Happy Friday

I'm noticing some changes in the daylight/darkness hours now. The sun doesn't really rise until about 9:00 or so, and it starts to set around 7 pm. We will gradually have shorter days, and in just over a month, we will be blanketed in darkness until late January.

You know, our kids here once had to take a standardized test that asked them a question about what time of day it was when the moon was out. For our kids, that could be ANY time of day, depending on the month. I'm noticing those language issues a lot more this time. A student asked me just this morning what a "meadow" was, and earlier in the week, a boy asked what a "cottage" was. We have a few students who have never been off the north slope, meaning they have never been in a city of any size and haven't really been out of the arctic villages. This means those kids have never seen a real tree, have never witnessed cars driving on a highway, have never shopped in a mall, and have never eaten a cheeseburger from M*Don*lds.

I share this because I know many of my readers are teachers, and these language barriers pop up so often, when we least expect them, and they certainly affect their learning. Good things to be aware of.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!