Small Enough to Jail

I recently found the movie Abacus: Small Enough to Jail on Amazon Prime but it is also available on the PBS website (Click on the link). It is a  little-known story of the only U.S. bank prosecuted in relation to the 2008 financial crisis. I was amazed how the government targeted them and the racism was so evident. Knowing how I was brought up in the Chinese culture, it hurt me to watch what happened knowing how deeply it affected this family. I highly recommend that you watch this and see what happens. 

The Joy of Discovery

“The NVIV (Next Vista Inspiring Video) series of posts are written by Rushton Hurley and designed to provide students and teachers with fascinating discussion prompts.”

In The Joy of Discovery, Rushton features a man who is learning new things.

Rushton gives the following prompts to accompany this video:

“What makes what the man in the video experiences interesting? Can you bring that to your own learning?”

I loved this video because I love learning. Every year, I have the goal of learning something new. I try to model this with my students and I want them to know that you should keep learning all your life and not just in school. I want my students to see me go through the process of learning and how I struggle to understand and practice my new skills. Some things I continue to do and improve my skills but some things I learn that I don’t like. I compare this to tasting new foods; some you like and some you don’t. Some you still include in your diet and others you stay away from but you would never have known that if you hadn’t tried it.

Please check out the video and think of other prompts you might come up with. Please share.

Happy Memorial Day!

Today is Memorial Day in the United States. It is a federal holiday to honor and mourn those who died while serving in the US Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May every year.

Many people visit cemeteries and memorials on this day. Many volunteers place American flags on the graves of military personnel in national cemeteries.

The first time this holiday was observed was on May 30, 1868, but it was called Decoration Day. It later became known as Memorial Day when Congress designated the last Monday in May as a federal holiday.

Have a safe and happy Memorial Day! Thank you to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice to protect us.

Useful Information In and Out of the Classroom 5/26/2023

Here are some interesting sites that I’ve found this week, thanks to my PLN. As a teacher, I feel we have to keep up to date concerning research in our field and current issues in the education system. I hope some of these inspire you, inform you, and even have you asking questions. Thank you for coming by and visiting!

Note: Each resource is labeled with a level and subject area to make it easier to use.

Levels: E: Elementary; M: Middle; H: High; G: General, all levels; SN: Special Needs; T: Teachers

Subject Areas: LA: Language Arts, English, Reading, Writing; M: Math; S: Science; Health; SS: Social Studies, Current Events; FA: Fine Arts; Music, Art, Drama; FL: Foreign Language; PE: Physical Ed; C: Career; A: All

Visuwords - “A modern dictionary for a modern world. Visuwords™ represents Language visually.” (L:G; SA:A)

Georgia Public Broadcasting - “Georgia Public Broadcasting's education division is proud to provide FREE digital media & content for GA's educators & students.” (L:G; SA:A)

Can You Power A House With A Bicycle? - “After pedaling for hours, I discover there's a difference between the power you use and the power your body can generate.” (L:H; SA:S)

The Math Learning Center - “These free apps are based on the visual models featured in Bridges in Mathematics. Apps are available in multiple versions: a web app for all modern browsers, and downloadable versions for specific operating systems and devices (such as Apple iOS for iPad).”(L:T; SA:A)

C3Teachers - “The Inquiry Design Model (IDM) is a distinctive approach to creating curriculum and instructional materials that honors teachers’ knowledge and expertise, avoids overprescription, and focuses on the main elements of the instructional design process as envisioned in the Inquiry Arc of the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for State Social Studies Standards (2013). Unique to the IDM is the blueprint, a one-page representation of the questions, tasks, and sources that define a curricular inquiry.” (L:T; SA:A)

Original photo by Pat Hensley

Heather Fong

Heather Fon was the chief of police in San Francisco. She was the first woman to lead the police department there and the first Asian American to lead a major metropolitan city police department. She is the second Asian American police chief in the San Francisco police department’s history.

Fong’s family was from Guangdong Province, China. She grew up in San Francisco and got a BA from the University of San Francisco and a MA from San Francisco State University. She joined the US Air Force ROTC and was also a police cadet. She graduated from the police academy in 1977.

In 1979, she was an instructor at the police academy, and in 1983, she was one of two female child abuse investigators. She was also a youth investigator in 1992. She moved up in ranks and was promoted to lieutenant in 1993, captain in 1994, commander in 1998, deputy chief in 2000, and assistant chief in 2003.

She became police chief in April 2004 and retired in 2009.

In November 2014, she served as the Department of Homeland Security Assistant Security for State and Local Law Enforcement but left at the end of the Obama administration