Top 20 Best Public Schools in the Nation: Newsweek

Two schools from Bellevue School District in Washington make the list!

#13  Interlake

#20 International School

http://www.newsweek.com/feature/2010/americas-best-high-schools/list.html

Teens Sleep Deprivation Linked to Depression: CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/06/09/sleep.deprivation.depression/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed

%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Please Highlight!

I know that World Literature text book cost you 90 bucks! Following that, you had to buy six novels for English, The Norton Anthology, Chemistry, PreCal, elective materials, and somewhere around three to four additional texts, for a soaring ballpark figure somewhere around $475+.

For High School!

End of the year, you will dash to the school and attempt an urgent sell back for half their value IF you have not written or highlighted...but since I demand you highlight and I require you take notes in the margins...

It is proven that your grades will increase if you study using Post-it Notes, highlighters and flash cards. Trust me.

The following link is an abstract on the Attachment approach, which supports that achievement is higher when students have solid relationships with adults in their support circle, such as parents themselves, teachers, tutors, counselors. Relationships with students are key. Along with my mission to help them reach their educational goals, my goal is to develop relationships with students. We all respond more to those we feel a connection.

Educational Psychology Review, v21 n2 p141-170 Jun 2009

http://www.springerlink.com/content/m3843268880q0460/

Top Non-Traditional Colleges: Huffington Post

www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/20/the-top-non-traditional-c_n_584115.html

Colleges for Students with Learning Differences: Huffington Post

Although I prefer we officially call them, "Learning Differences," instead of "Learning Disabilities," as the article is titled, here is an article from Huffington Post on the Best Colleges for Students with Learning 'Differences.'

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/07/best-ld-programs_n_603369.html#s96857

Finals

It's almost Finals time! Annually, I require a Finals binder for my students. I ask them to include previous tests, quizzes, worksheets, handouts, and any material that will help them recollect what they've learned along the way. We complete the immense stack of flash cards that finalize the year...with sighs of accomplishment.  "That binder took a lot of time, but it made me feel so good about finals, knowing that I have prepared and organized to my highest ability," they tell me.

It reminds me of college. It's my way of expressing to them the importance of being ready for a huge test. It's a great exercise that places chronologically, everything in one place, and allows them to gain a perspective on what they've learned and what they have to review. It's an exercise in time management and organization, an exercise at assertiveness, taking the responsibility to begin...