A new book caught my eye this week, or rather my ears, as I first heard about this new tome while listening to a radio interview with the author, Eric Foner. You would think that with the vast plethora of books available about Lincoln that we would scarcely need another ( there are more books about Lincoln than almost any other person who ever lived!). But in this case, the author has provided something very useful by examining the course of Lincoln’s thinking about slavery and about African Americans in general, and how that thinking changed over time. I highly recommend “Our Lincoln: New Perspectives on Lincoln and His World” by Eric Foner. Here is a great review - http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/03/books/review/Reynolds-t.html

Just a quick reminder for those who missed last weeks announcements...

Something to say today about another performer we are all really proud of here at Mobile Ed. Robert Pirtle is a fine and handsome young gentleman who hails from the great city of Memphis, Tennessee. He also presents one heck of a “killer” school assembly program. 

I just had to share this! Kathleen Day is one of our best and most charming presenters. She performs in four shows for us. She presents The Earth Dome, Crime Scene Science, Forces and Motion and They Made a Difference. Since she is an Ohio girl we have her touring in the Midwest only, visiting schools in Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky, Illinois and, of course, Ohio, predominantly but also occasionally to Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Missouri. 

No one can be unaware of the difficult times being faced by school today. Money is scarce everywhere, but nowhere is this more true than in parts of the Midwest. Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Wisconsin and other “heart of the nation” states are reeling from budget cuts and failed fundraisers.

Ever since congress enacted the No Child Left Behind rules, and even before that, schools have been under the gun to show improvements in certain key areas of the curriculum. Most notable of these areas are Reading, Writing and Mathematics. Some schools have discontinued using school assemblies and school assembly programs altogether, out of a misguided idea that all assemblies are little more than an unnecessary distraction from time on task. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. 

We had a great day today, talking to school assembly coordinators from all over the greater Chicago area about our school assemblies! Today, of course, was the first of two days comprising the Center East Showcase at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, Illinois.

Some information to consider today about different types of school assembly performers. All different kinds of people are now involved in bringing programs to schools. We can divide them into some groups, though, in order to bring in some structure.

Great news today, especially for those of you looking for school assemblies in California or in general on the West Coast.

Every Fall, teachers and parents find they have a new job. Somehow they wake up and find out they have been given the job of picking and scheduling the school assembly programs for their school. Yes, you know who you are!