The Median Sib

A post I wrote on Saturday contained the following statement:

Yesterday I wrote about reading a book entitled Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy.

A reader by the name of “Realist” left the following comment:

“was reading a book TITLED…” not entitled. Two different words.

Really? I’ve seen the word “entitled” used as I used it throughout my life. Typically, I’m careful about the words I use. Occasionally typos happen, and I always go back and correct them when I see them. It aggravates me to see careless grammar, spelling and word choice in any writing. However, I never questioned my use of “entitled” in that context.

Being a perfectionist, as soon as I read Realist’s comment, I began searching for clarification on the proper use of the word “entitled. My first line of investigation was to email my two older “English major” sisters. A quick reply from one reminded me of the comment. Here’s her entire response:

The correct word is titled.

Thanks, but . . . no explanation or discussion. Just that 5-word statement. I wanted an explanation or SOMETHING to back up why “titled” is the correct word and why “entitled” is not. So I went to my Cotillion sisters who provided a variety of opinions and some online resources.

Dictionary.com has the following:

en·ti·tle (n-ttl) Pronunciation Key
tr.v. en·ti·tled, en·ti·tling, en·ti·tles

1. To give a name or title to.
2. To furnish with a right or claim to something: The coupon entitles the bearer to a 25 percent savings. Every citizen is entitled to equal protection under the law.

That didn’t help much with my particular question, but I kept looking. I wanted examples - proof. Below that definition, they had the following from WordNet.

adj 1: qualified for by right according to law; “we are all entitled to equal protection under the law” 2: given a title or identifying name; “the book entitled `A Tale of Two Cities’ [emphasis mine]

Cha-CHING! Answer.com also confirmed the use of “entitled” as I had used it.

verb

1. To give a name or title to: baptize, call, christen, denominate, designate, dub, name, style, term, title. See specific/general, words.
2. To give authority to: accredit, authorize, commission, empower, enable, license, qualify. See allow/prevent.

The verb entitle has 3 meanings:

Meaning #1:give the right to
Meaning #2: give a title to
Synonym: title [emphasis mine again]
Meaning #3: give a title to someone; make someone a member of the nobility
Synonyms: ennoble, gentle

Notice that “title” is listed as a synonym. The conclusion: Apparently, I can write “I read a book entitled Blah-Blah-Blah” and be completely correct in my use of the word “entitled.” SO THERE!

Tiara-Tip to Beth at MVRWC for taking the time to help me research this vastly unimportant word choice.

My name is Sweet Stuff.  I like Mrs. K.  I miss her.  Mrs. K is my kindergarten teacher.  She is nice.  She has blonde hair and a soft voice.  She tells me that I do a good job with my school work. These are words I can spell by myself:

 go

good

my

is

it

and

no

like

can

van

Dora

Sweet Stuff and Sunshine went with us to Sunday School and church this morning.  Immediately after Sunday School, I took them to the ladies room where a friend of mine asked me, “What do the girls call you?  Grannie?  Grandma.”

Sweet Stuff looked at her with amazement and said, ”We call her Grandma Carol.  THAT is her name!”

Yesterday I wrote about reading a book entitled Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy.  Last  night, after RT was asleep, Jake was still making noises and I couldn’t sleep.  So I dragged a warm blanket to the recliner in the guest bedroom, settled back and finished reading the book.  It took a couple of hours, and I wasn’t in bed until after 1:20 a.m.  However, the book was worth it.  First, let me provide a warning to parents and teachers:  There are a few damns and hells in the book.  And the storyline is one for older children.  The story takes place along the Maine coastline in the early 1900’s.  It’s about racism, meanness and greed in the guise of Christianity.  Good triumphs over evil . . . sometimes, but not always.  And because good doesn’t always triumph, there is destruction and death.  Several deaths.  What startled me when I read the information at the end of the book is that the book is based on a true story. 

I won’t tell you anymore about the storyline.  However, if you have a upper elementary or junior high student who can handle a little profanity and a disturbing storyline, it is an excellent book.  I understand why it is a Newbery Honor book.  The story will stay with me for a long time.

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy  

In reading the Cotillion email, I came across reference to this gem from The Nose on Your Face.

Republicans Hint that Self-Immolation Might Be More Effective than Anti-War Hunger Strikes

With the elections just a few days away, Republicans continue to scoff at anti-war hunger strikes as “rookie stuff” and have quietly suggested that the anti-war movement should elevate their game if they really want results.

“Yeah, the notion of Cindy Sheehan surviving on banana smoothies for a couple days really has us up nights,” said one Bush staffer. “These guys have really got to step it up if they want to be taken seriously. They need to draw on the heritage of their 1960s anti-war predecessors. I’m pretty sure that if the bunch of them set themselves on fire, we’d take notice.”

Self-Immolation has been practiced as a means of protest throughout history, but was most common during the Vietnam War, when several Buddhist monks and American citizens burned themselves to death.

“If Cindy Sheehan, Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn and Danny Glover were all simultaneously lit up like torches, we’d probably have the troops home in a couple weeks,” continued the staffer. “I mean, I can’t promise anything– I’m just free-lancing here. But that sort of…demonstration of commitment…might get us to realize the error of our ways. I might be going out on a limb here, but a crispy Barbra Streisand might be worth a roll back of the tax cuts. Hell, I’d marry a gay Hollywood producer and adopt several Pakistani refugees if you set Alec Baldwin ablaze.”

Conservatives have a hilarious sense of humor.

Tiara-tip to Linda at Something . . . and Half of Something

I got up early this morning - was at my church for a “clean the church” workday before 8:00.  I scrubbed scuff marks off the white pews for about an hour and a half, and then drove to my school where I’m spending the rest of my Saturday morning preparing for the evaluation/observation (i.e. comprehensive assessment) I’ll have on Tuesday. 

Words can’t express how much I dislike doing this.  The weather is gorgeous, the sun is shining, the sky is blue, it’s a cool and crisp fall day with spectacularly colored leaves on the trees, and here I sit - inside, at my desk preparing for my evaluation.  Instead of being outside helping RT clear the land for our house or back at church doing something truly worthwhile, I’m stuck inside completing meaningless paperwork.

The paperwork is mind-numbing.  What are my areas of strength as a teacher, and what are my reasons for selecting those areas of strength?  What are my areas for growth and the reasons for selecting those areas for growth?  That comprises the first two pages of paperwork.  I haven’t started on anything yet because I just hate it.

Then I must answer the following questions about the lesson I will teach on Tuesday morning - notice the explanations in parentheses for anyone who can’t figure out the first part:

(1)  What is the student goal(s)/objective(s) for the lesson?  (What is the ultimate desired outcome of this lesson?)  In the event that students are working on individual objectives, choose 2 or 3 students and provides their objectives.

(2) What information do you have regarding your students’ current abilities in relation to this objective(s) and how has this impacted the design of this lesson?

3.  What teaching strategies will you use to teach this objective? (How will you accomplish your objective(s)?)

4.  What are the student indicators of success within this lesson?  (What behaviors will you look for to determine whether or not the students are meeting the objective(s)?)

5.  Identify the data which will be collected to evaluate the students’ achievement of the goal(s)/objective(s).

6.  What future assessments will you use to determine the retention and ongoing application of today’s learning?

7.  What is the relationship of this lesson to the larger unit of study and to your annual goals?

8.  Do you have any concerns at this point regarding this lesson or these students?

Then there is another page for the “Reflecting Information Record” that has seven more questions to be done after the evaluation/observation.  I won’t bore you by writing those out.  Then there are (I SWEAR it’s true) SIX more pages of paperwork to finish after that.  There’s an “Educator Information Record” and “Professional Growth Plan” and a “Future Growth Plan.”  Right now I have no idea what the difference is in those last two.  Guess I’ll find out soon.

Yes,  I’m procrastinating by writing this post instead of working on the work (that’s a joke that some of my readers may get - depending on what books your school system requires you to read).  But REALLY, is all this paperwork crap necessary? 

(Warning: totally unrelated observation ahead)  Ahhh — looking out my window right now I see a bluebird on the corner of the building across from me.  How beautiful!  He just flew down and landed on the grass outside my window.  One bright spot in a rather dismal Saturday morning.

Back to the topic at hand:  I’ll get the work done.  I’ll go through the observation on Tuesday - and one or two more observations after that.  After over 25 years of teaching, it doesn’t bother me anymore to have a principal or anyone else watch me teach.  It’s second nature now.  But this #^%&%#%#% paperwork!  I hate it!  Why can’t I just SHOW how my lesson is guided by our county and state standards, and how the lesson was planned based on various assessments and student needs?   That’s just too practical.  Just as teachers have to assess and document students to death - so administrators must assess and document teachers to death. Did I mention how much I hate this process?  GRRRRR!

I read a lot of children’s literature - everything from picture books to middle school and high school fiction.  As long as I’m a children’s reading specialist, it is part of my job.  It is also something I enjoy immensely.  Oftentimes children’s literature is better than adult literature.

This afternoon I’m reading a novel by Gary D. Schmidt entitled Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy.  It was a Newbery Honor Book in 2005.  It’s for upper elementary/junior high kids.  I’m just a couple chapters into the book, but I came across a conversation that fascinated me. 

In the story, Turner is a preacher’s son in the early 1900’s who has just moved to a new town.  Shortly after moving, he was skipping rocks one day, and one bounced off an elderly woman’s fence, and now he must read to her each day as penance.  This is part of their conversation during his first visit to read to her.

Suddenly, her eyes opened and she lifted her head.  “Have you thought about what your last words might be?  You’re never too young to know what your last words might be.  Death could come along at any moment and thrust his dart right through you.”  She jerked her arm out at him, and Turner shot back against the organ.

“I supposed,” he whispered, “something like, ‘The Lord is my shepherd.’”

“Too expected,” she said, shaking her head.  “nobody would care to remember that, and you’d have wasted your one opportunity.  You don’t get two chances to say your last words, you know.”

Sometimes it doesn’t take much to get me wondering, but these few lines did it for me.  I can think (tongue in cheek) of a couple for myself:

Wow!  That was amazing!  Hope we didn’t disturb the neighbors.

Who would have guessed I’d live to be over 100!

Nah - those are lame.  It would be nice to impart words of wisdom for the ones left behind, but I don’t know what those words could be.

So, I ask you:  What would YOU like your last words to be?

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy

I’m so excited! THE MEDIAN SIB is the “old-timer” featured blog at the Thursday Thirteen hub!  This week’s Thursday Thirteen was my 33rd one!  That makes me 1/3 of the way to a hundred.  YEA for TMS!

The Thursday Thirteen meme is a fun way to get to know other bloggers.  I’ve only missed a few TT’s since I started joining the weekly fun.  I look forward to it every week.  It’s fascinating to read the other blogs and see what topics everyone has chosen.  The creativity and fun of the other participants always inspires me.

If you don’t participate in Thursday Thirteen, I encourage you to click on over, read about it and join in!

I stayed home from work today because of a headache.  I slept till after noon, and the headache is mostly gone now.  YEA!  Since I have some unplanned free time, I thought I would cruise around the internet and read some blogs that I haven’t had time to read in awhile.  Naturally John Kerry’s slamming of the military is on the minds of a lot of bloggers.  Here is a mini round-up of some of my favorites:

I haven’t read Blame Bush! in months!  And I’ve missed it.  I read this post about Kerry and laughed like crazy, and the bonus was that there was even more funny stuff in the comments.  Here’s a taste of some of the comment humor: 

Kerry walks into a bar. Bartender says; “Hey John. Why the long face?”

Did you know that at a recent Democratic fundraiser when John Kerry was handed a $10 million dollar check, he said, ‘I do.’

President Bush said John Kerry is on both sides of every issue. And Kerry replied, ‘No, I’m not … but there is some truth to that.’

John Kerry will be the Democratic nominee for president. Democrats finally found someone who is Al Gore without the flash and the sizzle.

They had a profile of John Kerry on the news and they said his first wife was worth around $300 million and his second wife, his current wife, is worth around $700 million. So when John Kerry says he’s going after the wealthy in this country, he’s not just talking. He’s doing it!

Michelle Malkin writes about John Kerry’s words about the military from long ago:

So much for John Kerry’s “joke” excuse. He meant what he said and, as Rove says, it’s a lifelong habit.

Beth at My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy talks about “Botched Joke Democats”  and  in John “Botched Joke” Kerry - Flashback she writes:

If the reaction by most of the idiotic Democrats/”progressives” (what a misnomer) to Kerry’s comments hasn’t shown you what the Democrats think of the military, and by extension, the concept of “honor,” I don’t know how plainly it has to be spelled out. These people are not fit to represent me in Washington or anywhere else. They simply don’t get it.   

She also has the video of Kerry from long ago,.

Darleen at Darleen’s Place has this photo.

Beth at Blue Star Chronicles has “Carry Halp Us!” - the title tells it all.  But you need to read the whole post to get Beth’s unique take on the humor of Kerry’s idiocy.

Allahpundit at Hot Air writes about Kerry’s belief that an all-volunteer army would “exploit the poor and minorities.

“I am convinced a volunteer army would be an army of the poor and the black and the brown,” Kerry wrote.

Okay, where are the racism police for THAT statement?  Read the entire post to find out FACTS about our all-volunteer armed forces.  Kerry would be surprised - and all the people who support him should be embarrassed.

My Thirteen Goals for November 2006

1. Lose ten pounds (Yea, right!)

2. Exercise 5 days each week (Yep!)

3. Get ouside and walk on the land two or three times a week (That is fun!)

4. Do all my Christmas shopping (This is right down my alley)

5. See the builders start building our house (Thank goodness they’re ready to start)

6. Get the house ready to sell (This is an iffy one. We MAY decide to not sell until the new house is almost finished)

7. Get the “for sale” sign in front of the house (Depends on #6 above)

8. Clean out my car - DEEP cleaning (A definite need)

9. Make it through my evaluation at work (Shouldn’t be too difficult - just a lot of paperwork prior to the observation)

10. Clean out the small bedroom (RT will have to help me with this one since most of the junk in there is his)

11. Organize the shelves in the back of my classroom (Actually I have a parent helper who will help me with this)

12. Finish catloguing the materials on carts in my classroom (Parent helper for this job, too)

13. Have a quiet/devotion time each morning (I already do this most mornings - just need to make it every morning and maybe extend the time)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Powered by… Mister Linky’s Magical Widgets.

When I see and hear what train wrecks the two last Democratic nominees for President have become, it makes me realize yet again that God was indeed watching out for American in the 2000 and 2004 elections.

It has been amusing listening to all the democrats try to explain away what Kerry said.  They’re trying to convince people that he DIDN’T mean what he very clearly said, and that, as a veteran himself, he would never insult our military men and women.  The fact is, though, he did.  Of course his own actions after returning from service showed his lack of respect for the military and for our service personnel.  So his words don’t come as a big surprise - except I thought his “handlers” would have managed him a little better.

This is a man who is supposed to be an accomplished speaker.  There was no botched joke.  Mr. Kerry - from his holier-than-thou-perch - thought he could get away with slamming the military because he was speaking to a bunch of Democrats.  I guess he thought he was safe with his fellow Democratic snobs.

He’s taking the right track now, though.  There is no way that an apology would ever make up for what he said, and who would believe it anyway?  The only thing he’s sorry about is that his remarks caused such a furor.  The only way to fight it is to take the offense and try to make the die-hard democrats believe it was a botched joke - something that apparently isn’t very difficult.  That anyone could fall for that is amazing - but not surprising.  I’ve never seen such lemmings in my life.

Put Kerry with Al “Do as I say, not as I do” Gore with Bill “No morals whatsoever” Clinton, and you have the three stooges - just not as funny as the originals.

Thank God that George Bush is our president.

Welcome to the 91st Edition of the Carnival of Education.  Thanks for stopping by.  We’re glad you’re here.  Sit back, relax awhile and read some of the best writing on topics in the realm of education.

The Carnival begins with this week’s most memorable (to me) post.  It is a “host’s choice” for this week.  I believe that many of us veteran teachers have had experiences similar to Mamacita’s at Scheiss Weekly and we know what she means when she describes some classes as “magical.”  In this post, “It Was Magical,” she writes about a magical class and a magical student. 

BOOKS AND TEXTBOOKS

Jill at Essential Blog presents Children’s Choices: book recommendations for students by students. Jill has an appreciation of the International Reading Association/Children’s Book Council’s Children’s Choices project. You can find some great new books tested and approved by kids nationwide. There’s a bonus reflection on how students might be able to share resources and information to get personalized project-based work done.

Along the lines of children’s books is my post about “My Favorite Read-Aloud Picture Books for Children.”

And speaking of memorable books, OKP at Line 46 wrote “No Pay But Love Returned” about attending a “night at the library” where a favorite author spoke. OKP provides us with a reminder of how books and authors touch our lives — long after we’ve read them (or even met them). By the way, this is OKP’s first time at the Carnival of Education. Welcome!

California LiveWire wonders if freebies from textbook companies are bribery.  Considering the cost of textbooks, are the freebies really free?

And while we’re on the topic of textbooks, Michelle at Texas Ed: Comments on Education from Texas submitted “Educational Research Analysts.” She writes that people are still trying to influence Texas textbooks for ideological reasons.

IB a Math Teacher writes about his own textbook woes when his textbook disappeared when he was absent:

. . . I check the number of the book she has and find out that the book she has is checked out to me. She does have a nice book cover on it, though, one of the fabric kind that you find at Target. I thank her for practicing “safe text”, but tell her she shouldn’t be stealing the teacher’s textbook while he is gone.

IT’S ALL IN A DAY’S WORK FOR TEACHERS

Since so many teachers are women, they AND their students would be wise to check out this post by ZenKitty at Echoes of Cold Moon.

Ms. Cornelius at A Shrewdness of Apes writes about slacker teachers who attack other teachers for making them look bad.  If you know a slacker teacher, please raise your hand.  OK, I thought so!  Ms. Cornelius, I’ll join you in that glass of merlot.

Do kids that like math not do well in math?  That’s the topic Alexander at This Week in Education discusses.

Ms. M at Ms. M’s Apples provides great ideas for interactive notebooks in “Notebook Toolbox.”  This is also Ms. M’s first submission to the carnival.  Welcome to the carnival!

Laurie at Trivium Pursuit gathers information on Don Potter and intensive phonics.  

Brad at HUNBlog suggests “A Gedanken Experiment for Teachers.”  I remember having a similar exercise in one of my education courses. It’s one of those things that makes you go “HUH?”

Mr. R at Evolving Education discusses “‘What Works’ in Math and Science Education Reform.”

NYC Educator experienced an identity crisis last week.  Please see if you can help him out.  Talk about a stolen identity! 

And speaking of NYC Educator, he will be the host of next week’s Carnival of Education.  Submissions are due by 6:00 p.m. (Eastern) Tuesday, November 7th.  Send submissions to nyceducator (at) gmail (dot) com, or use this handy dandy submission form.

Mr. Lawrence at Get Lost, Mr. Chips writes about a program in some of the high schools called “Child Development” where would-be teachers get a chance to work with some pre-school kids, create lesson plans and learn about disciplining them. It’s a great “starter program” for anyone curious as to whether or not they have the patience - or ability - to follow such a career path!

IB a Math Teacher at Three Standard Deviations To The Left makes an assessment at the “End of Quarter 1.”  There are some familiar students mentioned - like Mr. ButYouWouldn’tHelpMe and Ms. IKnowThatIHaven’tDoneWellButI’llGetBetter.  You recognize THEM, don’t you?

The District 299 Chicago Public Schools Blog asks “How’s the ‘High School Transformation Initiative’ Going?”

I’ve heard this story several times over the past few years.  It’s still a touching story and a good idea for a class activity.  Surfer Sam and Friends writes about it.

POLICY AND POLITICS

EdWonk asks, “Is It Time To Dump The “D” Grade?“ posted at The Education Wonks.  Seems there’s a lot of confusion - sometimes between schools in the same district - with one getting rid of it and the other keeping it.

Darren at Right on the Left Coast saw some changes in his union rebate check. The numbers were a lot different from last year’s. Why the difference? He posits an idea.

The Hall Monitor’s field trip to a school board convention shows in a series of posts that blogging gives a newspaper more scope.

Matthew at Going to the Mat asks,”What are we teaching kids about elections?”  Powerful lessons are being learned, and the kids who are learning these lessons will be tomorrow’s leaders.  This post is another host’s choice.

Dr. Homeslice talks about unions and strikes and what too often can happen. 

Saugerties Teacher Association (STA) and the school board have come to an impasse after only 27 months of negotiations. I mean, come on….aren’t you in for the long haul? I don’t think you’ve given these negotiations an honest chance! Come on, what’s another year of fruitless and infuriating talking that you’ll never get back?

Beth at NCLB: Let’s Get it Right tells about a puzzling situation in which an increase of 3.9 million hours of data collecting and reporting is part of the “Paper Reduction Act.”  Sounds about par for the course, doesn’t it?

Scott at Get on the Bus writes about how the going gets rough for Fordham, the nation’s chief champion of charter schools, when criminal charges come down against the founder of a top charter school it sponsored.

HIGHER EDUCATION

Wenchypoo presents The College Conundrum (L-O-N-G) posted at Wisdom From Wenchypoo’s Mental Wastebasket.  She discusses the pros and cons of going to college considering the recent study that showed college graduates earn approximately $23,000 more per year than non-graduates.

Margaret at Poor Starving College Student writes that private donations to public colleges and universities are necessary.

Joerg at Atlantic Review tells about “When German Universities were Models for American Universities.”

Edspresso provided us with a twofer.  John Dewey gives us the inside scoop on schools of education in “More on Constructivism,”  and Jennifer talks about “A National Curriculum in Australia.”

HOMESCHOOLING

NerdMom presents 7th Heaven and Schooling posted at Nerd Family. In this post NerdMom discusses some of her reasons for homeschooling.

The Learning Umbrella realized that their homeschooling needed to change.  They developed goals by asking themselves these questions:

What do you think an educated person is?  What can they do?  What do they know?  What attitudes do they have?  And then - how do you get to be that person?  Where are you weak, strong, etc? 

That wraps up the 91st Edition of The Carnival of Education!  Thanks to EdWonk at The Education Wonks for giving me the opportunity to host this week’s Carnival of Education.

NYC Educator will be the host of next week’s Carnival of Education. Submissions are due by 6:00 p.m. (Eastern) Tuesday, November 7th. Send submissions to nyceducator (at) gmail (dot) com, or use this handy submission form.

You can find Carnivals 1 through 90 at the Carnival of Education ARCHIVES.

Please take time to visit the education writers featured in this carnival.  If you are so inclined, remember that comments and trackbacks make bloggers happy.