This month’s feature articles:

Regular monthly features:

Acceleration is placing students at a higher level of instruction to meet their learning needs. It may include reducing regular class workload, working ahead in units, using different texts, assistance from other teachers and/or experts in the field of interest.

Ways to accelerate:

• doing tests before the class
• advanced courses in summer or after school
• correspondence courses
• specially designed credit courses
• advanced placement courses
• dual enrolment
• early enrolment in college
• radical acceleration

Telescoping is reducing the amount of time a student takes to cover the curriculum. Courses often involve overlapping content and skills from one grade level to the next. An example of telescoping is a student completes grades 10 and 11 math in one year.

Compacting is a strategy designed to streamline the amount of time the student spends on the regular curriculum. This strategy allows students to demonstrate what they know, to do assignments in those areas where work is needed, and then to be freed to work on other curricular areas. Compacting is used to reduce repetition and to buy time for the students to work on an individual project of their own choice. It may also be used to extend work in a given topic.
To compact curriculum a subject teacher needs to:

• Decide what the student needs to know in the area being considered for compacting.
• Find out what the student knows -- by testing, observing, analyzing performances.
• Provide assignments so the student can master unknown material.
• Work with the student in developing an individual learning plan that may include:
• enrichment in the compacted area
• enrichment in an area of interest
• an individual study project

Independent study is an opportunity for students to pursue areas of personal interest or to individually investigate course topics.

Components of an independent study program include:

• identifying and developing a focus
• developing skills in creative and critical thinking
• using problem solving and decision making strategies
• learning research skills
• developing project management strategies
• keeping learning logs
• evaluating the process and product
• sharing the product with an intended audience from beyond the classroom
• keeping a portfolio of results

Independent studies help students move from being teacher-directed to student-directed. The teacher becomes a partner.

Tiered assignments are designed to meet the needs of a group of learners functioning at a range of levels. Students work on the same content, but are asked different questions and are provided with different activities that are assigned according to ability. Some teachers involve students in the process of designing units of work.

Learning centres are physical "stations" where students are engaged in activities designed to extend their understanding and thinking about a topic. Activities may include working on an individual or small group investigation, watching a video tape, listening to an audio tape or working on a computer activity. Sometimes there are games to reinforce a concept or problems to solve. For the teacher, learning centres provide a way to work with small groups while the rest of the class is engaged in other assignments or centre work.

This type of study could involve:

• investigating different universities to see what they offer
• arranging visits to universities/colleges on Open House days
• researching different professions
• looking at government publications to do with jobs and careers
• doing interest surveys and aptitude tests
• obtaining a Co-Operative Learning position in the area of interest
• doing a personal study and investigation to find talents, skills and interests
• contacting experts or working with a mentor

There are many contests that become available over a year. They may be related to:

• playwriting
• story writing
• essays
• public speaking
• short story writing
• math competitions
• songs & jingles
• making theme videos
• ads

Gifted children’s needs can be met in a regular classroom. It takes a willingness to let students have more control over their learning and an emphasis on the teaching skills instead of knowledge and facts.

As Spring arrives, many people think about gardening. If you don’t, this article might change your mind.

Here are reasons why people garden:

• enjoyment of beauty and excitement of seeing flowers
• chance to work together with spouse/friend/partner
• taps into powerful fundamental human needs and impulses
• it’s earthy and primal and satisfying
• helps people find their own roots, life and natural rhythms
• the awe of planting a seed and watching it grow so big and different
• for many people it is a calming and soothing experience
• a time to get away from business and think and discover
• infinite potential for creative expression. Every garden is unique.
• quiet and peace of garden provides peace of mind
• getting hands dirty connects one to the earth, clears the mind too
• chance to get fresh air on a regular basis
• sense of embracing nature not fighting it or separating from it
• satisfies all nine categories of fundamental needs according to Max-Neef: subsistence, protection, affection, understanding, participation, leisure, creation, identity and freedom
• opportunity to provide for others in nature i.e. butterflies, squirrels, etc.
• good as physical exercise and also provides aesthetic satisfaction
• a garden can be a place of healing of the inner spirit
• sharing the garden is an easy way to start conversations with neighbours and others passing by
• chance to reduce the sense of control many people think they need i.e. letting weeds survive among the flowers
• chance to show respect and love for the living things that grow there

April 3 – Daylight Saving Time begins

April 7 – World Health Day

April 15 – Leonardo Da Vinci Birthday (start preparing for Creativity Day)

April 21 – Creativity Day (a new holiday that we want everybody to support)

April 21 - Administrative Professionals Day

April 22 - Earth Day

April 23 – World Book and Copyright Day

April 24 – Full moon tonight

April 24 – Jewish Passover, Christian Holy Thursday

April 29 - Orthodox Good Friday

April is Earthquake Preparedness month.

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Celebrate Earth Day April 22^nd
(from various sources – O.S.)

Maybe it isn’t the biggest of celebration days but let’s give it more importance each year. After all, it is our planet, right?

Here are some ideas of what to do:

-join in a community project i.e. planting trees, special gatherings.

-do a neighbourhood cleanup of trash. Get everybody on your street involved.

-organize your street to beautify it in some way i.e. plant flowers, plant new bushes or trees.

-hold a food drive in your neighbourhood. Get everybody involved.

-go through each room to make it more energy efficient.

-check for water wasting in each tap.

-check heating and cooling systems.

-adjust appliances to use less energy.

-conserve energy with thermostats.

-recycle paper and use both sides of sheets.

-go for walks.

-build birdhouses or feeders.

-plant a garden.

-visit a zoo and find out more about animals.

-plant wildflowers for a change to attract butterflies.

If everybody does a little bit, we get a whole lot done.

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Highlighting: When people make typing errors and go to correct the word, they often backspace or use the mouse to highlight the word and then cut/delete it. Here is a faster method that will save you precious seconds.

Using the mouse, place the cursor on the mistake and double-click to highlight it. Immediately start typing the correct word. Don’t backspace, or hit the delete button or cut button. Just try it with a word in this paragraph.

If you triple click a word, the whole paragraph holding the word is highlighted and can be cut/copied completely and pasted elsewhere.

Instead of going to the appropriate icons at the top with the cursor, press and hold down "Control" and hit "x" for cut, or "Control"-"c" for copy. Release the buttons and locate the proper destination and then hold down "Control" and hit "v" for paste.

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- the earth has about 50 active volcanoes at any given time. Io, a moon of Jupiter, has about 11-15 active volcanoes which makes it the next most active body in the solar system after Earth.

- there are about 1600 land mines found and deactivated each year in Bosnia. There are about 1.5 million still around after the war in the early 90’s. Even if areas are cleared, there are still some missed which will continue to kill and maim without warning.

- the 9.0 magnitude of the great earthquake/tsunami in South Asia in late December 2004, wobbled the Earth’s axis by 2.5 cm and sped up our rotation by 3 microseconds or 3/1 000 000ths of a second per day. This means days will get shorter as time speeds up.

- the largest non-government funder of social services in Canada is the United Way of Greater Toronto. It supports 200 agencies and raised almost $85 million in 2003.

- research at Oxford University in England shows that more than 90% of birds are promiscuous and have offspring with other mates. In North America, 40-50% of married men cheat on their wives; 20-30% of women cheat on their husbands.

- the famous statue of Michelangelo’s "David" was 500 yrs old on Sept. 8, 2004.

- the Canada thistle produces about 500 metres of root in one growing season. That is about 3 ˝ Canadian football fields. Some roots have been found to drill 4.5 metres deep into the soil.

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A thanatologist is a specialist in the psychology of death and dying. This person tries to make a difference in the life of the dying person as well as the related family. researches the cultural and religious attitudes, theories, and rites of death.

Dying and grieving are a normal process but our society tries to sanitize it and keep it secret and secluded behind closed doors. In the practice, one must be aware of cultural attitudes toward dying, the psychological dynamics in the people who are dying, economic and legal implications and the processes of grieving and bereavement.

The job is not morbid because as a thanatologist one tries to make life worthwhile and precious to people at the end of their lives. Grief is healthy and it is important to go through it in a meaningful way with someone who can guide the dying through the mix of many feelings and emotions. Thanatologists may also work with the dying and bereaved including: terminally ill patients, people in grief or mourning, survivors of traumatic events, and those that have experienced a Near Death Experience. Each person prepares and dies in a personal and unique way.

The University of Western Ontario, in London, Ontario, is the only school in Canada that offers a certificate in grief and bereavement studies. Many of the people who take the courses are funeral directors, hospital chaplains, palliative care nurses and parish ministers but others are welcome to enroll. Some of the courses can be taken by correspondence. Taking the full complement of courses as a full-time student takes about 2 years.

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Poor People’s Movements: Why They Succeed, How They Fail by Frances Fox Piven and Richard A. Cloward. (social activism)

Natasha and Other Stories by David Bexmozgis.

Norman Bray, In The Performance Of His Life by Trevor Cole

Some Great Thing by Colin McAdam.

Runaway by Alice Munro.

A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews.

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(summarized from an article by Jeffrey Selingo, National Post)

Robotics researchers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh have developed a soft, plush, huggable pillow that people can use to share hugs by phone. "The Hug" has sensing and wireless phone technology, moveable arms that hug, and can respond to simple voice and touch commands that enable the person who needs a hug or wants to give a hug to connect to phone numbers of loved ones who live far away. It is possible to talk to the other person and then activate a hug.

Small motors and thermal devices respond to give the arms movement to make a hug and receive warmth from the other person. If someone is not home to receive a hug, it is possible to store up to four messages in a memory bank and retrieve them later.

"Anyone can count the seeds in an apple but only God can count how many apples are in a seed." - Anonymous

"We confuse our memories with who we are." - Will Ferguson

"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "...holy $%@#...what a ride!"

"If men can run the world, why can't they stop wearing neckties? How intelligent is it to start the day by tying a noose around your neck?"

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A woman gets on a bus with her baby. The bus driver says: "That's the ugliest baby that I've ever seen. Ugh!" The woman goes to the rear of the bus and sits down, fuming. She says to a man next to her: "The driver just insulted me!" The man says: "You go right up there and tell him off – go ahead, I'll hold your monkey for you."

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