Some Mid-semester fun

I know some of you may be wondering what in the world this has to do with Science?

Well, let me tell you.  

There is some serious science in here. For instance, this little girl - cute as she may be - is demonstrating establishment of brand new neurological pathways.  She has utilized tired and true learning skills based on modeling and usage of mirror neurons to develop her repertoire of not only carrying a tune, but of singing in harmony and even directing her ukelele playing accompanist - I assume her father - to sing the counterpoint.  That is pretty impressive for such a young child.  

More than that, the adult male who is singing with her also demonstrates some very good teaching skills where he guides rather than directs the little girl as she progresses through her song.  He demonstrates respect for her and encourages her to exercise what we in education refer to as "voice and choice".  He gives the child enough space and time for her to feel empowered in the musical exchange.  Modeling such behavior will encourage the child to develop a sense of teamwork and even self-esteem.  Through modeling,  the child knows, by direct experience that she is valued, and she will thus be inclined to treat people that way as well because it is part of her every day experience.  

I could go on more about how linguistics is playing itself out here, or even how the child is fixing her gaze as she attempts to focus on extraneous noises, but you only have so much time and this is supposed to be fun!  

Remember, science is everywhere!

Keep working hard, the semester is winding down.

Finish strong.
Mr. M

Keep Pushing Beyond All Limits...

Never Give Up

"...Between stimulus and response, there is a space.  In that space lies our freedom and power to choose our response.  In those choices lie our growth and happiness..." 

 As you watch this video, keep in mind that while each of us might like to believe that success is something we achieve on our own, and failures are something that falls on solely on our shoulders, we never are really alone.  

When you think about it, there are people in your life who contribute to your success, and support you when you fall.   Take some time to think about those people - your parents, your family, your teachers, coaches, others very special to you, and to whom you are also very special.  Thank your lucky stars that they are in your constellation, because when you succeed, they are there to cheer you on, and when you fall, they are there to support you all the way to the finish line.  

You are never alone.

My take away from this video is that bad things are bound to happen - they are a almost necessary part of life.  However, it is how we choose to react to adversity demonstrates our character.  In other words, we really do have a choice over how we react to challenges.  

Keep up the good fight, and never give up.
Mr. M

Thank you Mr. & Mrs. H. and Mr. Mrs. S.

Be humble for you are made of Earth.  Be noble for you are made of stars. - Serbian proverb

Mini Fitz's Favorite - A Toy Robot in Space

 On occasion, one of my students will offer up a suggestion of something interesting to post.  

This one comes to us on recommendation from one of my favorite students.

Thank you Mr. Mini Fitz!

I have a Dream Speech - 50th Anniversary

I Have A Dream

by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Delivered 50 years ago today - on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial
in Washington D.C. on 28 August 1963

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.
But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an shameful condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men yes, black men as well as white men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand -- the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to to make real the promises of Democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to, 'business as usual.' There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties [and frustrations] of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a [desert] state, sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day down in [the state of] Alabama, with its vicious racists, with it's governor having his lips [presently] dripping with the words of interposition and nullification - one day right there in Alabama [will be transformed into a situation where] - little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls [and walk together] as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true.
So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!
Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!
But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!
Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring - and when this happens;
When we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

On April 3rd, 1968 - he delivered his prophetic, 'I've Been to the Mountain Top' speech in Memphis, Tennessee;It really doesn't matter what happens now.... some began to... talk about the threats that were out -- what would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers.... Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place, but I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over, and I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. And so I'm happy tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.

The following day, Reverend, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was silenced by a sniper's bullet as he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Hotel where he was preparing to lead a march in support of strikinig Memphis sanitation workers.
 

Looking Back, how did you do?