Arbor Day Books

Happy Arbor Day!

For some light-hearted reading, why not share Pie in the Sky, by Lois Ehlert with your children or students.  In this celebration of nature's seasons, a father explains that the tree is a pie tree.  The child witnesses all stages of the tree's development through to the harvest when the family makes pie.

For some deeper discussion about relationships, why not revisit the classic, The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein.  Is this book a parable about the joys of giving?  Is it about a parent-child relationship?  Does it exemplify an emotionally abusive relationship in which one partner is doing all of the giving, making all of the effort, and the other partner is doing all of the taking?  You decide.  And for some Friday music, here is the Plain White T's allusion to The Giving Tree:

Happy reading,
Christine

What Teachers Spend

Plenty of people make a lot of noise about teacher salaries, but we never hear anything of what these teachers give.  The current issue of NEA Today lists these statistics on teacher spending:


99.5%    Percentage of teachers who reported buying essential classroom materials out of pocket

$945      Average amount of money teachers spent on out of pocket expenses during the school year

30%      Percentage of teachers who say they've bought warm clothing for their students

67%      Percentage of teachers who say they've purchased food for their students to meet nutritional
             needs

$37      Average amount teachers spend a month on food for students who come to school hungry

$1.6 BILLION   Estimated total out-of-pocket teacher spending last year 

Check out the current issue for these statistics and more


Happy reading,
Christine