The Painful Pit

Before you read my myth, listen to my reflection on what I learned during this unit:

Pitoria, the most beautiful lady in the polis, strutted into the agora, carrying her empty bag.  As she strode past the other villagers, they gazed at her, entranced by her beauty.  They knew her well, but were so captivated with her that every time that they laid eyes on her, they halted whatever they were doing to soak in her image.  Like Medusa, Pitoria had the ability to turn people into statues if only for a moment, but unlike Medusa, it was because of pure god-like beauty instead of a grotesque form.  Pitoria knew this well, and had long since ignored the gaping stares from those around her.

On this particular day, with her nose in the air, she browsed the wares before her, stopping in front of a stall with rows of ornate pottery.  She eyed the red and black-figured vases depicting mythical creatures and young heroes, but none of them kept her interest for long.

Behind the table, Euclid, a well-known potter, sat at his potter's wheel, leaning over his next masterpiece.  Glancing up from his work, he saw Pitoria before him and immediately stopped the wheel.  "Finally, you've come," Euclid whispered, rising slowly from his workbench.

        Pitoria glanced at him.  Here we go again, she thought.   Another doting fool.
        Euclid dashed to the end of the table where an entire series of bowls and vases with the image of a most beautiful lady.  He bent down and picked up a gold-plated vase.  As he approached Pitoria, he held it up with both hands so she could see the image of the woman that he had crafted.
        With his bright blue eyes staring into hers, he said, "It's you, the woman on all of my vases. I've made sure that your beauty is captured for eternity for all of mankind to see."  He held out the vase for Pitoria to take it.
        She took it in her hand, held it up to the light, and with one swift motion, she threw it down, smashing it into pieces on the ground.  "Nothing can come close to my beauty," she spat. “Even Aphrodite herself would be lucky to lay her eyes on me.”
        Wincing and cowering, Euclid bent down to collect the shards.  He dared not to say anything for fear that Pitoria would leave his stall sooner than he hoped.
        Meanwhile, not far from the polis, Aphrodite was strolling alongside a stream, collecting Narcissus flowers and placing them in her long flowing locks, when all of a sudden she heard Echo’s beautiful faint voice call out, “Aphrodite…lucky to lay her eyes on me.”

Wondering what mortal may have uttered these words, she raced in the direction of the voice toward the polis.  Not wanting to alarm the villagers, she disguised herself as an old woman in tattered rags pulling a cart full of olives.

In no time at all, Aphrodite, now a decrepit merchant woman, set herself down in the agora among the citizens just as Pitoria approached her stall.

As soon as she laid eyes on her, she knew Pitoria was the one.

        “Excuse me, my lady,” began the old woman.  “But surely you must be the Goddess of Beauty, Aphrodite, herself.  Your face shines brighter than Helios’s rays of golden light.”
        Pitoria glanced down at the woman.  “Surely you jest,” she spat.  “Aphrodite would cringe with jealousy if she were lucky enough to lay eyes on me.”  Still staring into the eyes of the old woman, she bent down, grabbed the plumpest green olive in the pile, and plopped it into her mouth.
        As if blinded by beauty, the old woman looked away, unable to hold her eyes directly on Pitoria’s.  “Of course she would,” she replied, head bowing and eyes blinking.
        With a flick of her wrist and a dismissive “humph,” Pitoria turned away and continued down the row of vendors.   Behind her she heard a slight cackle.  A swift breeze kicked up.  Her tunic rippled. Her hair flew into her face.  People around her gasped and froze in amazement, but they were no longer looking at her.  They all held their gaze toward the stall where she just left.
        Puzzled, Pitoria turned around.  Her mouth dropped.  She fell to her knees.  The old woman was no longer there.  In her place was the most beautiful being, hair flowing, light emanating.  At once, Pitoria knew she was in the presence of the Goddess of Beauty.
        “Pitoria, you have acted out long enough.  You may have outer beauty, yes, but you are lacking something even more important.  Inner beauty, ” Aphrodite stated, pointing at Pitoria.  Bending down to pick up an olive, she added, “This time, try eating with a little more grace.”
        Pitoria bowed her head and approached the goddess.  She reached out her hand, took the olive and gently placed it in her mouth.  “Thank you,” she muttered.
       As she bit down on the olive, she crunched down on something hard.  Her tooth cracked. Pain shot through her face. Pitoria cringed, leaving a hideous grimace for all to see.
        “In your honor,” Aphrodite claimed, “I have placed a small stone inside every olive.  It is to remind everyone how important inner beauty is.  I shall name this stone after you, dear Pitoria.”
        “Thank you,” Pitoria replied, bowing her head once again.  The pain in her mouth was excruciating, and she could think of nothing else, not even her own beauty.  It didn’t matter though.  From that moment on, the pain would linger in her mouth forever, causing her to grimace for eternity.  And humans would have to get used to small stones found at the heart of each olive that they still call "pits" to this very day.     

Image from:

• Some rights reserved by CeresB    

Mythology 2.0

Let's face it, Greek Mythology is full of memorable characters.  From Prometheus to Pandora, we learn their flaws, follow their actions, and feel their pain.  I wonder what it would be like if these characters lived in today's world and had access to all the 21st century tools that we have.  How would they communicate their stories?  With whom would they share them?

I couldn't resist with trying it out with one of my favorite characters, Prometheus.  First, check out Prometheus's fakebook page where he posts updates on him playing with fire.  Then follow him on Twitter.  You can also read the plan he wrote on Google Story Builder.  Finally, see the text he sent his mom from his iPhone.

After you view them, think about the characters from your favorite myths.  How would they share their experience with these 21st century tools.

Fakebook Sample:

View Fullscreen | Create your own

What is Twitter?

Twitter Sample:

Google Story:

Mr. Riley's sample

iPhone Chat Sample:

Resources:

• Fakebook Page (Remember to save your URL and Password!)
• Fake Tweet Builder (Twitter)
• Google Story Builder
• iPhone Text Generator
• Avatars
• DoppelMe
• Mini-mizer
• Wimp yourself - (relates to Diary of a Wimpy Kid)
• Mess Dudes
• Caracature

Introduction to Poetry

Poetry is a genre like no other.  Poems can make us laugh, cry, and wonder, but they also invite us to see things in a new light.  In "Introduction to Poetry," Billy Collins does exactly this.  In his poem, he explores how people read and enjoy poetry.  

First off, the images that Collins uses really stand out.  From a beehive to a light switch, to a water skier, Collins creates strong metaphors though which the reader can "see" meaning.

Later on, Collins ends the poem with a change in mood and tone.  He ends his poem with, "But all they want to do/is tie the poem to a chair with rope/and torture a confession out of it."  This personification of a poem being tortured shows how some people look for hidden meaning in poetry. 

In the end, this poem leaves a lasting impression. I chose it because I always used to think that I needed to find someone else's interpretation of a poem.  Instead, Collins knows how important it is for readers to find their own meanings in the poems they read.

Bottled Water: Not So Crystal Clear

Over the past few weeks, we've been learning all about issues.  We've read a number sources on a given issue that were one-sided and two-sided.  The issue I researched was bottled water because we have a bit bottled water dispenser in our kitchen at home, and I wanted to find out whether it was worth it or not.  

I learned so much as a reader and writer in this unit.  Click on the Vocaroo link to learn more:




Want to see what I think about bottled water?  Just read on:

Picture this. A couple sits down for dinner in a respectable restaurant.  Menu in hand, a friendly waiter approaches and recommends a well-known bottled water brand, as it is their best seller.  Moments later he returns to the table with a bottle of crystal clear water.  What the couple doesn’t know is that there really isn’t difference between this bottle of water and the water they get out of their tap at home.  Truth be told bottled water is a complete myth.  Not only that, it is outrageously expensive, and it causes a ton of waste.

Sure, some people say that bottled water is a safer and healthier option over tap water.  Needless to say, that’s a complete myth.  According to the Chris Baskind, author of “5 reasons not to drink bottled water,” there is “very little empirical evidence that suggests bottled water is any cleaner or better for you than its tap equivalent.” Many scientists and doctors agree. As Dr. Aaron Margolin, a microbiologist, explains “there is actually no difference between the New York City tap water and the bottled waters that we evaluated” in tests for bacteria. In fact, some bottled water companies draw water from the same source as municipal water.  That said, the evidence is clear.  Bottled water is not any safer or healthier than tap water.

Not only that, bottled water is way too expensive.  Baskind notes that a $1 bottle of water in a vending machine costs 5 cents an ounce whereas the cost of gasoline, which goes for over $3 a gallon at the pump, costs only 2 cents an ounce.  That’s surprising since gasoline is much more difficult to locate, process, and refine than water.  It’s no wonder that loads of companies are trying to break into the bottled water industry.  Baskind argues, “In terms of price versus production cost, bottled water puts Big Oil to shame.”  The real shame also belongs to the people who buy it.

The thing is, the issue of bottled water doesn’t end at the kitchen table.  Every bottle of water produced by bottled water companies adds to another drastic problem, waste. According to safebottles.com, approximately 100 million plastic water bottles are used daily worldwide. And where do all of these plastic bottles end up?  The National Resources Defense Council reports, “Over 80 percent of plastic bottles (that’s 80 million plastic bottles each day) are simply thrown away.” That’s 1.3 million tons of plastic waste that fills landfills or finds its way to the ocean every year. In fact, there is a growing "garbage patch" of plastic estimated to be more than twice the size of Texas floating in the North Pacific Ocean, according to Back2Tap.com.   Environmentalist Charles Moore adds, “People think the ocean is like a lake and we can go out with nets and just clean it up. Most of this plastic is in tiny pieces and it's everywhere. And it won’t degrade for 700 years. All we can do is stop putting more of it in.”  So even if we do away with buying bottled water, the bottles aren’t going away anytime soon.

In short, bottled water is all washed up.  With it’s murky misconceptions, preposterous “price at the pump,” and evil environmental effects, it’s amazing that the bottled water business is still booming.  At least you’ll know what to do the next time a waiter offers you a refreshing glass of bottled water.

Images from:  

• http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bottled_water_in_supermarket.JPG
• http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Waste_cocobeach_india.jpg

Making a Monument

We just finished our historical fiction literature circle books, and as an extension project, we made a monument commemorating a person, event or idea from our book.  With our read aloud, Breaking Stalin's Nose, by Eugene Yelchin, in hand, I narrowed down my ideas to something that I believe is really worth remembering.

Here is my monument, Shattered But Not Broken.  It honors Boris Finklestein, a secondary character in the book, who represents all the victims under Stalin's communist rule.  Click below to hear my speech:



Record and upload voice >>

The Mask Maker of Mas

Amid the rice paddies of Bali, there sits a man who listens to wood.  Sure, it sounds a bit strange, but if you see this master at work, you’d think differently.  Day after day, he sits bent over blocks of wood, carving masterpieces. He’s none other than Anom, the Mask Maker of Mas.

My wife and I first met Anom when we walked into his workshop fifteen years ago.  With that memory still fresh in our minds, we recently returned to Mas, a short drive from Ubud, hoping to show our daughters the magic we had once seen.

As the van slowed down as we entered the village, we scoured both sides of the road lined with wood carving shops lining both sides of the street, looking for Anom's workshop. We wondered if we would remember exactly where it was, but as soon as we saw the town soccer field, something clicked. For right beside it was Anom's workshop.

In a matter of minutes, we stepped inside, and there he was, bent over a block of wood, chipping away at it with chisel in hand.  He looked up from his work and welcomed us in.  

On the walls, rows of beautifully colored masks keep a careful eye over him, and each one has a story to tell. Part of the fun of visiting Anom's shop is to try on some masks and tell their stories.

Right off the bat, Isabelle was drawn to a beautiful gold mask with captivating eyes. Anom helped her put it on, and instantly she strutted around the room, wagging her finger in the air. The mask had allowed her to shed her identity and become someone totally new, albeit for only a few moments.


When it was Eloise's turn, she picked the mask of a beautiful woman whose closed eyes suggested a pensive and spiritual character. Eloise brought her to life right away as she put her hands together and tilted her head slightly.

What we were all waiting for was for Anom to put on a mask. And when he did, the magic returned. Immediately, Anom transformed himself into a shy boy who crept around the room, glancing to the side, waving his arms about. A professional dancer himself, Anom treated us to our own personal performance.

Part of the magic of Anom's masks lie in his workmanship.  It takes up to two weeks (or more) for him to fashion a new mask.  When asked if he knows what the mask will look like ahead of time, he said most definitely.  "In fact," he added, "Often the mask speaks to me when I'm carving."

Once Anom finishes carving the mask, he begins the painstaking task of painting it.  With forty coats for each mask, its  the light and durable nature of the local balsa-type wood that can withstand it.  And once it is done, it sits in a prominent place on the wall until it's time for it to come to life.

We weren't surprised to learn that mask making nothing new for Anom.  He began carving masks at the age of 15 when his father taught him.  His father learned it from his grandfather, and when Anom told us he is now teaching his 23 year-old son, I swear there was a glimmer in his eye.

As we left Anom and his shop with a couple of masks in hand, we bid him farewell until the next time we venture up into the rice paddies of Bali.

It's the End of the Stressmester

Tests, quizzes, Egyptian artifacts, literary essays.  One thing’s for sure, the end of the semester can get pretty stressful for Grade 6 students.  The problem is the holiday break is right around the corner, and it’s twice as hard to sit down and focus to get it all done.  But with some students determining their final semester grade with the last assignment, it’s more important than ever to work their hardest until that very last bell.

With this in mind, my homebase and I came up with some helpful tips on how best to work efficiently and effectively during these last couple of weeks before break:

1.  Organize and Prioritize:  To get rid of that overwhelming feeling of having too much to do at once, lay out your assignments and determine what needs to get done when.  Then set a plan for action.  You may want to begin with the hardest task as it may be easier to get it done when you are fresh.

2.  Manage Your Time:  When sitting down to work, plan for a break every thirty minutes or so.  Go get a drink or let the dog in.  You might be amazed at how a quick break can help you recharge your batteries and stay fresh after an intense work session. 

3.  Calm Yourself:  Sometimes the stress gets to us, even when we are organized.  Figure out what helps to keep you calm.  Maybe it’s listening to music, going for a jog, or just plain screaming into a pillow.  Whatever it is, use it when you need it most.

4.  Talk to Your Parents and Teachers:  When the going gets really tough, it’s good to talk to someone.  Your parents can help you and give you tips on how best to get things done.  It’s also important to let your teachers know how you’re feeling.  

5.  Got Grit?  Throughout it all, it’s good to remember some of the skits, posters, and songs that we’ve been spending our time on in homebase.  We’ve been talking a lot about grit, and now’s our chance to put it into action.

So hopefully, some of these tips may just make a difference for you as you finish up your final assignments.  After all, if we work hard till the end of the semester, we may have more of a chance to make Santa’s “nice” list instead of his “naughty” one.

Images by:

• http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5316/5914092322_aaeb6e34dc_m.jpg 
•  All rights reserved by oxymoron0_o

Harvesting Hope Book Trailer

Easy as Pie

Would you believe there are currently over 172 million blogs? Even more astounding,  more than one million new posts are added to the internet each day. What staggering statistics!  

With so many bloggers adding so many posts, it can't be that hard to come up with possible post topics.  Before we look at what bloggers are writing about, it's important to understand why they write blog posts. Listen, it's not that hard. In fact, some might say, "It's as easy as PIE!"  

You see, when it comes right down to it, there are three basic purposes why bloggers write blogs:

• Persuade
• Inform
• Explore

Take a look at the following blog posts and try to determine why the blogger wrote that post.

ISTA Festival (SAS i)
Mockingbird (Dog-Eared)
Person of the Year (TFK)
Bringing SpongeBob to Life (TFK)
Bad Grade (Pellucidity)
It’s All in a Name (Mr. Riley’s Reflecting Pool)
Help Earth (ClimateKids)
Dogo News

Finally, when it comes time for you to write your blog posts, think of PIE and determine your purpose for writing before you begin writing.  You might be surprised at how much it helps.

Image from:

• http://bestclipartblog.com/

Defining Strengths

Let’s face it. In life, we all face challenges at some point or another.  Whether it’s not fitting in, lacking self-esteem or even losing a loved one, life can throw us a curveball.  This is exactly what Maxwell Kane is facing in Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick.  Lucky for him, he learns not to let his challenges define who he is.

In this book, Max, a large, lonely middle school boy, struggles to fit in at school and at home.  One day, Kevin Dillon, an extremely intelligent and handicapped boy known as “Freak,” moves in next door, and they develop a most unique friendship.  Together they complete quests and roam the halls at school as “Freak the Mighty.”  Unfortunately, Max still faces other obstacles like the town’s bullies, his criminal father, and Freak’s own health.

One of the important lessons that Max learns from Freak is to let his strengths define who he is, not his challenges.  You see, Freak suffers from Morquio Syndrome, a rare birth defect where the insides of a body grow faster than the outside.  As a result, Freak cannot walk properly. Instead of letting this determine who he is, he still is an active, vociferous, and bright kid. One night when Freak and Max were watching fireworks, Max recalls, “when the fire blossoms are flashing blue, he goes, ‘Good old strontium nitrate!’ And I’m thinking whoa! Is there anything this dude doesn’t know?” (p.33) It’s clear that he lets his intelligence shine through in everything he does.

Very often authors use objects in stories to represent ideas. In this story, Philbrick uses Freak’s dictionary to symbolize his intelligence.  Freak is mad about words.  He loves them so much, he makes a dictionary of his favorite words.  It’s no surprise that for Christmas he wraps it up and gives it to Max.  In doing so, he shows Max that it’s important to be proud of his strengths.  Max takes that lesson to heart as by the end of the book he becomes the sensitive and caring kid he was all along. 

Simply put, Freak teaches Max to define who he is in terms of his strengths instead of his challenges. He is a much stronger person as a result.  So the next time you face a challenge in life, be like Max.  After all, by relying on our strengths, we’ll be able to overcome any challenge no matter what.

All Work and No Play...

Picture this.  A student stands at her locker at the end of a long day, loading books into her backpack for the evening.  For now, her homework will have to wait.  She’s off to swim lessons for an hour, and then it’s Chinese tutoring after that.  Only then can she go home to face her homework, eat a quick meal, and head to bed before she starts it all again the next day.  Unfortunately, this is what a typical afternoon is like for many kids these days, and simply put, they don’t have any time for one of the most important factors of childhood, unstructured play.
     
Sure, critics of giving too much unstructured play may say that it’s a complete waste of time.  Not only that, kids will “get behind” if they don’t keep practicing their sports or instruments or get straight A’s.  I have to admit that as a parent, I feel pressure to sign up my girls for music lessons, sports teams, and dance classes, but I always make sure that they have some play time in their schedules.  They just wouldn’t be the same without it, and neither would I.

Back when I was a kid, I remember my mom saying, “Outside, boys!” almost daily.  We ventured out into the woods to hide behind trees and fight imaginary enemy troops.  Other afternoons, we spent hours building forts and weapons out of sticks, twigs, and whatever else nature had to offer.  And, yes, sometimes we got in fights too, but we were the ones who had to figure out what to do when that happened.  Basically, this unstructured play time allowed us to work together and sort out our own problems without any help. 
     
Recently, my two daughters spent the entire Saturday uninterrupted up in their rooms, floating from unstructured activity to the next.  When I went up to check on them, dolls were lined up, toys were strewn throughout, and there in the middle sat Isabelle and Eloise with big smiles on their faces.  When asked what they were doing, they explained an elaborate story of what happened to Felicity, one of the dolls, at their pretend school.  This free time allowed them to think creatively.

Don’t just take my word for it.  Google, one of the most famous and successful companies out there, encourages play time like no one else.  With its “20% Rule,” employees are encouraged to spend 20% of their work time pursuing their passions on their own terms.  They know that this “play time” will lead to innovation and new ideas.

Now picture this.  A student stands at her locker at the end of a long day, loading books into her backpack for the evening.  Suddenly, a smile spreads across her face as she thinks of the free hour she has before she tackles her homework.  Maybe she’ll play with her dog, maybe she’ll draw a picture, maybe she’ll play a game with her sister.  Whatever she does, she’ll have an opportunity to develop crucial skills through unstructured play on her own terms.