When Students Give Back to the Community

In college, my roommates and I dumped any loose change from our pockets and wallets into a communal piggy bank. By the end of the school year, we’d gathered enough for food during finals week. It was a nice treat considering we rarely stopped to think about how a few cents here and there could really add up to something.

The 330 students I work with as a City Year corps member at P.S. 50 in East Harlem, New York, have set a much higher bar. They spent the month of November collecting change for their community as part of the annual Penny Harvest, a service learning project run by City Year and the nonprofit Common Cents.   

I often tell people that just because my students have a higher risk of dropping out of school, that doesn’t mean they don’t have a desire to be active citizens and make a difference in their community. And the kids proved me right, really getting into the effort. They performed original songs about Penny Harvest over the P.A. system in order to generate awareness among their peers. A fifth grader I work with was concerned that there weren’t enough signs around the school letting people know about Penny Harvest, so she took it upon herself to draw her own as an example.  

Their enthusiasm was evidence that students in this community—many of whom come from low-income backgrounds—aren’t thinking only about their own lack of resources. Instead, they’re socially aware, recognizing that there are people around them who need help.

While the collection period for Penny Harvest closed at the end November, allocating the funds raised is a year-long process. A team of fourth- through eighth-grade students was selected to be the voice of the student body. Throughout the year, they’ll learn more about various community issues and (with the vision of the student population in mind), they’ll choose an organization to donate the money. I was part of a grant allocation committee in college, and it was hard work for a 20-year-old, so I’ve been impressed by this student panel’s ability to take on such a big project. 

In the literacy intervention and enrichment activities I do with seventh-grade students, we read news articles about people doing good works throughout the world. I’ve enjoyed the discussions about what it means to be a role model and a hero, but its clear that my students don’t need to look beyond the halls of our own school to see a commitment to service in action. Through their involvement with Penny Harvest, they are making a difference and becoming heroes themselves.

History Essay Writing: How to Enjoy It and Get Good Grades?

1. First of all, do remember that good history essay writing should be based on good history literature reading. Thus, before you start writing your history essay you should read the necessary amount of the literature. Of course, this amount depends on the complexity of your topic.
2. As far as your essay topic is concerned it also needs special attention. Thus, you should be creative while choosing the topic for your history essay writing. Of course, no one expects from you the discovery of the secret of Great Sphinx of Giza and Egyptian pyramids. However, try to find some interesting facet of any historical even or fact. Try to reveal controversies while writing your history essay.
3. Of course, you should be very careful with your sources while your history essay writing. First of all, you should use only reliable sources. Secondly, you should also format your references in accordance with your school requirements and overall principles of decency.
4. If you think that your history essay should be as dry as the dry thing form Alice in Wonderland, you are wrong. History is an amazing study revealing human’s past which is outstanding. So, your history essay writing style may be and even should be expressive. Of course, do not go too far. You are to find the golden mean.

Finally, you should get pleasure from your history essay writing. If you are not interested in your research, you are doomed to get a really bad result. Thus, before you start writing, do make sure you feel like implementing this very research.

Mark Your Calendar!

Mark your calendar! On January 3, 2012, the next National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature will be announced.

This post of Ambassador was created by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, the Childrens Book Council (CBC),  and to raise national awareness of the importance of young people’s literature as it relates to literacy, education, and the development and betterment of children’s lives. Appointed for a two-year term, the National Ambassador chooses a platform that reflects his or her personal interests and advocates this policy throughout his or her travels and tenure.

The selection criteria for this position includes:

• Author or illustrator of fiction or nonfiction books
• U.S. citizen, living in the United States
• Excellent and facile communicator
• Dynamic and engaging personality
• Known ability to relate to children; communicates well and regularly with them
• Someone who has made a substantial contribution to young people’s literature
• Stature; someone who is revered by children and who has earned the respect and admiration of his or her peers

The National Ambassador program was established in 2008 when Jon Scieszka was named for the 2008-2009 term. On Jan. 5, 2010, Katherine Paterson became the second National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. Who do you think might be announced as the next National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature on January 3^rd?

New Dept. of Ed guidance will ensure flexibility and promote diversity in the classroom, Miller says

 

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the Education and the Workforce Committee, issued the following statement today after the U.S. Department of Education issued new guidance to support voluntary efforts to promote diversity in primary, secondary and postsecondary classrooms. The guidance was issued in order to clarify existing law and three recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions that addressed the consideration of race by some educational institutions.

“Our nation operates under the important principles of inclusion and equity under the law,” said Miller. “Today’s guidance reinforces these principles and provides schools and institutions with ways to accomplish both. I applaud Secretary Duncan and Attorney General Holder for recognizing the need to promote diverse learning environments and equity in access to education. All students benefit from diversity. And in today’s diverse, global economy, this is even more apparent. Our schools, at all levels, must reflect this reality if we want to succeed in the 21st century.”    

Nov 19, Fact Families or Family of Number Sentences (with videos, worksheets, games & activities)

  Videos, worksheets, games and acivities to help students learn fact families or family of number sentences in Singapore Math.

 

 

Making A Family Of Number Sentences

 

 

Basic Math: Fact Families
How to create fact families of number sentences.

 

 

 

Dental Assistant Training Offered in Fort Worth South

If you enjoy working in a clean environment and like the thought of assisting in administering dental health care, training to become a dental assistant at Everest’s Fort Worth South campus could be the key that helps unlock the door to a successful career for you.

You’ll receive training that will help prepare you to assist in performing chairside methods, various patient procedures and other related office and lab tasks – all under the supervision of a licensed dentist. Everest also offers training designed to help you develop laboratory proficiency and strong clinical skills whereby you can gain the practical experienced needed to be successful on the job.

You’ll learn through hands-on training and in the classroom. Instructors are knowledgeable and skilled in their field. This means you gain the benefit of learning about things beyond what typical book learning alone may be able to teach.

Dental Assistant training at the Fort Worth South campus includes a study of:

• Dental Office Emergencies
• Dental Radiography
• Dental Specialties
• Operatory Dentistry
• And more

Today could be the start of a bright new future. Contact us today to learn more about our Dental Assistant program and the training and support we offer that can help bring your career goals one step closer.