Disadvantages of Book Talks

What is a Book Talk? A book talk is an opportunity for a student to complete a presentation on a book that they have read. At our school, students are given approximately 1 month to read a book, take notes, and create a PowerPoint presentation.

In our English department, the presentation calls for a literary analysis of the text, personal connection, a creative or visual representation, and to divulge key highlights of the plot. My favorite part about the Book Talks is that students self select a novel; they are encouraged to read a novel they enjoy. Wonderful! In an ideal school, all students would read books they love, and then eagerly analyze them till the end.  Am I getting bobbing heads from some educators out there? Reads well on a blog post, eh? In practise, book talks have but one advantage:student self selection.

Many tweens are conniving, cunning, and know how to cut corners. Don’t assume the worst: I love all the students being educated in room 414, but I am also not a moron.  Here’s to the disadvantages of Book Talks and a possible solution to the problem here.

Many students are not reading their self selected novels, in fact, several are utilizing their Google skills to sparknote, copy and paste literary elements. I should have known that students would use the wonders of the internet, because when I did the book talk myself, I found myself Googling answers for World War Z. Funny, isn’t it? Adults might even find ways to shortcut. The worst part of all of this is students are copying/pasting, reading summaries, and not reading their Book Talk book.

Again, I don’t want to generalize: not every student is cutting corners, but its the ones who need to read that are doing so.

Students are copying and pasting from the internet. Great, so the purpose of book talks is sort of lost, isn’t it? With the real objective being to instill a love of reading into kids, the purpose behind book talks becomes meaningless when the book is not being read.

Time is super important for an educator that is trying to meet curricular objectives. Book talk presentations suck up 2 blocks of 45 minutes, 20 times a year. That’s a lot of time dedicated to presenting in front of the class.

The above information hopefully illustrates why I will not be running book talks next year, simply put: it takes too much time and its too easy to cheat. I am still in the midst of my brainstorming and planning for next school year, read a post about my solution to this problem here.

 

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6 Frugal Tips

Temptation haunts us from the woods, ready to pounce our meek hearts. Money is no exception; God wants us to give, but we need to make something in order to give it. I wish the picture below had God written in a big bubble letter.

Here’s some tips below to help save a few bucks (and preserve the earth, too):

1. Know Your Why

Simon Sinek speaks a lot to the idea of knowing your “why.” Being frugal is not easy in a consumerist society, understanding why you are trying to save money is proceeds before getting started on any of the frugal strategies listed below.

Not sure how to figure out your why? Brainstorm. Make a mind map, scribble down any idea that comes to mind, assign point values to your brainstorm. See if you have convinced yourself of your why before you plunge into frugal living. Understand the big goal you have behind being cheap, some of the questions may help you flesh out your reason why:

a) are you trying to reach a networth of a certain value? Why?

b) If you are Christian, is your goal in alignment with God’s plan, or is it greed that is driving your motivation to save? Have you prayed about it?

c) How are going to impact the world with your savings?

d) Are you trying to be financially free, so that you can pursue other passions?

These are but a few questions you could ask yourself when embarking on a frugal lifestyle. If you don’t know why you are doing something, then you aren’t completely sold on the idea to begin with!

Last but not least, make sure you are tracking your progress. Here’s a look at my automated Excel Spreadsheet with definitions on financial terms to get you started. Please ask me if you have any questions.

Enough babble, now for the tips:

2. Reuse plastic bags

A plastic bag is offered at almost all grocery stores. Subway puts to-go orders in a plastic bag. Your Chinese delivery food probably arrives bagged in plastic. These bags can be reused. Subway bags are used to stow clumps of urine and poop from my cat’s litter box. Yes, the bag is then dropped into a garbage bin outside my apartment.

Not only did I give the Subway bag an extra life, I also try to extend the life of my Ziploc baggies. Dry goodies are typically placed in these bags, and are easy to reuse and remove the crumbs if the snack isn’t too mooshey. I have saved 10-20 dollars a year on reusing plastic.

Need a garbage bag? No problem, use a grocery bag instead! Save some money on garbage bag, and put all your trash into a grocery back that you were charged for at the store.

3. Turn off your lights!

If you aren’t in a room in your home, close the circuit. No, seriously, make a conscious effort to think about turning off the lights in your home. It amounts to huge savings for planet earth, and on your electric bill.

4. Borrow Books

Public libraries are heavily under utilized these days. Go to your school library and browse the print. Keep reading, but save a tree, and a couple bucks on a book.

5. Displace Water

Open your toilet’s tank, find a brick, or fill a water bottle with water, and drop it into the tank. It’ll displace the water upwards, causing less to swirl down with your business below.

If you are really extreme, you could use a yellow is mellow rule– I did this in university when I was living the super cheap life (I left Uni with 0 bucks in loans, and a few grand to my name to boot. Read how I did that here). Yellow mellow knocked off some of my student loans and is a reason I am debt free at the age of 26.

Displacing water saves our earth and some dollars.

6. Collect your Dripping AC Water

Air Conditioning uses a lot of water. Typical AC units dispense water somewhere. Find out where that location is, stow a bucket underneath it, and collect your prize. The water can be used for a multitude of purposes; you can even Berky filter it! Either way, don’t let those drops of AC water go to waste.

7. You get Paid Last.

Tithing is budgeted first before I pay myself. God is always paid first in my books, it does not matter if I do not make a profit that month or not, God is always paid his share. He only asks for 10%, and when I give 10%, I am still amazed at how he helps me manage the other 90%!

My point isn’t to tell you to tithe, but it is to tell you to give. You must give a portion of the money you make, you cannot become wealthy if you are blinded by greed. Show the world that you aren’t blinded by greed, and give! Give! It makes you feel good, and God has this odd way of ensuring that your giving never goes unnoticed.

I always pay 10% of my net profit for that month to God, and, to be honest, sometimes I give back upwards to 1000 dollars USD a month, because God decided to have my investments increase in value.

If you have employees, you get paid last. If you are donating to a reputable organization, you get paid last. Give and the world will give back to you (I know that for a fact).

 

 

Book Review: Among the Hidden

Among the Hidden is the first book in the Shadow Children Series. It was written by Margaret Peterson Haddix. This book deserves a spot on everyone’s Kindle or book shelf, it is the first book I have ever read in one day.

 

In terms of readability, many should find it engaging right from the start. It is a slim novel, packing a Taekwondo kick to a head! What a wonderful book, and here’s why:

This was the first novel I had ever read that was about hiding; the author does a wonderful job engaging the reader’s senses, connecting us the dystopian world, and makes hiding seem like garlic fingers are running down a spine. Each chapter ends with an “o crap” moment, prompting the reader to continue.

The protagonists character is developed, and his hopelessness is somewhat frustrating. For me, the suspense was somewhat dialed back when the main character suffered internal conflicts about making certain decisions.  At certain points, his internal conflict lost its “spice, ” and seemed to stall the progression of the plot. Despite this setback, Among the Hidden is a literary nugget!

With my English educator hat on, this book is well flecked with literature that could be analyzed within a classroom. Loneliness, oppression, poverty, knowledge, and relationships are all themes that stem from this text. Many of these themes relate to a middle school students. Don’t get me wrong, this book deserves a place with an adult readership as well.

Haddix should be commended for her ability to write unexpected turns. It was difficult to predict what was coming next in this book, which is what grabbed my throat to keep me reading. I was lost in wonderment throughout the entire process of chewing on the literary nugget.

Here’s another fact: I will be using this book to teach my 7th grade English class!

9/10

+ Easy read, still thought provoking, possible to read it in a single day.

-Protoganist’s internal conflict is overbearing at times, which ultimately stalls the progression of the plot.

+Strong piece of literature that could be annualized in a middle school classroom.

+Chapters are not boring! Each one ends with a punch line that prompts further reading

+First book I have ever read in a single day, hats off to Haddix

+Unexpected plot turns that make this text a thrilling ride!

Care to read a review of the second book in the Shadow Children series? Read the Among the Imposters book review here.