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YouniversityTV.com -- It's a great resource of college information!

Party Time!

All the tutoring, questions, hard work, and studying have paid off. We had a chance to celebrate a bit last Monday. So let's relive a little of the fun...





Grades for the second six week's period were GREAT. So last Monday we enjoyed a party to celebrate everyone's hard work. It was a lot of fun.







Keep up the good work! The only grade that matters in your classes is the one that you will get at the end of the semester. So don't sit around and rest on your laurels. We have finals waiting for us that will be 20% of your grade. We need to start preparing now. Good luck! It's going to be even more fun to celebrate in January when those semester grades are in the book and look great!

Higher Education Woes

There is a problem with this economy, less money all around. As the stock market plunges, higher educational institutions are finding that money that is usually there is lacking.

How can it effect you?
*Money for grants and loans for school
*Money for funding of campus housing and books.

The video below documents what is happening at many schools right now:



What can you do? Start saving now. Start looking for scholarships now. Plan, Plan, Plan. Also, start to widen your search of possible schools. Maybe the economy will not be great when you have to chose a school. So you might have to look at some state schools, local schools, or community colleges.

Aidan Says Thanks for the Party Hat!

Thanks Lexus and 7th Period AVID I Freshmen!

We had a great party today in 7th period. So much fun. Pictures to come later.

Socratic Seminar - "Good Boy Beau"

Tomorrow we are going to be doing our first Socratic Seminar of the year. We are going to use our tutors to facilitate the discussion in small tutoring groups. The text I have chosen is a column by Anna Quinlen of Newsweek Magazine. It is about her old dog Beau. It is a touching article that dives into the meaning of what it is all about to live life to it's fullest and then realize life has a way of wearing us all down.

I am hoping the article can pose a few questions about all of our humanity and make us realize that life is to be lived to the fullest.

Anna Quinlen's "Good Boy, Beau. Stay."
Put a pork roast in the oven, and the guy still breathes as audibly as an obscene caller. The eyes and ears are gone, but the nose is eternal.
By Anna Quindlen | Newsweek Web Exclusive

excerpt: I once had an editor who hated dead-dog columns. (I did one anyway.) This is a live-dog column. It's a shame that obituaries and eulogies come only after people are gone and unable to appreciate them. How many times after a memorial service have you said of the deceased, "She would have loved it"? Rumor has it that certain celebs, knowing The New York Times writes important obits well in advance, have tried to get a peek at their own. The expressed rationale is fact-checking, but I suspect it has more to do with self-esteem. Beau, of course, will have no idea what is said about him. But he does seem to know that a laptop in its case near the front door means a trip to the country, which even now, gimpy as he is, sends him into a fandango.

The life of a good dog is like the life of a good person, only shorter, more compressed. Beau started off wild and crazy. My most enduring memory of his youth is of him galloping around the yard, purloined needlepoint yarn streaming from his mouth. One summer he was skunked three times and spent weeks studded with spines after indulging his taste for advanced decomposition by rolling on a dead porcupine. He did not learn to swim until he realized it was the only way to keep geese off the pond.

But he also ran with his master every morning, posed in front of the fireplace in winter in a recumbent position like an insurance ad, and suffered the addition of a female yellow Lab to the household six years ago. He stayed off the furniture and did not jump on guests. People admired his self-control, on the street and at dinner parties, although one New Year's Eve he was discovered with his muzzle buried to the ears in a bowl of chocolate truffles.

What did you think of the article and our first Socratic Seminar? Would you like to do more?

Sam Houston State University

On Monday November 3rd, Mr. Duez's sophomores will head up I-45 and visit Sam Houston State U. Thought I would post a few tidbits before our trip.

Sam Houston State University official site
Facts:
Enrollment of approximately 16,416
Average class size of 31 students
Faculty:student ratio of 1:20
Beautiful 272-acre main campus
Every office, classroom and residence hall room is equipped with a high speed Internet connection
Located only 70 miles from downtown Houston in Huntsville
Nickname: Bearkat Since the animal in the saying was thought more mythical than real, the spelling settled upon was "Bearkat."
Moto: "The measure of a Life is its Service."
Alma Mater:
Hail to Sam Houston, School we love best,
Mighty in battle, True to the test.
Bearkats so loyal, Ever we’ll be.
Orange and white Will lead us to victory!

Hail, Alma Mater Hats off to you,
Ever you'll find us Loyal and true;
Firm and undaunted Ever we'll be,
Here's to the school we love
Here's a toast to thee.

Bearkat Fight Song:
Fight, Fight, you Bearkats!
Fight on through!
We're here in back of you!
You know again we're here to win,
so fight on to the end.

Fight Fight Fight
Loyal we'll ever be and true to SHSU
We'll fight and fight with all our might
for Sam Houston's Orange and White.