About the Author

As a middle schooler, Mrs. Haas remembers getting her papers returned to her marked up in red ink clearly identifying her abuses of the written language: spellings slip-ups, grammatical gaffes and punctuation booboos.  Needless to say, author was not on her career choice list. However, encouraged by her large family of teachers (father and 7 out of 11 siblings), Mrs. Haas learned that writing is really about expressing the heart and not discovering errors. In fact, her childhood school experiences, frenzied family life, and past and current students provide her with a wealth of writing inspirations.  Some day she hopes to have her book about Third Culture Kids - Home published, but for now, she is content with her students being her audience. Mrs. Haas currently lives in Singapore with her mathematical marvel husband, Jim; gymnastic genius daughter, Taylor; and sport enthusiast son, Eli.

Being Safe on the Net

Coming from a large family, my parents always talked about having a good reputation. I heard them say, “Don’t do that” or “what were you thinking when you did that? "or even “what will the neighbors think?” Honestly, I hadn’t given it much thought. I guess I didn’t really understand what having a bad or good reputation meant. Your reputation is how the public views you and as a result treats you in a certain way. Therefore, a person’s reputation is important. Here’s a video clip from Commoncraft explaining protecting one’s reputation online.

I think this quote sums up a great deal. “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” (Warren Buffett)


So now that we've have extended our learning into cyberspace with our blog work, it's worth spending time thinking about how to keep safe and protect ourselves from the unexpected.

We've already done some important work on this with our POST filters.  We learned to "think before you post" by defining the following with everything we put online:

• P--Purpose
• O--Offer new insight
• S--Skillful writing
• T--The Core Values

When researching other ways to be safe online, I came across this video and list of tips fromcommonsense media.

Rules of the Road for Kids

1. Guard your privacy. What people know about you is up to you.

2. Protect your reputation. Self-reflect before you self-reveal. What’s funny or edgy today could cost you tomorrow.

3. Nothing is private online. Anything you say or do can be copied, pasted, and sent to gazillions of people without your permission.

4. Assume everyone is watching. There’s a huge, vast audience out there. If someone is your friend’s friend, they can see everything.

5. Apply the Golden Rule. If you don’t want it done to you, don’t do it to someone else.

6. Watch the clock.  Don't spend too much time looking at screens.

7. Choose wisely. Not all content is appropriate. You know what we mean.

8. Don't hide. Using anonymity to cloak your actions doesn’t turn you into a trustworthy, responsible human being.

9. Think about what you see. Just because it’s online doesn’t make it true.

10. Be smart, be safe. Not everyone is who they say they are. But you know that.

I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to protect your reputation and be safe online.  It's why we ask you not to publish your last name.  It's why we don't want you to publish photos that misrepresent you or those close to you.  It's also why I'm asking you to make an avatar.  

I'm not talking about the movie.  I'm talking about a graphic representation of yourself.  To protect our own image, we can create avatars to be our online picture.  We can add it as our blogger profile picture, and it will show up when we leave comments on other peoples' blogs.  Let's try it out.  Here are some simple avatar makers that are fun to use.  See if you can capture your image and maybe even something you like to do with an object or piece of clothing.  Once you have one you like, take a screen shot of it and upload it to your blogger profile.

So, does this look a bit like me?

http://www.reasonablyclever.com/mini-mizers/mini-mizer-2-0/
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2006/10/mii.swf
http://clayyourself.com/
http://www.buildyourwildself.com/
http://www.manga.com/content/avatar-face-maker

Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10324217@N08/3217044145/">maria.benitezmontero</a> via <a href="http://compfight.com">Compfight</a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/help/general/#147">cc</a>

Mountains of Grit

Down sleeping bag, check. Thermal ski cap, check. Walking stick, check. Camera, check. Guide and porters, check. We were ready for our great trekking adventure in Nepal. Our family trip was going to be a venture of a lifetime: we were going to trek up 12000 feet to Madri Himal high camp and sleep in tents for five nights during the coldest time of the year. Little did I know that after all the discussions we had about perseverance and grit in home base the previous several weeks, it would take all the grit I could muster up to make it to the peak.

Working out three times a week with my trainer set my muscles up for the first day’s grueling four-hour uphill climb, but ascending 800 feet was difficult for my lungs. It was a tough beginning, but I have grit, although the frost on my tent the next morning had me shaking both physically and mentally.  I was unaware that we hadn’t yet reached the pinnacle of the altitude or cold. I was in for a shock.

Setting out on the third day to low camp was to be an easy day; only a three-hour climb of about 1000 feet and then a full afternoon to rest up for the big day ahead when we would climb to high camp. After lunch at low camp, the clouds came in and engulfed us. Yes, we were literally in the clouds; we were that high up. The temperature dropped twenty degrees as the sun disappeared, and it was too early to snuggle into our sleeping bags, so we huddled around an illegal campfire. Crouching around the fire for several hours, dodging the smoke, and battling the wind became so tiring that we ended up eating an early dinner and going to bed in order to stay warm. Knowing we were going to get up extremely early to get to High Camp the next day and not wanting to deal with the exceedingly cold, we went to bed with as many layers as we could.

We got up at 4:30 am so that we would reach High Camp before the clouds and with the wakening of the sun. My hot water bottle was still warm, so getting out of the sleeping bag, where even in the tent my breath could be seen as I exhaled, took an act of tenacity I didn’t think I had in me. Two layers on the bottom, three layers on top, plus a down jacket, neck warmer, gloves, and a wool hat: I was out of the tent and looking for something to keep me warm. A full moon surrounded by clouds in the sky made us wonder if we would be making this climb only to have a view of nothing but clouds rather than some of the most majestic mountains on earth. Was it possible that we had come all this way and would miss the magic moment we had worked so hard to experience?

We knew we had to go for it and hope the clouds would clear. After some warm soup, we took off with our headlamps lighting one step at a time. It was thrilling and scary at the same time as we were not really sure of our surroundings. At times the wind blew so fiercely that I thought I might be blown off the narrow precipice. My eyes watered and my fingers were tingling, but my mind was clear and it forced me onwards. Gradually, the sun started to peek over the horizon that almost seemed to be below us. I felt that I was on top of the world. It was a glorious sight.

 We still had another two hours of hiking before we would reach high camp and I was determined to make it. Through the cold, shortness of breath, and tired aching body, I finally reached the top where colorful prayer flags blew in the breeze. The view was amazing as the clouds waited below in the valley letting us take in two of the highest mountains in the Annapurna region of the Himalayas – Annapurna South and Machapuchare (otherwise known as Fishtail). We had reached an elevation of over 12,000 ft. With so many elements and obstacles to overcome, the resolve and indomitable spirit inside of me took over allowing me to make this incredible journey. It felt incredibly satisfying to reach the top.

After taking in the view, and a much-needed snack, we finished taking a few photos, before heading back down. We were far from finished for the day.  We still had to hike back down two hours to low camp, pack up our gear and trek another three hours before making camp for the last night. However, the long trek down gave me plenty of time to reflect upon all that I had experienced and accomplished over the past five days. I learned to take one step at a time. I learned to concentrate on the task right in front of me. I knew that if I stayed in the moment, believed in my own determination, had a hope or a vision of a possible positive outcome that I could do what I set out to do – and that it would be worth it. 

Easy As Pie

Would you believe there are currently over 172 million blogs? Even more astounding,  more than one million new posts are added to the internet each day. What staggering statistics!  

With so many bloggers adding so many posts, it can't be that hard to come up with possible post topics.  Before we look at what bloggers are writing about, it's important to understand why they write blog posts. Listen, it's not that hard. In fact, some might say, "It's as easy as PIE!"  

You see, when it comes right down to it, there are three basic purposes why bloggers write blogs:

• Persuade
• Inform
• Explore

Take a look at the following blog posts and try to determine why the blogger wrote that post.

ISTA Festival (SAS i)
Mockingbird (Dog-Eared)
Person of the Year (TFK)
Bringing SpongeBob to Life (TFK)
Bad Grade (Pellucidity)
It’s All in a Name (Mr. Riley’s Reflecting Pool)
Help Earth (ClimateKids)
Dogo News

Finally, when it comes time for you to write your blog posts, think of PIE and determine your purpose for writing before you begin writing.  You might be surprised at how much it helps.

Image from:

• http://bestclipartblog.com/

The Pursuit of Happiness – Learning

Imagine this. A child wakes up wearing the same clothes she had on the day before and the day before that. Actually, it is the only set of clothing she owns. They are tattered and worn – dirty and smelly. Her bed is nothing more than a bunch of plastic bags held together with discarded twine. By the way, this little girl lives in India on the side of the road. Her stomach growls, as it is empty. She had only one meal yesterday. She knows she can get a meal today – a free meal, but only if she walks the great distance – over two miles – to school and spends the mandatory five hours in school – will she’ll be fed. She is hungry and needs food. Her other option is to beg for food, or work the street – selling this or that. She decides to go to school, but not because she yearns to be fed knowledge or to learn a new skill. Instead she goes to be fed food – in order to survive. Let’s face it; doesn’t every child deserve to go to school to get a decent education?

 I love to learn. Ever since I was little I loved going to school. In fact, I remember “playing school” with my friends even before I was old enough to go to school. I don’t think it was the school part, or even the being with my friends’ part, but rather it was the realization that I could get better at something. Whether it was learning to read, taking part in a play or understanding the rules of a team sport, I could develop a part of me that didn’t exist before. To me that is exciting.

 Everybody knows that learning takes place in the classrooms all over the world on any given day. Whether it’s a math problem, a grammar rule, a science experiment or a historical debate, students dedicate their young lives to explore new ideas and understand complex concepts. For many people and cultures, learning in school like this makes sense. In fact, we expect students to thrive from it; after all, it’s their job. For me though, learning shouldn’t be confined to the school setting, and it shouldn’t stop once someone is finished with their traditional schooling.

 In other words, I think some people think that learning is just for students – in school. The reality is that learning takes place all the time keeping life fresh. As adults, people should continue to learn. It is easy to get caught up into the daily routine of work, carpooling the kids, making dinner, cleaning the house – get up and do it all over again. But if you are learning something new, you are exposed to new people, experiences, ideas, and opportunities. This makes life fun and fresh. Recently, I was given the opportunity to go to India. Going to India was a out of the box learning experience for me. According to experts, there are 268 million illiterate people in India, unable to read, write or make a reasoned decision, which makes up almost a third of the world’s total number of illiterates. And women receive on average only 1.8 years of schooling in India. I didn’t realize that not all people are given the opportunity to go to school with the thought of learning. That is, learning in the traditional sense of the word.

 “The purpose of learning is growth, and our minds, unlike our bodies, can continue growing as long as we live,” claimed Mortimer Adler, the American philosopher and author. As I learn new ways of teaching, new ways of using technology, and the art of photography I am grateful that I am able to continue to learn. Learning is a lifelong pursuit. I can only imagine what kind of a life I would have led had I not had the chance to get a fantastic education. With my educational experience, I have had boundless opportunities made available to me. I have been able to travel the world and make an impact other’s lives. Besides that, I have been lucky enough to have the best job in the world – I am a teacher.

Glog - Freak The Mighty

Let's face it - everybody needs a best friend. A person in your life that keeps you laughing, shares your secrets, and helps you through the tough times. True friends can be themselves around each other. With a best friend you can express your feelings, and even make mistakes without fear of being judged.   A best friend believes in you even though you no longer believe in yourself. He brings the best out in you. This kind of friendship is hard to find. In fact, most people go through life and never find such a friend.  Kevin is this friend to Max. They are blessed to come across each other in Rodman Philbrick's must read novel, Freak the Mighty.

In this book Maxwell Kane, a large, slow, kind-hearted eighth grader, meets his new neighbor, Kevin Avery, an extremely intelligent physically disabled boy (nicknamed Freak), and the two become fast friends. Before Kevin entered Max's life, he was alone, lonely and frightened by life that he felt worthless and dumb. But that all changes when Max starts carrying Kevin on his shoulder - the two become Freak the Mighty - and set out on many grand adventures together conquering anything put in their path. The two run into trouble when Max's criminal father gets paroled and comes looking for Max. But Kevin teaches Max that with courage, hope, and brains he can confront his father with the truth. But as that problem gets resolved, Max is faced with losing his best friend as Kevin's health deteriorates. Max struggles with seeing the glass half empty rather than half full and becomes miserable, lonely and lifeless.   The reader is left wondering will Max learn from Kevin - the example in which he lived his life. Will he take responsibility for his own life and live it the best he can?

            Max's character makes an amazing transformation from trying to be invisible, avoiding his troubles, and hiding out in the "down under" to being a brave knight in King Arthur's court who takes on quests slaying dragons, monsters and evil knights due to the help of his best friend, Kevin .  He defeats the local bully, Tony D., at the pond, returns a stolen wallet to Loretta Lee, and confronts his father surrounding his mother's death. Again as a result of Kevin's influence. Max has to come out of his isolation and self-doubt in order to accomplish these feats. Through all of this Max begins to have hope and faith due to the influences of Kevin's unique view of the world, but his naiveté gets the better of him. Faced with the overwhelming and devastating death of his best friend, Max became depressed and starts to fade back to being invisible. It was not until Loretta Lee told him that doing nothing was a drag that Max realized the unvanquished truth about himself. Kevin was right - he did have a brain and so he wrote their story - Freak the Mighty.

Kevin carries around a dictionary, and frequently has Max look up words he doesn't understand. By doing this, Kevin lets Max know that he isn't as dumb as he or others think he is and that by being curious about words he is learning to read and write. Later, when Kevin is dying in the hospital he gives Max a gift of an empty book and expects him to fill it with their adventures. This empty book represents Max at the beginning of the book - lifeless and apathetic. Max overcome with grief of Kevin's death and still believing he is slow or even brain-less doesn't at first accept the challenge. In fact, Max mopes around for a very long time until one day Grim, his grandfather, tells him that most people go through life never experiencing a friend like Kevin and that he was lucky to have him in his life.  With Loretta Lee's encouraging words, Max writes the book - Freak the Mighty.  It represents Max at his best - full of hope and possibilities.