) with 23 former slaves who talk about their lives from the 1870s to the 1930s, and beyond. The quality of the audio is inconsistent, but the content is terrific.

posted by Nancy Brown

posted 2/2/2010 2:49 PM | comment | view comments (0)

We note the death of J. D. Salinger, author of that High School standard Catcher in the Rye. Does anyone other than me remember reading a book called Phoebe's Story, (not by Salinger) which told the same story from Holden's sister's point of view? Unlike Catcher in the Rye, Phoebe's Story has apparently disappeared.

Anyway, among all the obituaries appearing today, here is an interesting article about Salinger's New York. Enjoy.

posted by Nancy Brown

posted 1/29/2010 12:18 PM | comment | view comments (0)

I thought I would kick off Black History month with Langston Hughes' poem The Negro Speaks of Rivers.

I've known rivers:

I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the

flow of human blood in human veins.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.

I danced in the Nile when I was old

I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.

I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.

I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln

went down to New Orleans, and I've seen its muddy

bosom turn all golden in the sunset.

I've known rivers:

Ancient, dusky rivers.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

This poem was first published in 1921, and still resonates today. You can read more about Langston Hughes here.

posted by Nancy Brown

posted 1/28/2010 11:33 AM | comment | view comments (0)

As we head into Martin Luther King Day, I want to strongly recommend The Help by Kathryn Stockett. In this book, Stockett takes us into the civil rights era in Jackson Mississippi, as seen through the eyes, and written in the voices, of wealthy white women and the African American women who work for them. The book clearly reveals what was at stake, and the courage it took to overturn centuries of bigotry and abuse.

posted by Nancy Brown

posted 1/15/2010 1:19 PM | comment | view comments (0)

 We are all Haitians today, as Nicholas Kristof writes in his daily blog. The New York Times has published resources and lesson plans relating to the disaster. You can also find classroom activities here.

For suggestions on how you can help, look at the list the White House has compiled, or the comprehensive list on the MSNBC website.

posted by Nancy Brown

posted 1/14/2010 12:57 PM | comment | view comments (0)

 Miep Gies, the woman who hid Anne Frank and her family from the Nazis, died yesterday at the age of 100. When the Franks were betrayed and taken to the concentration camps, Gies returned to the attic and rescued Anne's diary.

She always insisted that she was not a hero, but many would disagree. You can hear her story in this brief NPR segment.

posted by Nancy Brown

posted 1/12/2010 12:56 PM | comment | view comments (0)

What do you think the five most viewed stories on the New York Times website were last year? Surely, at least one would have to deal with the economy, right? Obama's inauguration? Maybe his Nobel Peace Prize? And what about Ted Kennedy? Or health care?

Well, it seems most people want to read about food. Read the article here.

You may wonder how the top five articles from 2009 compare with the top five in 2008. Look at the third comment for the answer.

Food for thought, no?

posted by Nancy Brown

posted 1/8/2010 1:15 PM | comment | view comments (0)

I know we're all looking forward to the break next week, not to mention the snowstorm they are predicting for tomorrow! At last, time to read! So make the hot chocolate, wrap yourself in your brand new suggli, and pick up one of these recommended recent acquisitions!

 In 1909, Sigmund Freud arrived in the United States for a week-long visit. Not much is known about what happened during that time, but forever after, Freud referred to Americans as “savages” and “criminals”. In The Interpretation of Murder, Jed Rubenfeld has written a novel that weaves fact and fiction, and earned starred review from Kirkus Reviews and Library Journal. Plus, you have to love an author who wrote his Princeton senior thesis on Freud, studied Shakespeare at Juilliard, and is currently a law professor at Yale!

 The New Yorker’s political essayist Hendrik Hertzberg captures the presidential campaign of 2007 and 2008 with his customary insight, wit and flair.

 The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is an amazing true story of a boy from Malawi, too poor to go to school, who builds a windmill and is able to provide electricity and running water to his village. I saw William Kamkwamba interviewed on The Daily Show, and this book is at the top of my list!

 Another Daily Show find! Christopher McDougall’s quest to find out why his feet hurt when he ran led him to the Tarahumara Indians in Mexico’s Copper Canyons, who run hundreds of miles without rest or, apparently, discomfort.

 Sports fans, this one's for you! New York Daily News sports columnist Gary Myers has written a book about one seminal play in the 1981 NFC Champioship game. But the story goes beyond the play and delves into the repercussions of The Catch for the players, the teams, and even the NFL itself.

 As someone who has absolutely no sense of direction, I plan to give You Are Here: Why We Can Find Our Way to the Moon, But Get Lost in the Mall to my husband to prove to him that it is not my fault!

 A Yalsa Award winner for Excellence in Nonfiction, Charles and Emma is a "unique, flowing and meticulously researched picture" of Charles Darwin and the relationship between science and religion.

Happy reading! Posted by Nancy Brown

posted 12/18/2009 11:24 AM | comment | view comments (1)

R U a better writer if you text? According to the Britain's National Literacy Trust, yes you are! The director of  the Trust claims that "the more forms of communications children use, the stronger their core literary skills."

Read more about it here: Literacy Study.

TTYL!

Posted by Nancy Brown

posted 12/8/2009 12:17 PM | comment | view comments (0)

The National Endowment for the Humanities has just announced its summer workshops for teachers. Each workshop is one week long, and covers topics such as The American Skyscraper (in Chicago), Abraham Lincoln (in Springfield, Illinois), the industrial revolution (in Lowell, Massachusetts), and the Mesa Verde Cultural Landscape (in Cortez, Colorado). Many other workshops are offered as well. The program is funded through federal grants, and therefore participants pay nothing. In fact, teachers selected to participate will receive a stipend of $1,200 at the end of the residential Workshop.

For more information, and to apply, click here.

posted by Nancy Brown

posted 11/30/2009 1:56 PM | comment | view comments (0)

 This month, we have been hosting a library intern, Melissa Iamonico, who is almost finished with her MLS degree requirements and will soon be certified as a school library media specialist.

She introduced me to a wonderful website, and I am happy to share it with all of you. It is the Reader's Advisory from the Mid-Continent Public Library in Missouri. I love it for the recommended reading lists, but especially for the Series and Sequels list, in which the titles in a series are numbered so you never again have to be at a loss when a student asks for the third Maximum Ride book.

Melissa will be a great asset to the district lucky enough to hire her.

posted by Nancy Brown

posted 11/19/2009 8:30 PM | comment | view comments (0)

MORE FREE STUFF!!

   This fall, the American Museum of Natural History presents an exhibit on the Silk Road. They are having a free Educators Night on November 18, from 5-8 pm. They'll even feed you. Click here to register and for more information.

posted by Nancy Brown

posted 11/13/2009 10:18 AM | comment | view comments (0)

FREE STUFF!!

  The Discovery Times Square Exposition is presenting "Leonardo da Vinci's Workshop". Visitors can explore Leonardo's inventions and works thorugh full scale models and digital technology.

There will be a free preview of the exhibit on Monday November 30 from 4-10 pm. If you'd like to attend, RSVP by November 27 to dtsx@bestofbroadway.com or call 800-223-7565.

Student tickets to the exhibit will cost $14, and one complementary ticket is provided with every ten purchased.

You can get more information here.

posted by Nancy Brown

posted 11/12/2009 10:23 AM | comment | view comments (0)

Most students entering college this year were born in 1991. They have never used a card catalog to find a book. American students entering college this year have always lived anxiously with high-stakes educational testing. And text has always been hyper.

These insights are part of the Beloit College Mindset List, published annually. Read this year's entire document here.

Posted by Nancy Brown

posted 11/10/2009 1:42 PM | comment | view comments (0)

The SKILLS (Strengthening Kids' Interest in Learning and Libraries) Act was reintroduced at the House of Representatives on October 26, and has been referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.

posted 11/6/2009 10:47 AM | comment | view comments (0)

Apparently, I'm not the only one excited about reading on the i-Pod Touch! (See the previous post below).

Look at this recent article/ blog post from the Christian Science Monitor.

Submitted by Nancy Brown

posted 11/4/2009 12:54 PM | comment | view comments (0)

I have been reading What the Dog Saw, a collection of essays by Malcolm Gladwell, and despite the lukewarm New York Times review ("Neither author nor reader ever has to break a sweat") I am enjoying it. But more important than what I am reading is how I am reading. I am reading the book on my I-Pod touch, courtesy of the new, free, Barnes and Noble e-reader. Here are some of the features:

• Automatic downloads of Barnes & Noble eBook purchases and samples
• Access to download eBooks from your Online Library anytime
• Bookmarks, note taking & highlight functionality
• Lookup function for dictionary, Wikipedia or Google
• Portrait or landscape display modes

The B&N eReader comes loaded with The Last of the Mohicans and Sense and Sensibility. Once you sign in, you will also get free copies of Dracula, Pride and Prejudice, Little Women, and Merriam-Webster's Pocket Dictionary. 

This is an amazing thing! The text is crystal clear, and you can invert from black letters on a white page to white letters on a black page for easier visibility in low-light or bright light situations. You can even fold over page corners! I thought the little screen would bother me, but that has not proven to be the case at all.  And when I finish Gladwell, I don't have to worry if I don't have another book with me--I'll just download another!

posted by Nancy Brown 

posted 10/29/2009 2:20 PM | comment | view comments (0)

Today is the National Day On Writing. To get you in the mood, here is my National Day on Writing Haiku:

Write just write just write

About anything you like

It all counts today!

For more information on the Day on Writing, click here.

posted by Nancy Brown

posted 10/20/2009 12:00 PM | comment | view comments (0)

Today is Blog Action Day! Every October 15, bloggers around the world post about the same issue with the goal of stimulating discussion. This year's topic is climate change. You can read about it, and get involved, here.

posted by Nancy Brown

posted 10/15/2009 7:15 PM | comment | view comments (1)

How can teachers who are "digital immigrants" effectively teach students who are "digital natives"? Pediatrician Perri Klass addresses the digital divide as it relates to learning, and study habits, in today's New York Times article.

posted by Nancy Brown

posted 10/13/2009 6:34 PM | comment | view comments (0)

With all the talk about the public option, we thought you'd enjoy a little librarian humor. Click here.

Posted by Nancy Brown

posted 10/7/2009 1:17 PM | comment | view comments (0)

NATIONAL INFORMATION LITERACY AWARENESS MONTH, 2009

Yesterday, President Obama proclaimed October 2009 as National Information Literacy Awareness Month. He called upon the people of the United States to recognize the important role information plays in our daily lives, and appreciate the need for a greater understanding of its impact.  

Of course, this is what Library Media Specialists proclaim (and teach) every day.

You can read the President's proclamation here.

posted by Nancy Brown

posted 10/2/2009 12:55 PM | comment | view comments (0)

Today in History: On this day in 1938, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, French Premier Edouard Daladier, and British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain signed the Munich Pact, sealing the fate of Czechoslovakia by handing it over to Germany in the name of peace. Although signed on September 30, the pact was actually dated September 29.

Posted by Nancy Brown

posted 9/30/2009 2:17 PM | comment | view comments (0)

On this day in 1806, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark completed their voyage. To get a sense of what it might have been like, read New Found Land, a beautifully written fictionalized account by Allan Wolf.

Also, today is Bruce Springsteen's 60th birthday! Bruce was recently named a Kennedy Center Honoree. In his honor, check out the Kennedy Center website here. Click on Programs and scroll down to Millenium Stage, where you can watch live and taped perfromances of artists in various genres.

Rock on, Bruuuuce!

posted by Nancy Brown

posted 9/23/2009 1:01 PM | comment | view comments (0)

In case you missed it, here is Nicholson Baker's New Yorker article about the Kindle. If you'd like to read more of Baker's thoughts on modern society, I recommend Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper. It is fascinating, if often infuriating.

posted by Nancy Brown

posted 9/22/2009 1:40 PM | comment | view comments (0)

Is the proliferation of digital information stamping out the serendipitous stumbling upon fascinating facts? Read the recent article from the New York Times.

Posted by Nancy Brown 

posted 9/21/2009 10:22 AM | comment | view comments (0)

What do you really mean when you tell students to pay attention? I have been reading Distracted in which Maggie Jackson discusses the effects of multi-tasking and our inability to focus. In the introduction to the book, she writes that the word attention "is rooted in the Latin words ad and tendere , meaning to 'stretch toward', implying effort and intention. Even the phrase 'attention span' literally means a kind of bridge, a reaching across in order to widen one's horizons."

I love the image of stretching and reaching in the context of paying attention. I picture our students craning their necks and stretching their minds.

posted by Nancy Brown

posted 9/18/2009 10:49 AM | comment | view comments (0)

Outstanding Science Books

The National Science Teachers Association in association with the Children's Book Council has released a list of outstanding Science trade books of 2008.  The list includes books for students K-12. Click here or paste the URL into your browser to see the list: http://www.nsta.org/publications/ostb/ostb2009.aspx?lid=exp

posted by Nancy Brown 

posted 3/6/2009 11:22 AM | comment | view comments (0)

Tis the season!

I'm starting a list of books we would recommend as gifts during this holiday season. Please add your suggestions!

In the library, we have recently received two books I'm very excited about. For the film buff, I suggest "Harlan Ellison's Watching". If you know Harlan Ellison only as a sci-fi writer, you may be amazed to know that he is also a first class film critic. This is a newly-released collection of his reviews and commentary from the 1960s through the 1980s. Ellison is always entertaining, and his reviews are smart and fun to read.

David Shenk’s "The End of Patience" is a thought-provoking collection of essays about the effects of technology on modern society. Author Sven Birkerts says, “Shenk is so close to the present that most of us will mistake it for the future.”

What do you recommend? Add a comment!

Posted by Nancy Brown

posted 12/9/2008 9:58 AM | comment | view comments (1)

In case you missed it:

The New York Times has published its annual list of Notable Books.

The electronic version (use this link in your browser: http://tinyurl.com/5nsk3o) allows you to access the original New York Times review.

posted by Nancy Brown

posted 12/3/2008 8:53 AM | comment | view comments (0)

We mourn the passing of Miriam Makeba, a South African singer, according to today's NYTimes obituary, "whose voice stirred hopes of freedom among millions in her own country though her music was formally banned by the apartheid authorities she struggled against, died overnight after performing at a concert in Italy on Sunday."

A report from the BBC quotes Nelson Mandela, who asserts that Miriam Makeba "She was the "mother of our struggle" and "South Africa's first lady of song".

Miriam Makeba became a symbol of the fight against apartheid and spent three decades in exile after South Africa's government revoked her passport because of her activities. Makeba was the first black African woman to win a Grammy Award, which she shared with Harry Belafonte in 1965.

The FLHS library has a documentary film, Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony that tells the story of "black South African freedom music and the central role it played against aparthied." Miriam Makeba is one of a handful of musicians featured in the film. Amandla! was the recipient of the Documentary Audience Award and the Freedom of Expression Award at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival.

posted by Tom Carrigan

posted 11/10/2008 10:21 AM | comment | view comments (0)

Who You Gonna Call? Happy Halloween! Click here for a scary library film clip!

posted by Nancy Brown

posted 10/31/2008 8:43 PM | comment | view comments (0)

The FLHS Library just received the book, The Watercooler Effect: A Psychologist Explores the Extraordinary Power of Rumors. by Nicholas DiFonzo.

What are rumors? Why do we believe them? DiFonzo, a professor of psychology at the Rochester Institute of Technology, explains, using clinical studies and statistics, what they are and how they function in our lives and in society and politics.

Visit the author's website for more: http://www.profnick.com/watercooler-effect.html

posted by Tom Carrigan

posted 10/31/2008 9:13 AM | comment | view comments (0)

Halloween Around the World

This slideshow from The New York Times features photographs of international Halloween celebrations:

http://tinyurl.com/5euosov

posted by Nancy Brown

posted 10/30/2008 9:07 AM | comment | view comments (0)

Hot off the press, the FLHS Library has the new book, The Numerati, by Stephen Baker, which investigates the esoteric world of data mining, where floods of information that consumers reveal about themselves every day through surfing the internet, using their phones, shopping with credit cards, donating to charities, etc., are analyzed by statisticians and marketers. A compelling and fascinating book, of interest to mathematicians, but also important for the privacy and public policy issues it raises.

Check out Baker's blog, at: http://thenumerati.net/

posted by Tom Carrigan

posted 10/29/2008 9:14 AM | comment | view comments (0)

English, Social Studies, Music, Blues Fans and Anyone Who Has Ever Had the Blues: We have been cleaning out the Dewey 780's, removing some dilapidated and outdated books, and have updated our holdings in this section. Thus, these new books on- The Blues:

Davis, Angela Y. Blues Legacies and Black Feminism: Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Billie Holiday. NY: Pantheon, 1998.

Davis, Francis. The History of the Blues: The Roots, the Music, the People, From Charley Patton to Robert Cray. NY: Hyperion, 1995.

Hamilton, Marybeth. In Search of the Blues. NY: Basic Books, 2008.

Jackson, Buzzy. A Bad Woman Feeling Good: Blues and the Women Who Sing Them. NY: Norton, 2005.

Kubik, Gerhard. Africa and the Blues. Jackson: University of Mississippi Press, 1999.

R. Crumb's Heroes of Blues, Jazz, & Country. Illustrated by R. Crumb; text by Stephen Calt, David Jasen, and Richard Nevins ; introduction by Terry Zwigoff. New York: Abrams, 2006:

And don't forget:

Bolden,Tony. Afro-Blue: Improvisations in African-American Poetry and Culture. Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois Press. 2003.

Blues Poems. selected and edited by Kevin Young. NY: Knopf, 2003.

Plus one indispensible video:

Furious Flower II. producer, Judith McCray. "Furious Flower II presents outstanding critical scholarship on black contemporary poetry's origins and trends, its conflicts and consonances. Throughout, notable authors share insights and offer inspiration to fledgling poets about the creative process, and about daily life as a published writer.Interspersed with these critical conversations are impassioned readings of the most representative poems of each poet."

posted by Tom Carrigan

posted 10/23/2008 1:27 PM | comment | view comments (0)

Which presidential candidate do you really agree with?

Try the Match-o-Matic game (courtesy of ABC news) to see which candidate you really support.

Paste this into your browser to get started:

http://tinyurl.com/69wu36

Posted by Nancy Brown

posted 10/23/2008 11:20 AM | comment | view comments (0)

Grant and Lee

The New York Historical Society is presenting a show called "Grant and Lee in War and Peace" through March 2009. Click here to see 10 images from the show, and a link to a related article from the New York Times.

 Posted by Nancy Brown

posted 10/20/2008 8:38 PM | comment | view comments (0)

DISCO CPR?

Researchers from the University of Illinois Medical School have found that the Bee Gees hit "Stayin' Alive" has the perfect rhythm to get a stopped heart beating again.

Performing chest compressions to the beat (103 beats per minute) closely approximates the 100 compressions per minute recommended by the American Heart Association.

Apparently, "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen also works, but researchers felt that "Stayin' Alive" was more optimistic.

I guess they didn't even consider "Killing Me Softly."

Posted by Nancy Brown

posted 10/17/2008 9:37 AM | comment | view comments (0)

We received this message recently about a new periodical titled added to one of our databases, Project Muse. It sounds fascinating!

Arctic Anthropology

Arctic Anthropology Edited by Susan Kaplan, Bowdoin College Arctic Anthropology , founded in 1962 by Chester S. Chard, is an international journal devoted to the study of Old and New World northern cultures and peoples. Archeology, ethnology, physical anthropology, and related disciplines are represented, with emphasis on: studies of specific cultures of the arctic, subarctic and contiguous regions of the world; the peopling of the New World, and relationships between New World and Eurasian cultures of the circumpolar zone; contemporary problems and culture change among northern peoples, new directions in interdisciplinary northern research.

For more information on the journal, copy and paste the link into your browser:

http://muse.uq.edu.au/content/nja/journals/arctic_anthropology

posted by Tom Carrigan

posted 10/15/2008 1:28 PM | comment | view comments (0)

Tuxedo Junction

Today is the anniversary of the creation of the tuxedo. So I started thinking about literary characters who wear tuxedos, and came up with--you guessed it--Jay Gatsby.

Then I started thinking about other literary figures who are known for their clothes, and I thought of Tom Wolfe and his white suits.

Who can you think of?

Posted by Nancy Brown

posted 10/10/2008 8:51 PM | comment | view comments (0)

Photographs by Josef Koudelka: Invasion 68 Prague

Koudelka's photographs of the Soviet invasion of Prague in 1968 are newly published by Aperture. They are also currently being exhibited at the Aperture gallery on W 27th St in Chelsea.

The FLHS library has just finished processing the book, which chronicles this important global event: Invasion 68, Prague. As images, the photographs are vivid examples of photojournalism. The story of the film's surreptitious journey in 1968 from the Soviet-controlled streets of Prague to New York, where they were originally published by Magnum, is also very compelling.

For more information on the exhibit, copy and paste this link to visit the Aperture site: http://aperture.org/store/gallery.aspx

There is also an article in the New York Times about the exhibit. Copy and paste this url into your browser to go to the article, which has a slide show of six representative photos: http://tinyurl.com/3ea7fk

Posted by Tom Carrigan

posted 10/8/2008 1:28 PM | comment | view comments (0)

Picturing America

Good news! We have been awarded a Picturing America Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The grant consists of 40 iconic works of American art to be displayed in the school and integrated into the curriculum across disciplines.

The art will be up for viewing shortly. In the meantime, stop in to the library to look at the images and discuss how we can integrate them into your curriculum.

An Educator's Resource Guide is available online, providing brief essays about each work, possible lessons, and other helpful resources.

To see the images online, paste this link into your browser:

http://picturingamerica.neh.gov/

Hover over each image for basic information. Click on the Educators link (on the bottom of the page) to access the teachers' resource guide as well as other information.

We hope you will take advantage of this exciting opportunity to bring art into your classes!

Posted by Nancy Brown

posted 10/6/2008 7:41 PM | comment | view comments (2)

New York Times Learning Network

The New York Times Learning Network is designed to help students learn through articles that appear in the New York Times. Today, for example, students can explore the similarities between the Great Depression and today's economic turbulence. For today's lesson plan, article and resources (including a graphic organizer), paste this link into your browser bar: http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20081006monday.html

To see what else the Learning Network offers, use this link: http://www.nytimes.com/learning/

Posted by Nancy Brown

posted 10/6/2008 9:08 AM | comment | view comments (0)

What do our students know?

Each August for the past 11 years, Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin has released their Mindset List, a look at events and people that have shaped the incoming Freshman class. We can use this as a guide to our own students' mindsets as well. Go to the URL below, and scroll past the introductory paragraph for the good stuff. http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/2012.php

Posted by Nancy Brown

posted 10/3/2008 9:10 AM | comment | view comments (0)

Welcome to our blog!

We hope you will check here often and join in the conversation.

Nancy Brown Tom Carrigan

posted 10/3/2008 9:09 AM | comment | view comments (0)