Scottsboro

Ellen Feldman begins each chapter of Scottsboro with a quote from one of the participants (victims?). She intersperses the novel with news reports and insights into 1930s America, giving us a feel for what both northerners and southerners must have been thinking. Her invention of a white female northern reporter allows us to view the happenings as impartially as possible. Yet this book left me with a feeling of such distrust for my fellow Americans that on a recent trip to Georgia I couldn't stand to get close to strangers. There seemed to be noone who was innocent in this travesty of justice that is now a part of our history. The Scottsboro boys and the multiple trials that ensued can't be erased from our history. Feldman has given us a well-researched tale of Jim Crow and communism in the 30s and 40s. Other reviews have said that she failed to develop the fiction well enough to make an enjoyable read, but I found the inhumanity of the tale enough to keep me turning the pages.

The ipod touch

The ipod touch
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

A couple days ago I reported on a comparison between what some college students listen to and their colleges' average SAT scores. Today, the Wall Street Journal reported on some non-music uses for the iPhone and iPod Touch. A quick survey of students in the library seems to agree that the apps for the iPod Touch, at least, are very cool. While the general consensus was that they didn't think the service on the iPhone was as good as other phone systems, the iPod Touch is "way cool."

According to the Wall Street Journal, there are now more than 25,000 apps or widgets that can be purchased for the iPhone or iPod Touch. They end their article with, "It's the software, not the hardware, that makes these gadgets compelling." The Wall Street journal mentioned some great games, the Kindle e-book reader, and some social networking software, but I wanted to see if there were any good educational apps (since I am in a school). I found a lot of tools for small children to learn words and foreign languages that look like normal computer educational games. I was disappointed in the math programs that I found. While they may be great for checking one's work, I thought they might actually hurt students' understanding of math concepts because of the temptation to check for the answer without doing the work. I was really excited when I saw the reference section, though. As a birdwatcher and sky-watcher, I loved seeing the field guide that would play bird songs loud enough to attract the birds closer to me and the animated planetarium and star finder apps. Some of the productivity apps looked interesting, too, but many of them require wireless access in order to work. Of course, there's the free wireless access locater, so that might be useful, but I think I can carry my laptop around for now. After all, I've barely learned to use my iPod.

Gov's Fashionistas

Gov's Fashionistas
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

A new display highlights fashion books in the collection and photos from the archive. In the hallway display case, students can view items we have recently added that relate to American fashion through the decades. They can also glimpse what Governor's students looked like in the 50s, 60s and 70s.

The photos demonstrate that fashion has always been a top priority at The Governor's Academy. Students have often been creative about displaying their personalities through fashion!

Can what you listen to affect your SAT score?

Maybe you listened to the radio or read the newspaper in the past week and heard that a study had been done that compares the music you listen to on your ipod to your SAT score. Are you ready to change your playlist to add a couple hundred points to your score? If so, you'll want to add some Beethoven. The author of this study says the smartest people listen to Beethoven.
But before you start to listen to the Beethoven channel you might want to look a little closer at the study.

According to the author, there is a correlation between what people listen to and their SAT scores. To start with, a correlation means that two things seem to move together, like the fact that my family eats a lot more ice cream when it's hot outside. Does that mean that if we eat more ice cream in the winter it will get hotter? No, so don't reach for the Beethoven yet (although I really like his piano concertos and would recommend them to anyone who likes classical music).

But you should also look at the data before you decide a study means what it claims to mean. In this case, the study took the average SAT scores at numerous colleges and compared those to Facebook.com's college network statistics on peoples' favorite music. It chose the top ten music favorites and decided this would do. A few things to look at when considering what to believe: Was the sample representative? Are the top ten music preferences really indicative of the average preferences of all the students at that college? Did all the students at each college list their favorite music on Facebook? In this case, the samples are almost certainly not equal.

While we try to teach students to look judiciously at what they read on the Internet, it's also important to remember that radio and news reporters don't always check deeply into the facts of a study before they report on it.

If you want to see more of this type of correlation (keeping in mind that Facebook isn't a scientifically valid sample for this type of study), you might also enjoy looking at the same author's study of Books that Make you Dumb. Just remember, not every bit of research is well done. Most people will find that they enjoy music and books that correlate with lots of different SAT scores.

Mona Lisa on Etch-a-Sketch

Mona Lisa on Etch-a-Sketch
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

We are finally back at class today. Mr. Doggett called a Headmaster's Holiday for Monday with the storm threat (a good 14 inches fell!) and yesterday was Museum Day. We were going to start swapping out displays but found this sketch to be irresistible! So, the Nifty at Fifty Display for February is still with us.