Books, not textbooks

Yesterday I read a Globe and Mail article about a Canadian Spanish War veteran finally being honoured for his role in the conflict. (Wow, I can't believe that only took 73 years!) I really enjoyed the article and reading about Mr. Paivio's experiences during his time in Spain. I always like reading stories about the very interesting lives other people live.

But today, my post isn't about that, although I think it's wonderful this 94 year old man is finally getting some recognition for his service. Reading this story reminded me of something from my childhood. It's about what students don't learn in school (although, remember this is just from my perspective.) I learned lots of really important and valuable information during my 13 years (including kindergarten) of pre-college education. But there was one subject that I was consistently disappointed in. In early elementary school I kept asking my mum when I was going to get to have History class, like I'd read about in many 'old time' books. It sounded so fascinating, and I couldn't wait to dive right in to learning about the past! But I had to start with Social Studies. I kept waiting for that magic time when Social Studies would turn into History. Maybe in grade five, I remember thinking. Hmmm, OK, maybe next year in grade six. But, sadly, that day never came. Not until I was in university. And while I was sitting in Social Studies classes, waiting for History to happen, I missed out on learning about some pretty interesting past events.

It wasn't in a textbook that I first learned about the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). No, it was Chaim Potok's coming-of-age story, "Davita's Harp," about a Jewish-by-birth, later Jewish-by-religion girl. That book touched on many aspects that fascinated - and still fascinate - me. The intriguing life of Hasidic Jews. Certain pieces of artwork, significant historical events in America and around the world during the 20s and 30s, and interesting snatches of creative writing. And, of course, the Spanish Civil War. I had learned about many wars and conflicts in Social Studies, but not once had the Spanish Civil War come up. A mysterious textbook omission eerily similar to the seldom talked about Halifax Explosion. (Wouldn't you know, I learned about that disaster from another young adult book, "Irish Chain." Why, again, isn't history taught by reading historical books?)

I believe that History - or Social Studies, whatever is the preferred term these days - shouldn't be taught by textbooks. No, not at all. It should be taught by historical books, either fiction or nonfiction, that draw the reader in and take hold of them, never letting them forget the fascinating past of this world. If it weren't for reading so many young adult books as a child and teen (and adult), I would have never discovered so many interesting facts about history. Turns out I didn't need History class or Social Studies. I just needed books!

Note: To be perfectly fair, there was one Social Studies textbook that I adored. I had moved to Alberta just in time for grade three. That year our textbook was about a girl who watched the news and found out, completely by accident, that she was able to climb through her TV and into the actual news stories. She explored all of the provinces in Canada that way and I was hooked. Hooked on history. Hooked on learning about my country. Hooked on traveling. Hooked on reading. Hooked on inventing my own crazy stories. In recent years, I've tried to find a copy of that grade three textbook but, with no idea of the title or how to figure out what textbooks the Alberta government approved for grade three in 1993-1994, I've never succeeded. If any of you know how to figure that stuff out or ever saw or used this textbook, I would love to get my hands on it. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Extreme schooling

A fascinating article and the corresponding video about how sometimes putting children in a difficult situation and letting them find their way through the hardships might actually be better for them in the end.

My Family's Experiment in Extreme School - The New York Times Magazine
An Education (the video - can also be viewed right from the top of the article)

I'm a fan.

Southern Accent

Today I had my first unofficial Southern Accent staff member orientation. If this afternoon is any indication, the next 8 months should be hectic, crazy and possibly a little stressful. But within a few weeks everything should start to calm down and maybe I'll be able to settle into a routine. I really hope this year is an educational, growing and exciting experience.

For more info on the Southern Accent, watch Viviene Martinelli's promotional video made for a digital video class last semester.

For still more information, check out the Southern Accent's Web site or Facebook page.

Heading Home

I finished the Insight Writer's Workshop at 5 p.m. today. I managed to write two stories (both more than 1100 words) during the last four days. I spent lots of yesterday and almost all of today editing the stories and then started on a third one to finish up later and email in to the associate editor of Insight. We ended the workshop by each of us seven students eating ice cream bars and then reading our favourite story out loud. It turned out to be a great week. I learned a lot and found it really fulfilling to just be able to sit and write for four whole days without any distractions. Of course the best thing is that now I have another upper division credit and I'll probably have more articles published to add to my portfolio.

After the workshop finished, I came back to Bryn's room and we've been packing and cleaning, off and on, ever since. Tomorrow we're leaving for home. I'm so excited to get home and sleep in my own bed and unpack my stuff and play with my dog, Pepper. I want to go swimming in Okanagan Lake (although that will have to wait for a month or so before the lake warms up) and quadding at my uncle's cabin and taking Pepper for walks on the Mission Creek Greenway. But another thing I can't wait to do is eat Canadian food (and candy)! These are just a few of my favourites.







(I know vinegar can't really be classified as a food, but I've been craving it on my French fries since I left home last summer. Restaurants down here just don't seem to understand that there are alternative (and superior) condiments to ketchup.)

If you'd like to try any of these awesome treats, just come up to BC and visit. We'd love to have you. Happy summer everyone. I'll see you next school year!

Insight Writer's Workshop

Tomorrow, while other Southern students are relaxing (or sleeping) at home, or finishing up cleaning out their rooms/apartments, I'll be starting a new class. Bright and early at 8 a.m. I have to be in the School of Journalism and Communication's Mac lab in Brock Hall for the Insight Writer's Workshop. I'm not exactly looking forward to more class-type activities and writing so soon after school is out for the summer, but it's for upper division credit, so at least that will keep me motivated. It will be interesting to see how many stories I can turn out during the next four days.

What's really inside a VCR?

Today I went to my last class of the 2008-2009 school year, Foundations of Broadcasting. I should have taken it last winter with Ty because he said that his class had a riot. My class was not quite so exciting, but I did learn a bunch of stuff. Mostly, I perfected my multi-tasking skills by listening to the lectures/watching the video clips while doing the daily word find and sudoku in the Chatt. Times Life section. But I also learned a lot about important current events in the media and telecommunications world. Here are two of my favourite video clips from BRDC-201.

The future of the media?


And for fun... Today Mr. Ruf started class with the following informational video.
Feel free to try this at home. Just make SURE to have marshmallows on hand.

Internships: East v. West

According to this Globe and Mail article (be sure to click on the nifty graphic!), getting an internship in Eastern Canada looks more promising than finding one in BC. I'd love to be able to go back to BC for the summer, but I really need to do a writing internship. So now I have decisions to make. Feel free to give me suggestions. Here are the pros and cons of working in the east this summer.

Pros:
1. I'd really and truly be on my own for the summer
2. Having never lived east of Lacombe, Alberta (at least in Canada), it would be a completely new experience and, most likely, an adventure
3. I'd be a lot closer to my older sister who lives in Ottawa, Ontario
4. If I found an internship in Quebec or New Brunswick, I could work on my French-speaking skills
5. I would have the opportunity to meet Adventists that I don't already know
6. There would be the possibility of another Canada Day in Ottawa and maybe this time I could actually get close enough to PM Harper to shake his hand!
7. It's a lot closer to travel around the east than it is out west, so I could see a lot of new places on the weekends
8. Train travel for cheap is a reality with the wonderful services of ViaRail and their student rates
9. I could attend campmeeting somewhere other than Hope, BC or Bowden, Alberta
10. Not knowing anybody would help me get a lot of reading done

Cons:
1. I'd really and truly be on my own for the summer
2. My mountain withdrawal would continue (No matter what people tell me, I know the truth. There AREN'T real mountains in the east.)
3. I'd miss out of fun family events (going to the cabin, going to BC Cowboy Campmeeting, and our annual vacation at Fairmont Hot Springs)
4. The writing projects I wanted to work on for my home church wouldn't get done
5. It would be rather difficult to hang out with all my friends who come home every summer
6. Quadding or boating every weekend wouldn't be a possibility (and my ongoing summer Ogopogo-search would be postponed)
7. I'd have to worry about a place to live, and how to furnish and pay for it
8. I wouldn't be able to work on the family history section of the memoir project I've been planning to do (which includes interviewing my grandparents, great-aunts and uncles, and other wise and knowledgeable family members)
9. I'd miss my family
10. I'd miss BC

PL Trail Exploration

Danielle has been waiting for this day since August. This afternoon, I finally agreed to explore PL Trail with her. Meet our fellow traveler.













If you ever find yourself hiking PL Trail, beware of HANDKIND!

Preparing to Meet the Firms

Yesterday was the last day of Preparing to Meet the Firms class and today our class and other Southern students gathered at the Collegedale Church for our chance to Meet the Firms. When I signed up for the class last semester I dreaded the idea, but I knew I needed to take it to ensure that I'll have enough upper division credits to graduate. (In reality, I should have used my time more wisely to dread Communication Research instead.) Now that Preparing to Meet the Firms is done, I can look back on the past seven weeks and see what I've learned:

-Using action verbs can drastically improve a resume.
-Waiting until the day before your portfolio is due to updated it and go through all your Southern Accent articles and Publication Tools and Technique designs is a very bad idea.
-Jump at every opportunity to have your writing published. It will greatly enhance your portfolio.
-Don't put too much stock in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. (Apparently I'm currently an ISTJ. In the past I've been an INTJ and I have a feeling that if I took the test again, I could go back to being an INTJ. My "S" and "N" values must be quite similar.)
-Despite what the Preparing to Meet the Firms teachers claim, it's not a good idea to try to talk to everyone at Meet the Firms. The medical-type companies don't care to waste their time talking to Communication majors.

Media & the Presidential Election

As many of you might know, I'm Canadian. I have a fairly good understanding about how Canadian politics work, but I don't really know anything about U.S. politics (and I don't pretend that I do). In light of this, I decided that this semester I should take Media & the Presidential Election, an upper division Communications class, to learn more about the politics that turn Americans into crazy people every four years. This is part of what we learned in yesterday's class:
Gov. Palin and Senator Clinton address the nation