1. Happy Graduation! - First off, a big shout out to Emmett Knowlton who graduates tomorrow from Deerfield Academy. Well done brotha!
2. In a Land Far Far Away – You know what the hardest part about living in Cambodia is? It’s not the heat, the language barrier, or any of the day-to-day stuff. Honestly, the hardest part about living here is just being so far away from home. It’s especially hard when there are a big events that you want to be a part of but you can’t.
3. Singing in Class – Cambodian students are way more shy and reserved than American students, yet when it comes to singing in the classroom, Cambodian students are fearless. Check out this girl from one of 10th grade classes….
Awesome right?
4. Turning Schools into Prisons – In my soon to be home state of Michigan, Gov. Rick Snyder (R) and the GOP-controlled state senate passed budget cuts this week that took $470 away from every student in the state. Enraged by these cuts, superintendent of the Ithaca Public Schools, Nathan Bootz, wrote a letter to the editor in a local paper with a unique idea…
In these tough economic times, schools are hurting. And yes, everyone in Michigan is hurting right now financially, but why aren’t we protecting schools? Schools are the one place on Earth that people look to “fix” what is wrong with society by educating our youth and preparing them to take on the issues that society has created. [...]
This is why I’m proposing to make my school a prison. The State of Michigan spends annually somewhere between $30,000 and $40,000 per prisoner, yet we are struggling to provide schools with $7,000 per student. I guess we need to treat our students like they are prisoners, with equal funding. Please give my students three meals a day. Please give my children access to free health care. Please provide my school district Internet access and computers. Please put books in my library. Please give my students a weight room so we can be big and strong. We provide all of these things to prisoners because they have constitutional rights. What about the rights of youth, our future?!
It’s insane how we spend money in our country…
5. “Literally Unbelievable” – Check out “Literally Unbelievable” the website that posts Facebook comments of people who haven’t yet realized that The Onion is satire. It’s one of the funnier websites I’ve seen in a long time.
6. Quote of the Week: 2 - “Should oil companies give back all those tax breaks? Yeah…as soon as the seagulls give back all that oil.” - Stephen Colbert
Yay Emmett, indeed. Not the same without you, Cooper.
Love you . Miss you. Counting the days.
XO
YAY EMMETT! Seems like yesterday you and I were working on your second grade writing piece and using sensory details to make your piece more “colorful” I can’t imagine what your writing now. Congrats Emmett and well done!
XO
Mrs. Elberg