Movie night - where are the girl characters?

From the Geena Davis Institute:
 Female characters remain a rare element in family films

A look at popular family-focused films, such as "Finding Nemo" and "Toy Story," reveals that while animals and talking toys are plentiful when it comes to characters, strong female roles are not as prevalent. A recent study from the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California revealed just 29.2% of characters were female in a review of 122 family films. The study was commissioned by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, which collects data on women in film. Studies have found that when it comes to family films, 17% of animators are female, 17% of movie narrators are female, and women account for 17% of people in crowd scenes, says Geena Davis. Newsweek (9/22)

May There Always Be Sunshine

Anna led a beautiful rendition of "May There Always Be Sunshine" after Quaker meeting today, with signs and in Russian.

Scholars or Makers?

Here's a thought-provoking article called School for Hackers from The Atlantic that explores both alternatives and supplements to modern education.

Most schools offer a variety of afterschool recreational activities, as well as scattered experiential activities within the school day, and yet they remain activities rather than a thoughtful and accepted method of coming to the learning itself. The 'makers' in our lives still find themselves searching elsewhere for hands-on learning as they experience 'lagging executive skills' in their schoolwork. Are their organizational and sequencing skills deficits actually a problem if we allow these non-linear thinkers to apply them in a different scenario? Are the results invalid if kids arrive at them differently? Or is it just because circuitous learning makes the students difficult to track through standardized testing? There is no doubt that most of us consider seemingly indirect paths to learning to be inefficient; certainly they take more patience to monitor. But what are the efficient people missing along the way?

Are there ways to put more emphasis on multisensory, project-based, extended learning experiences for kids who operate that way, without having it be 'shop' or 'voc ed' or some other low-expectations track? Does learning differently necessarily mean learning less?

Please, please weigh in on this! These are the kinds of issues that keep me awake at night.

Book Talk Tuesdays & A Peaks Island Book Event!

On Tuesday, October 5th at lunch time I (Anna) will be hosting the first in a series of weekly "Book Talk Tuesdays" in my classroom for students in grades 5-8. The sessions will be informal. My thought is that folks can bring the books they are reading and give the group a quick review. If others in the group have had experience with the book, they are welcome to chime in as well. I'm hoping this will provide students with a place to chat about books they love and hate, get new book suggestions, and find out about book events and books that are just being published.

Speaking of book events...

The new poetry book NEST, NOOK, & CRANNY for children and adults illustrated by Peaks Island artist, Jamie Hogan will be celebrated with a series of nature walks on Peaks Island on Saturday October 16th from 10:00 AM ­ 3:00 PM.

The walks, led by the Peaks Island Land Preserve, will feature poems from the book dotted throughout the woods and along the shoreline. The walks will step off from the Gem Gallery at 10:30 AM and 1:00 PM.

Illustrator Jamie Hogan will be signing books at the Gem where the original illustrations from the book will be on exhibit and prints will be for sale. A portion of sales will benefit the Peaks Island Land Preserve.

NEST, NOOK, & CRANNY

Saturday, October 16th, 2010

10:00 AM ­ 3:00 PM

(Nature Walks at 10:30 AM and 1:00 PM)

Gem Gallery

62 Island Ave, Peaks Island, ME

(2 minute walk from the Ferry Terminal)

Info: Curious City, 207-699-2755

All Ages

Steingraber's back in Maine

If you missed her last spring, she'll be speaking at Bates next week!

 Sandra Steingraber, author of "Living Downstream: An Ecologist Looks At Cancer And The Environment" and "Having Faith: An Ecologist's Journey To Motherhood" will visit campus on Monday, October 4 to deliver this year's Otis Lecture.

The lecture will be held in the Olin Concert Hall at 7:30 pm.  It is free but a ticket is required and can be reserved by calling 207-786-6135 or via email: olinarts@bates.edu

Outings

Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands/Maine Forest Service Fall Foliage Hikes
The beauty of Maine's fall foliage will be highlighted in the next few weeks with seven fall foliage events--including six hikes and a river paddle--presented by the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands and the Maine Forest Service.

Events will be led by both a BPL park manager/ranger and a MFS district forester. This year's series of hikes will range from easy to moderate difficulty. New this year is the inclusion of hikes at two public reserve land units, which should give participants an experience of these multi-use, wilderness areas managed by BPL.

The paddle will take place at the BPL's newest park, the Androscoggin Riverlands State Park, north of the Lewiston-Auburn area and is sponsored by the Androscoggin Land Trust.

Hikers should wear sturdy, appropriate footwear, with enclosed toes, and comfortable clothing, preferably worn in layers. Paddlers will need to bring their own boats, life vests, and gear. Participants should bring cameras, binoculars, snacks and water. The BPL and MFS especially thank Poland Spring for donating bottled water for this program.

The events will take place:
10 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 2, Mt. Blue State Park, Weld;
10 a.m., Sunday, Oct. 3, Sebago Lake State Park, Casco;
10 a.m., Sunday, Oct. 3, Bald Mountain Public Reserve Land, Franklin County;
10 a.m., Sunday, Oct. 3, Bradbury Mountain State Park, Freeport;
10 a.m., Sunday, Oct. 3, Androscoggin Riverlands State Park, Turner;
10 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 9, Shackford Head State Park, Eastport;
1 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 10, Camden Hills State Park, Camden.
For more specific information about the hikes/paddle, including difficulty and meeting places, go to: parksandlands.com.  Or call, Melissa Macaluso, BPL, at (207) 287-4960.

Classrooms with a Conscience

Would anyone be interested in attending this?

Classrooms with a Conscience A day-long ethics conference for public and independent school teachers of high school and middle school students In our classrooms, can we raise issues of identity, morality and cultural diversity?  Can we ask students: “Who am I?”  Who are you?”  “Who are we?”  Can we teach students first, and subjects second — emphasizing both morality and achievement? After keynote address by Author James Carroll, ten exciting seminars propose many ways to teach ethics in the classroom. Find out more: conference schedule and seminar leaders            Thursday October 7, 2010 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Milton Academy, Milton, Massachusetts Co-sponsored by Milton Academy and Facing History and Ourselves Open to teachers of all subjects, administrators, coaches, professional staff, parents and community leaders. Lunch will be provided. PDP’s are available. Educator rate: $75 (teachers, administrators, staff) Group rate: $65 each (3 or more) Community rate: $100 (parents, community leaders) Pre-register by September 27 at classrooms@milton.edu Keynote Address “Conscience, Classroom, Class, and Contempt” Keynote speaker James Carroll is an award-winning author of fiction and non-fiction, columnist for The Boston Globe, regular contributor to The Daily Beast.  James Carroll’s American Requiem won the National Book Award. His landmark book on Christian anti-Semitism, Constantine's Sword, is among his several national bestsellers and was adapted for a feature length documentary. His newest work Jerusalem, Jerusalem: The Ancient City that Ignited Our Modern World is due to be released in March 2011. Issues of prejudice and discrimination, as well as those of nuclear threat,  disarmament, and peacemaking have coursed through Mr. Carroll’s life’s work. He has been a fellow at both the Kennedy School and the Divinity School at Harvard University, and is now distinguished scholar in residence at Suffolk University.

Fwd: TEDx in Maine

For a Printer-Friendly Version Click here

Click on image for details and to attend   www.explorefrontier.com    |     207.725.5222   |   info@explorefrontier.com

Internet Safety

Common Sense Media, the folks who do the down and dirty movie reviews for Netflix, have a series of articles on teaching your children internet safety. The latest is an article on whether you need web-tracking software. An interesting series of comments follows, debating whether using this software is justified or just plain spying. Where do you stand on this? Would it be good to have a guest in to speak frankly on internet safety for one of the Body/Mind/Spirit classes? Leave your comment below to weigh in! It's always interesting to know how others handle parenting as their kids become teens.

Instrumental music classes

Any student in grades 4 - 8 may take instrumental music classes at FSP, and more than 50% of eligible students have already signed up! Beginner Strings and Beginner Band happen during 2nd recess on Mondays, while Chorus and Instrumental Ensemble (for those with a year or more experience on their band or string instrument) are during 2nd recess on Fridays. There is no cost to parents for the instruction. However, parents are responsible for renting or buying an appropriate instrument and a book or two. FMI contact Christina (cmchute@maine.rr.com). Classes started this week, but she's still taking students.