Sands Shift in Summer Reading

Summer Reading, From Morguefile

Check out this article by Lisa Kocian for The Boston Globe, June 28, 2009:

Educators include unconventional picks on lists of required and recommended books to coax teens to bury their noses in pages, as cited in ASCD Smartbrief of July 6.

I noted with interest the variations on a summer-reading theme, from site to site, and was happy to see that students at Concord-Carlisle High School chose for their One Book, One School summer reading initiative the reading of Greg Mortenson and David Relin's Three Cups of Tea. This was one of the three books I had selected to recommend for Vancouver educators' summer reading. The others were:

• Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'Neill because, although it is fiction, teachers might have pause to consider -- you just never know what your students face between when they leave at the end of the day and when they come back in the morning
  
• Jason Ohler's Digital Literacy because it makes such sense.

Planning for Italy is now in full swing ... everyone is confirmed for registration and flights. All other details are in progress. Presently the plan is that we will be five days in Rome, four days in Tuscany, four days in Venice, and eight days at the conference in Abano Terme and Padua. In preparation, Frances, Chris, Mary and I all went to see Angels & Demons on Saturday night. There is an A&D tour of Rome ... we wonder if we will be whisked around in black saloons. I am now the proud owner of an iPod so that I can download walking tour information, something new in the way of travel tips for which I am grateful to Al Smith in Kelowna.

I am hoping to stay at the Hilton Molino Stucky in Venice -- this is the roof-top pool -- but the group is balking. There's even a half-price deal, although it's still expensive. If you're still thinking about coming along ... well, we still haven't figured out how to rent a car and get all the luggage in. The thought of imposing our own luggage restrictions has us looking nervous.

Hope you are enjoying summer so far.

M