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.

In My Seat

Ever since my great-aunt, my grandma's older sister, was admitted to the hospital back in May, a sweet elderly lady named Ilona from one our sister SDA churches in the Okanagan Valley has been going to visit her on a regular basis. My grandma has become friends with Ilona and greatly appreciates her gift of spending time with Auntie Beth, who is now living in an assisted care facility, to help buoy her spirits on the days Grandma isn't able to visit.

Ilona e-mailed this video to Grandma and she forwarded it on to relatives. It sat in my inbox for about a week before I made time to watch the 15-minute video, but once I sat down to watch it, I was struck by the stunning symbolism. I think it's a perfect Christmas message. We should never forget the sacrifice that God and Jesus made for us. Thank you, Jesus, for coming to this world for me.

Librarian stats

I've thought of getting my master's. The only problem is, I'm have yet to figure out what field I would actually want to study further. I've given a passing thought to a master's in journalism/communication, library science and creative writing. After finding the infographic below, library science is looking pretty interesting. Really, my dream job would be one where I'm paid to read, but working in a library everyday seems like it might be almost as good. Anyway, take a look at these interesting librarian statistics.

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ImageSource: MastersinEducation.org

Reading slacker

Since the summer of 2009, I've keep a record of the books I've read, creatively calling my spreadsheet "Books Read List." The other day, after finishing Sam Campbell's "Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Mo -- and Still-Mo" I opened my spreadsheet to document my completed book. The sight that greeted my eyes was dismal, to say the least. And here's why: since getting back from Tanzania at the end of April, I have only read four complete books. FOUR! In more than four months! That is disturbing, despairaging (a good word for this situation), and despicable! And you want to hear the really, really ugly news? (You probably don't, but I'm going to tell you anyway.) I read only one full book between returning from Africa and my wedding on August 1. The only other book I attempted to read before the wedding was started on May 3, but not completed until August 16. I feel like a failure of a reader...and this from a self-proclaimed readaholic!

On the brighter side of this appalling realization, since returning from my honeymoon, I've read three books and started two others (which I have yet to finish and probably won't for awhile since they belonged to someone else and I just picked them up to look at while camping -- hopefully I can get to a library sometime soon to check them out and finish them). Those statistics are starting to sound a little better, right? Phew! Can't wait to get fully back into my readaholic ways. :)

Return and rejuvenation

For the last two years, I've been using this blog as a periodic dumping place for random news stories and causes I happen to come across. This past year I've been blogging about my experiences as a student missionary in Tanzania on another blog, Writing to Serve. The year before, my Creative Writing professor required his students to make a new blog specifically for creative writing. Throughout the school year, our assignment was to blog at least three sentences every day of the semester. I used that blog, Creative Endeavour, primarily to document my daily life throughout my senior year of university.

So for two years this blog as been put on the back burner. But now that I'm finished university and back from Tanzania I need to start using my original blog again. I'm sure the poor little thing has been feeling terribly lonely and I certainly don't want to continue ignoring it. So enjoy the new posts on here. I'll try to keep it more updated than it has been in a long, long time. Meanwhile, I'll do my best to post periodic creative pieces on Creative Endeavour whenever I have the chance, or the inspiration.