iTunes U: Find college lectures next to pop stars

ITunes U: Find college lectures next to pop stars by John Boudreau 07/28/08
At Apple's iTunes online store, Britney Spears and Shakespeare are separated by just a few clicks. While an episode of "Desperate Housewives" will cost $1.99, a series of lectures by renowned University of California-Berkeley philosophy professor Hubert Dreyfus is absolutely free. On the web, visit Apple's iTunes U.

Example 1: Stanford Technology: include selections from Stanford Technology Ventures Program, Stanford Continuing Education Brainstorm Series, SLAC Public Lecture Series,etc. Topics include Game Development, Google, Facebook, High Tech Entrepreneurship and much more!
Open iTunes--> ITunes Store-->iTunes U-->Stanford-->Science and Technology--> Audio.

Example 2: English 117: Shakespeare: 23 lectures lectures by Instructor Charles Altieri.
Open iTunes--> ITunes Store-->iTunes U-->UC Berkeley--> Arts & Humanities--> English 117: Shakespeare - Spring 2008.

NYTimes: Lost in the New Beijing: The Old Neighborhood

Lost in the New Beijing: The Old Neighborhood By NICOLAI OUROUSSOFF 07/22/08
A construction boom tied to the Olympics is threatening two types of housing, hutongs and Socialist-style housing, in China’s capital. Slide Show

NYTimes: Camp Leads a Drumbeat for a Marching Band’s Style

Camp Leads a Drumbeat for a Marching Band’s Style By SAMUEL G. FREEDMAN 07/22/08
Florida A&M University’s renowned band spreads its ecstatic style in a summer program that attracts hundreds of students from across the country.

The Olympics and SJSU

TThe Black Power Salute raised in pride and protest by SJSU athletes,

Tommie Smith and John Carlos, at the 1968 Olympics.

Their last stop before Beijing: Over the next three weeks, SJSU will serve as a mini-Olympic village for TeamUSA before it goes to the Beijing Olympics.

SJSU Olympic History: San José State takes great pride in its relationship with the Olympic Games. SJSU is especially proud of the contributions and achievements of San José State students, alumni and coaches.

Speed City: From Civil Rights to Black Power @ SJSU MLK Library: an exhibition organized by History San José, is an in-depth examination of American sport, focusing on the SJSU sports program.

When Fists are Frozen: This statue commemorates the Black Power Salute raised in pride and protest by SJSU athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, at the 1968 Olympics.

SJSU: educating the valley By Connie Skipitares 04/29/2007
From its spare beginnings in a San Francisco high school basement 150 years ago to today's sprawling 154-acre campus in the center of Silicon Valley, San Jose State University has played a key role in shaping the region's academic and cultural identity and its high-tech future.

Multimedia: Experience the SJSU story: Watch and hear alumni tell their stories, view a video history and check out an interactive timeline.

NYTimes: Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?

Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?
Is the Internet the enemy of reading, or has it created a new kind of reading, one that society should not discount?
Video: A Family of Readers Further Reading on Reading

NYTimes: Math Scores Show No Gap for Girls, Study Finds

Math Scores Show No Gap for Girls, Study Finds By TAMAR LEWIN 07/25/08
A study paid for by the National Science Foundation has found that girls perform as well as boys on standardized math tests.

MercuryNews: Stanford pre-meds spend summer at SCU, where physics is "much easier"

Stanford pre-meds spend summer at SCU, where physics is "much easier" By Shelby Martin 7/21/08
Santa Clara University instructor Guy Letteer can't easily distinguish between the students plugging cables into voltmeters in his crowded physics labs this summer.

NYTimes: The Next Kind of Integration

The Next Kind of Integration By EMILY BAZELON July 20, 2008
In response to the courts, class is replacing race as the primary basis for desegregating schools. It’s a mix that just might work. Article Slide Show

SFGate: UC regents mull changing guaranteed admission

UC regents mull changing guaranteed admission Carrie Sturrock, Thursday, July 17, 2008
The University of California regents questioned a faculty proposal Wednesday to change student eligibility for admission to the system...

MercuryNews: Schools: Prove you live in district

Schools: Prove you live in district By Sharon Noguchi 07/20/2008
Efforts increase to cull out-of-area students drawn by high test scores.

NYTimes: With No Frills or Tuition, a College Draws Notice

With No Frills or Tuition, a College Draws Notice By TAMAR LEWIN
Berea College, which charges no tuition and only accepts applicants from low-income families, provides an unusual perspective on how universities should handle endowments.

NYTimes: Newark School Raises Test Scores

NYTimes Education correspondent, Winnie Hu, has published her fourth article in a series that chronicles a community-wide effort to turn around a failing school in Newark, NJ.

• 09/16/07 For a School, Hope and a Fresh Start Article Video
• 03/23/08 Glimmers of Progress at a Failing School Article Video
• 05/18/08 Aiming to Coach Students to Excellence in Exams Article Video
• 07/20/08 At Struggling School, Pride Displaces Failure Article Video

California School Finder

Use California School Finder to access data on California’s public schools. The information is provided by the California Department of Education (cde.ca.gov/). You can compare schools side-by-side based on the following information:

• School Address (MS Virtual Earth Photo of School )
• District Dollars per Student
• Total Number of Teachers & Students
• Avg. Students per Teacher & Counselor
• Graduation & Dropout Rate
• CAHSEE Results (no STAR9 , etc)
• Student Demographics by Ethnicity
• Courses Offered, AP Classes, Special Education

I sent an email requesting the inclusion of the following info

• Direct link to school's website
• Athletics, Arts, or Music Program Info
• Student Club & Activities Info
• Transportion
• Parochial schools (greatschools.net/ includes this info)
• Higher Education (College or University)

For more info, read A new tool for comparing schools.

Graphic Novels

Why read graphic literature? To quote my pastor: "If you want to know what's really going on in the world, read the Comics page first, then the rest of the newspaper." Editorial cartoons are also used as material for AP US History DBQs. Besides learning something or using a cartoon in a test, good graphic literature is simply good entertainment.

In honor of the release of the movie based on The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, here are some links to some of my favorite graphic literature. Post your favorites in the Comments.

• 9 of 1: A Window to the World by Oliver Chin (local artist!)
• American Born Chinese by Gene Leun Yang (local artist!)
• Best American Comics: 2006, 2007, 2008 (Due 10/08).
• Fremont Girl (and other adventures) by Alfred Twu (local artist! also check out BAAU)
• Great Graphic Novels for Teens: recommended graphic novels and illustrated nonfiction for those ages 12-18, prepared yearly by YALSA (ALA: American Library Association).
• Maus: A Survivor's Tale is a memoir by Art Spiegelman, presented as a graphic novel. It recounts the struggle of Spiegelman's father to survive the Holocaust. If you read only one Graphic Novel in your entire life, it must be this one. (publisher's preview)
• Reading Comics: How Graphic Novels Work and What They Mean: byDouglas Wolk
• What It Is: Do you wish you could write? by Lynda Barry

Why Essays Are So Damned Boring

Why Essays Are So Damned Boring? by Cristina Nehring, from Truthdig via Utne July-August 2008
Are we, as readers, responsible for the decline of the American essay?...An impassioned plea for writers to stop navel gazing and start taking chances.

Barron's 1100 Words, 5th Edition

Barron's 1100 Words 5th Edition
Murray Bromberg and Melvin Gordon
ISBN-10: 0764138642
ISBN-13: 978-0764138645

Barron's has just published that fifth edition of 1100 Words. Students still learn twenty words and four idioms per week over 46 weeks, matching the standard school year, and two bonus weeks of material has been added.

Five words and one idiom are presented for the first four days of the week, vocabulary review is on the fifth day, and "Sensible Sentences" and/or "Wordsearch" are on the sixth day. A vocabulary box has been added in the corner of the page for quick reference. The page still has the basic format from the previous editions: paragraph with the words in context, sample sentences, matching definitions, and daily idiom.

A quick reviews indicates that the same set of vocabulary and readings have been used, but the material remains relevant. What makes the book invauable is the Panorama: examples of the vocabulary words used in the media, inviting further exploration of American culture.

NYTimes: Talk About Your Spring Awakening

Talk About Your Spring Awakening By CHARLES ISHERWOOD 07/13/08
More than 2,000 high school students from across the country...descend on University of Nebraska-Lincoln for the International Thespian Festival, an annual extravaganza organized by the Educational Theater Association...

SFGate: The New Philanthropists: Silicon Valley Teens

The New Philanthropists: Silicon Valley Teens by Meredith May 07/14/08
Meet the new philanthropists - Silicon Valley teens with innate computer networking skills, affluent family connections and the one-click ability to bear witness to global poverty...

NYTimes: Young American Indians Find Their Voice in Poetry

Young American Indians Find Their Voice in Poetry By DAN FROSCH June 17, 2008
The Spoken Word Club at Santa Fe Indian School competes next month at the Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Festival in Washington, D.C. (Video)

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing

Whether you're studying for APUSH or not, I want everyone to read
**The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Vol. 1: The Pox Party**by MT Anderson
Read the whole book and read pages 332 to the end five times.You can listen to an interview about the book here.

NYTimes Map: Architectural Monuments in a Reshaped Beijing

Architectural Monuments in a Reshaped Beijing
Explore five notable projects in Bejing with audio commentary and interactive map.

NYTimes: Chinese Activist is Silenced After Collapse

**Chinese Activist is Silenced After Collapse**
Relatives of children who died in a school collapse after a May 12 earthquake staged a protest. After asking for an investigation into the collapse, Huang Qi was arrested.

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

Is Google Making Us Stupid? by Nicholas Carr
What the Internet is doing to our brains

SFGate Editorial: You are not reading enough

You are not reading enough By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist
Has the Internet killed the joys of sitting down with a good book?

NYTimes Editorial: Bursting the AP bubble

Bursting the AP bubble By Tom Stanley-Becker May 8, 2008
Advanced Placement courses, once a model for learning, are mere memory tests now.

Merriam-Webster unveils new dictionary words

Merriam-Webster unveils new dictionary words.
Also check out The Ants Are My Friends: Send Us Your Favorite Mondegreens Contest.

NYTimes: Twisted Sisters

Twisted Sisters.....The music of CocoRosie . . . is most often categorized by critics as “freak folk,” placing SIERRA AND BIANCA CASADY in a new wave of 20-something singer-songwriters like Devendra Banhart or the harpist Joanna Newsom, who have revived the ’70s culture of homemade authenticity with at once more wholesomeness and more joyous perversity than their elders...

What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July?

***What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July?**
Frederick Douglass' "Fourth of July" Speech--delivered July 5, 1852--The Question is asked almost half-way through the speech--a masterpiece of persuasion.

A Universal Ideal

An essay for Independence Day: A Universal Ideal by Holly, St. Helena, CA

Be Cool to the Pizza Delivery Dude

One of my all-time favorite essays from thisibelieve.org:
Be Cool to the Pizza Delivery Dude by Sarah Adams (05/16/05)

Here comes summer in Silicon Valley, and more class time?

Here comes summer in Silicon Valley, and more class time? (06/0/08)
SAT Prep courses in Silicon Valley--including Shareworld Learning Center!

Wikibooks' SAT Study Guide for the SAT Essay

Wikibooks' SAT Study Guide/Part 4 - The Writing Section/The Essay