YOU CAN DO IT ALL ! ! !

A book in our reference section entitled How To Do Just About Everything by Courtney Rosen and the eHow Editors, has sister website www.ehow.com that we're attaching to the Student Tools tab under Miss Mayne's favorites. There are over 1,002 easy to follow, step by step instructions on how to do practically anything.
 Here's some How To examples: Get Your Name Off Mailing Lists, Tie a Tie, Stop on In Line Skates, Buy A Computer, Run A Marathon, Deliver Kittens, Dunk a Basketball, Ask Someone On A Date, Wash A Car. O.K. so maybe you think you know all about these topics and more, but maybe not. Maybe if there was just one more step you knew, you'd be more successful. Knowledge isn't just power, IT'S PRACTICAL!

ARE YOU WAITING FOR THE PERFECT BOOK?

Sometimes the perfect time makes the perfect book. Please DO come into the Media Center and check out a book for the UEA weekend. If you have a long ways to drive pick up a book on tape on CD or locked up in a Playaway. All English teachers will accept books on CD or Playaways for the 30 Book Challenge, but each teacher varies in how many audio books they will let you listen to in lieu of actual reading..

CAN YOU THINK ON YOUR OWN OR 
DO YOU NEED THE MEDIA TO DO IT FOR YOU?
(Miss Mayne's Bumper sticker from Who Knows Who)

O.K. so now you know how I really feel about tonight's debate; I don't want some news guru to over masticate the news for me. I can make my own decisions tonight, thank you very much. How about you? This is a dry run for most of you because you are not eligible to vote yet, but how about pretending? I'm going to take a Presidential vote count on this blog if I can set it up right. Usually students are pretty good at picking the winner; they have been found to vote pretty much the same way as their parents. (I find this very odd since teens are often in disagreement about most other issues with their parents.) Pay attention tonight and check your facts on snopes.com or factcheck.org. The truth can prevail if you let it and are willing to work for it ; that's called research. You know that thing that I harped at you about when you were a Sophomore going through orientation! You might also keep in mind what Winston Churchill said about us just before we got into WWII ---"The Americans will do the right thing, after they've exhausted all other possibilities." Ask yourself tonight, are these candidates really going to solve the problems I care about, or are they just "exhausting all other possibilities"?

DO YOU OR DON'T YOU?

I just posted a comment from Daniel last year to bring you up to date on the ever evolving debate of whether or not we should have a school digital book club. So what do you think? I can't put it together the way most teachers do; pick the kids who I know are interested from my classes (I don't have classes), put someone on a recruiter's table during lunch to bring in the students who are interested, but not in my classes. So this blog is my best next bet. It doesn't matter if you don't have a digital reader, we'll find you one, rotate them between users, or alternate regular books with ebooks. What do you think about that? Anyone one you know who would be interested? Are you interested? I know we have a couple of male teachers who are. This would be one club where teachers and students would be mixed. Are you "for" or "agin" it? (You should be able to reply to this message. I actually am getting better at looking for replies.)

FREE E-BOOKS FOR THE 30 BOOK CHALLENGE

Nothing reads as easily as a free e-book. There are many places you can go to download a book on your smartphone, e-reader, tablet, or computer. You can also check out e-books from the state of Utah.

FROM FREE COMMERCIAL SOURCES: freeclassicaudiobooks.com, Gutenberg.com, manybooks.net
(Yes, your Dad's old Palm products can serve as an e-reader.)

FOR FREE CHECKOUT: Utah State Library, pioneer.utah.gov, sign up for Overdrive
(You must have a library card from a local public library to use the state system)

LOG YOUR READING ON YOUR PHONE

Sometimes it's difficult to remember what you've read and why you liked it, especially if you're involved in something like the 30 Book Challenge.  No worries; here are some free apps I've been trying out. See if you like them. The one I use on my Android actually lets me OCR my favorite passages, so if I belong to a book group, I can be part of the discussion. These APPs came from Germany. If you dig further into their website, you may "go global" in your book selection. Contact me if you would like a book from Europe! Of course, it has to meet school standards so everyone can read it. Basically, that means nothing rude, crude, or sexually explicit. Read the reviews on all books before you request them; you might learn something!

FOR ANDROIDS: Readtracker
FOR iPHONES: Readmore

READ EVERYWHERE !

I know, it's Labor Day vacation; you're probably still in bed. You know, you CAN read anywhere: In bed, on a plane, in the car, waiting for your Mom in the mall, waiting anywhere for that matter. If you're going to meet the 30 Book Challenge, you'll have to learn to read anywhere. Checking out a book on CD from the library can help you "listen-read" a book while you're traveling on the highway. (You know,  during the time you're usually picking on your brothers and sisters because you're so bored out of your mind being cooped up in the car for such a long period of time.) Remember, copyright law prohibits you from ripping books to put on your phone, so the car is the perfect place to "listen-read." It will give you something to talk to your family about besides, "Are we there yet?"