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National Archives
I read about the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco. It ravaged the city and destroyed close to 500 city blocks. This site offers at lot of information and firsthand accounts. Primary sources are beneficial because they can offer a more accurate account of events and experiences of people that were involved.

NEA
Engage school staff in discussions and activities that offer an opportunity to explore attitudes, beliefs, and values related to cultural diversity and cultural competence. I think it is important for the staff to keep an open dialogue with issues of race and diversity. As teachers, our attitudes affect our students whether we mean to or not. Teachers need to be continually educated and up to date on current issues affecting the children. As teachers, we can help each other to make sure that our standard remains high.
Gather and organize resource materials related to culturally diverse groups for use by school staff. Within a single classroom, there are going to be many different cultures. As a teacher, I will make it a goal to get to know my students and their cultures. By using materials that are related to cultural diversity, more students will feel that they are a part of the educational experience. If different cultures are celebrated, hopefully the prejudices can be broken down.
Determine the diverse groups served by your school. Consider cultural, linguistic, racial, and ethnic diversity. Find out the degree to which families and students in these groups are accessing available school services. I believe this should be a school’s goal at the beginning of the year. This can be accomplished by attending community activities and talking with students and parents. The more diversity that exists in a school, the more important it is to include them in the curriculum. As educators, we need to help all students to be proud of their culture and heritage and we do not want them to lose their pride because of school.

Kids Click
I found a site called “Jump into a Healthy Living” sponsored the American Heart Association. It serves reading levels 3 through 6. I think it is unfortunate that so many children today are overweight. Physical education classes are often a joke in school. Health and weight are not usually discussed in the school setting; these issues are left to the family. As educators, we can affect the health of our students. We can discuss the benefits of exercise and eating healthy. I think educators should take a stand because the health of students is just as important as what they are learning.


Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators
The site I explored deals with health and related issues. It offers lesson plans for health education activities for all grades. The lesson plans cover particularly difficult areas for students, such as sex and addiction. I think it is very beneficial, especially for middle school students, to educate them on these issues so they are informed to make the tough decisions that they are faced with. As educators, we need to help students with life lessons that they might not be receiving at home.

Multiple Intelligences
I know of the multiple intelligences set laid out by Gardner, but I was not aware that his theory is only 25 years old. This site is very informative and gives good ideas for utilizing the different intelligences with a single lesson. This way more students will be likely to succeed and understand the assignment. I think it is also beneficial for students to understand their own learning styles.

Teaching Tolerance
The lesson I chose involves human interaction. The students are prompted to answer the question: is it easier to get along or fight? They create a chart with different situations of people of getting along and not getting along. On the chart, the students are to write the consequences of not getting along. I think this is a great activity because it involves real, every day issues. Students are able to bring in their own life experiences. By examining the consequences of not getting along, students will understand that it is easier work through issues in order to get along with on another.


EdChange
I was shocked to find out that the UK and the US have the worst ratings when it comes to children. I wonder how much of this is based in education. If we do not take care of children, our nation will not succeed. I was also surprised to learn about the discrepancy between the punishments for crack and cocaine. The difference bears out nation’s racist attitudes and the effort to keep certain racial groups down. I think we should be focused less on the punishments and more on the problem. This begins with early education on alcohol and drug abuse. It is saddening that 84% of students report that teachers ignore homophobic comments. I can only imagine the challenge of being young and gay. These students need all the support that they can get. When teachers ignore derogatory comments, they are doing just as mush if not more damage that the comment itself.

Netiquette
I scored a 90% on the quiz. I have always felt that good manners and proper etiquette should be taught in school. Teaching netiquette allows students to better communicate online. It is important for students to remember that they are dealing with humans while online. So many rules that apply to conversation and interaction also apply to cyberspace. Cyberspace is governed by rules just like any other social interaction. ^ ^ ^