One week later...

Wow, so I really can't believe a whole week has gone by since school let out! I miss all of my students and hope all of you are enjoying your summer!

I have been very busy so far... As many of you know, I am in school too and my professors have given us so much work to do that I feel like I have been drowning in my school work. I bet you guys think that's funny. :) Plus, I spent two days back at Northwest doing stuff so it hasn't really felt like school has ended. Also, I read a really good book that I wish I could share with all of you but I can't because it's top secret and not yet published. My author friend gave me a copy of it and I really do hope it gets published because it's really, really neat and I think a lot of you readers (especially the girls) would LOVE it.

Tomorrow I am attending a reading workshop for teachers and last week when I went to the first part of it they gave us a homework assignment -- can you believe that?!?! I was surprised but the homework assignment was really cool. I had to somehow show what kind of a reader I am. So, I did this semi-artistic poster that tells you what's going on in my mind while I am reading. Take a look at it and let me know if your brain does this or if you experience reading differently.
Today I went to the beach so today was really the first day that actually felt like summer. Then I went to the library and picked up four books to read so I will definitely be busy reading for fun this weekend. Here's what I got:

1. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver (this is another one of those books where the main character dies and she's reflecting on the last day of her life)
2. Learning to Swim in Swaziland (a picture book about a country in Africa called Swaziland)
3. Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folk Tales (remember him -- he was the president of South Africa)
4. Sister Slam (a novel-in-verse)

I'll let you know what I think of these!

The last thing I wanted to share with you all is that there is supposed to be a really exciting soccer game tomorrow. The U.S. will be playing Ghana, another African country, and it's going to be really neat because it will be sort of a rematch from the last World Cup when Ghana beat out the United States. So a lot of Americans are really into this game. Me? Well, I'm rooting for Ghana. :)

Hope everyone's doing well! Leave us a comment so we know what you're up to!

Sad News about Mandela

Nelson Mandela will miss the opening of the World Cup because his granddaughter just died in a car crash. Read about it here.

What is Apartheid?

From 1948 to 1991, South Africa had a legal segregation system in place called apartheid. Apartheid meant that blacks and other non-whites lived in overcrowded townships (suburbs) and were treated like second-class citizens. Only 10% of the country's population was white but they were in charge. Black Africans made up 87%, coloreds (mixed race people) made up 9%, and Indians made up 2.5% of the population.

This video shows what living under apartheid was like for many black Africans:

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1DD2NKB8wM

In the 1960s when the Civil Rights Movement was going on in the United States, a lot of Black Africans also began fighting for their rights in South Africa. The Soweto Uprising, for example, was one of the major events that really jump-started the anti-apartheid movement ("anti-" means against). Students just like you were so important in starting this movement.

In 1989 change finally started to come about and the process of taking apart apartheid began. In 1990, Nelson Mandela, a jailed anti-apartheid activist, was released from prison and in 1992 Black Africans were able to vote for the first time. Look at the pictures from that day -- it is amazing to see people waiting in such long lines because they wanted their voices to be heard and their vote to count.


The first multiracial government was elected in 1994. Nelson Mandela—winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993—became the new president, and things began to change in the country. Things are improving but South Africa still faces challenges in terms of being able to end racial discrimination and provide access to education for all.