I just recently finished up Catching Up or Leading the Way.

The author, Yong Zhao, frequently quotes Friedman’s The World Is Flat. Friedman’s book is about globalization and is a great read. Zhao talks about the good parts of American schools but also things that need improving. Apparently we look at the progress Asian schools are making and believe that standardized testing is the way to compete with them. However, the author says that China is going in the opposite direction. They are loosening their standards to allow for well rounded students with many talents. The tests we give takes away from that well roundedness or “talent diversity”. Schools need to give students the opportunity to become well rounded.
I agree with the author that we need more foreign language competency and cultural awareness. After all, racial and ethnic harmony (something that is needed in a global society) comes from understanding and respecting others. We won’t have that unless we learn about others.

The author also shares a great quote from Abraham Lincoln: “The philosophy in the classroom of this generation is the philosophy of government in the next.”

Kids don’t need to read this book but I think those that make curricular and testing decisions should.

I covered the Weber Football game today. I saw Brian C., Sam R., Anton L., Johnny N., Nathaniel C., Joe B., Harrison W. and I’m sure other current or former Green House students. It is very hard to recognize you under the helmets and shoulder pads. I saw lots of effort but unfortunately, the team ended up on the losing side of the scoreboard. The Manhasset team was very good. Hopefully next week is a better game.

Jets-Dolphins this week…For the Jets, a win this week could mean that they are for real. The Dolphins need a W for survival in a tough conference. Maybe this week they will play the entire game instead of melting down at the half like they did against New Orleans.

The Philly-NY rivalry has two rounds tomorrow…Giants vs. Eagles and then Game 4 of the World Series. I’m sticking with Yankees in 6. I expect the Yankees to win tonight (Saturday) although Hamels is tough at home. Game 4 is up in the air…the Yankees have not announced their starting pitcher.

With Halloween today, the question of the day is…What is your favorite and least favorite candy?
Favorites for me: Nestle’s Crunch, Payday, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups or Pieces, Take 5 (a new one for me)
Least Favorite: Twizzlers, licorice, candy corn, Butter Fingers

October 31-This Date in History
1517-Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Palace church, marking the start of the Protestant Reformation in Germany.

I “bet” you didn’t know that Nevada became a state on this date in 1864

October 31 is also the birthday of Dan Rather (took over for Walter Cronkite who just recently passed away), Vanilla Ice, and Mr. Spotteck

THE REAL MR. REDLEGS!!!

Today (October 30) is the birthday of John Adams. I’ve mentioned it in class, but theJohn Adams series from HBO is definitely worth checking out (with your parents permission of course). I haven’t watched the entire set yet but what I have seen is amazing. The casting was great (you’ll know what I mean when you see George Washington) and the history really comes to life. The series is based on David Mccullough’s John Adamsbook.

Today is also Henry Winkler’s birthday (Fonzie from Happy Days). Perhaps you’ve seen him on TV Land or Nick at Night or in the Scream movies.

There were some great costumes today. I liked Yellow 8′s tribute to the Geico commercials. Maggie G.’s popcorn was good also. Ari K. had a good costume. Alec was a good Joker. We had a few bees today (always a good costume). All of them were enjoyable…but it is back to business on Monday.

Laughs and Lunch was fun once we got over our technical difficulties. We watched the Looney Toons. Once we finish them, we’ll watch Pinocchio.

If you intend to go trick-or-treating on Saturday, be very careful. A few words of advice:
1. Look both ways before crossing the street. This is especially important at night.
2. Don’t go into anyone’s house. A bite sized Snickers bar is definitely not worth it!
3. Stay with a group. The old expression “safety in numbers” is very true…or perhaps “the more the merrier”
4. Stay out of trouble.

I look forward to seeing you in school safe and sound.

I missed half of the day today. I’ll be back for a full day tomorrow. Hopefully you have all of your work done by tomorrow and that you behaved in a respectful way.

As I mentioned in class, I will be wearing my Halloween Costume. You should do the same…enjoy your youth while you still have it!

On This Date In History:
1636-Harvard College was founded
1793-Eli Whitney applied for a patent for the cotton gin. The cotton gin made the cotton cleaning process much faster. This made slavery more important in the south and expanded cotton production. The US continued to move west, taking land from Native Americans. All of this divided the nation over time and helped lead to the Civil War.

Today is Bill Gates’ birthday. What do you get for a guy that has everything already?

More later…have a great day at school…Hopefully the rain will stop soon!

Many of you forgot to get your quiz signed. Each time that happens, it counts as a “no homework”. After all, it is a homework assignment. If you forgot, get it to me ASAP. I will begin emails and phone calls 3rd period.

We will discuss the French colonies in the New World for the rest of the week.

Remember, no homework club tomorrow. Homework Club will resume Thursday, November 5.

I wasn’t going to write this yet, but it came up in one of the classes today. It is amazing that we are nearly done with two months of school. The time is flying by. I guess report cards will be here soon. Our next test is likely to be the last one of the quarter. You have been a great group of students this year. Keep it up!

Laughs and Lunch will probably meet again on Friday. Stop by to get a pass if you are getting lunch from the cafeteria. We can watch either Pinocchio (which I haven’t seen in years) or Looney Tunes. I went to the store to buy both today.

Homework Club will not meet on Thursday. The next homework club will be on Thursday, 11/5/09. Speaking of Homework Club, we had a great one today. Students worked quietly on English and Social Studies (7th grade) and Science (8th grade) mostly. This was the first Homework Club in a long time that I did not work on Math at all. In addition to our traditional snack, the students were rewarded with homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Remember to get your quiz signed. If you forgot it in school, a note from mom or dad also works.

Both Core Extension classes have now begun Pay It Forward…I’m enjoying it (even if I do have to watch the same parts twice).

We haven’t had much written homework lately. When that happens, it is best to read over your notes (briefly) and study them. My 8th grade teacher Mr. Luchen used to call it recite and repeat. My phrase is “re-read and re-learn”. Either way, you cannot wait until the last minute to study for a test. You already know how much time you have until the test (11/9/09), make the most of that time. Next week there will be a coupe review homework assignments.

I attended the 7th and 8th Grade Girls soccer game yesterday. The team was full of current and former Green House students. Priyanka N., Avanti S. and Kayla P. all played well yesterday. In fact, Kayla scored the only goal of the game for Weber in the 4th quarter. Caitlin F., Molly A. and Stephanie M. played an amazing game as well. Stephanie was the goalie, but didn’t get much action because the defense played so well. I think they have two more games this week. Good luck girls!

World Series Prediction: Yankees in 6. The Phillies have monster bats (Howard, Werth, Rollins, Utley etc.) but their weakness is their bullpen. Luckily for them, they are well rested. My only concern for the Yankees is that Joe Girardi will out-smart himself in the National League ballpark. Without the DH he has more freedom to make moves and sometimes he can make the wrong ones. If that happens, the Phillies will take advantage of them.

Don’t forget, the Postcard Assignment is due on 11/6/09.

For my money, the best Pop Tart flavor is Cherry…and they are very difficult to find. Question of the Day: If you eat Pop Tarts, what is your favorite flavor? I remember back when Pop Tarts didn’t have frosting on them!

Thank you for making October a record breaking month. This was the biggest month in the history of socialstudieswithasmile.com. That means that we broke our hits record two months in a row.

Keep checking out the website. Stay up to date on assignments and notes. Your visits make the cost and all of this work worth it.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Congratulations to the Yankees. It must be their year or something. I’m sure the Phillies will have something to say about that though.

On This Date In History:
1825-The Erie Canal opened. Although canals didn’t remain the main form of shipping for long, it did help to make NY a huge trading center. We will be discussing the impact of the canal boom later in the year.

Happy Birthday to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Clinton is a former US Senator from NY. She also shares a birthday with Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder) Question of the Day: Can you name the two current US Senators that represent New York?

The Phillies are NOT the Big Red Machine (yet)
People are beginning to compare the 2008-2009 Philadelphia Phillies to the Big Red Machine of the 1970s. I wasn’t alive for the 75-76 World Series teams but they were monsters on the field. I agree with Hal McCoy.

By the way, Hal McCoy is an amazing person in my opinion. He is legally blind yet has managed to be a sports reporter for an Ohio newspaper for 37 years. It is amazing what people have the ability to do even when they have a disability. He is proof that you can do anything if you put your mind to it.

Bowling Scores for this Week: 158, 190, 190…My team only managed to win 1 game…probably because one of our opponents bowled a 630 series (210 average).

Rain again in the forecast. That means two things: (1)The Yankee game tonight is probably going to be postponed. (2)It is unlikely that I will be able to rake any leaves this week. I don’t mind putting it off, but without my leaf blower this year, I’m not looking forward to the job as the leaves continue to fall.

On This Date In History: Rosa Parks died in 2005 (92 years old). The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a major event in the struggle for Civil Rights for African Americans. It is also a great example of the power that civil disobedience has. In addition to Parks, the bus boycott also helped to put Martin Luther King Jr. on the map as a civil rights leader. Parks (pictured below) was 42 at the time of the Montgomery Bus Boycott

Rosa Parks: "Mother of the Civil Rights Movement"

Anyone Find the $20 Yet???

October 25:
On This Date In History-King George III becomes the King of England. Of course, King George III is king when the American colonists declare and fight for their independence. This is a major part of our class this year. In fact, I would say the 3 biggest topics we cover this year are the American Revolution, Government and the Civil War.

1986-The Mets win game 6 of the 1986 World Series. This is the famous Bill Buckner error game. What many people don’t realize is that the Mets had to win another game after this one to become champions. Bill Buckner (a decent ball player) will forever be known for his major error. If you are into baseball, check out his stats at Baseball-Reference.com

By the way, the answer to last week’s trivia question was Bill Mazeroski. He hit the game winning HR in 1960 to defeat…The New York Yankees. Sometimes heroes are the people you least expect. Although Mazeroski is in the Baseball Hall of Fame, he averaged less than 10 HRs a year.

On This Date In History: Joe Carter became the 2nd person to end a World Series with a homerun. Carter and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Atlanta Braves in 1993 with a walk off homerun off of “Wild Thing” Mitch Williams. Trivia: Who was the first to end a World Series with a homerun? Hint-It was a long time ago!

Remember to get your Explorer Cards done this weekend. I will be collecting them on Monday. Use them (and the rest of your notes) to help you study for Monday’s short quiz.

Family History: We learned a lot about each other’s family today in class. The amazing thing is that although we were talking about different time periods, the push-pull factors are often similar. Remember, your family history is more important than the textbook history. Ask your relatives questions. Find things out. You don’t want to wait until it is too late.

Extra Help Monday Morning.

Have a great day in school!