Margins
  Donovan A. Landers

      Wind rattles windows
While a child pretends to sleep
       In darkness.

*

      We cruised along in the 8-passenger Oldsmobile station wagon, a monstrosity of a vehicle perfect for our family of six. The girls could even bring two friends. Darlene and her anorexic friend, Beatarillino, sat in the backwards seat, facing the receding asphalt. Machteld sat between Jacobina and me, and Olive, a neighbour in Karen's grade two class, sat between Karen and Clarissa. Olive's bangs often obscured her vision.
      "If I were writing a novel," I told Jacobina, "I have too many people in this scene. Rule of thumb: If you can get away with four characters, don't use five. If you can get away with three, don't use four."
      A roadside herd of buffalo grazed in a green meadow.
      "Then we'd better leave you behind," Jacobina said.                full text >>>

I Lived School Experiences That Encouraged One Person to Become a Creative Writer: Study III of VI
Part 1
  Dan Lukiv

I interviewed "Elizabeth" a successful Canadian writer. To date, she has had her fiction published by Canada's most prominent houses, and one of her books ranks as a Canadian classic. Her poetry and non-fiction have appeared in many magazines, journals, and newspapers, but she sees herself predominantly as a writer of fiction.

She completed grades one through eight in a one-room log school located in a small, northern Canadian community, and grades nine through eleven through a provincial correspondence program, but completed grade twelve over three decades later at a modern high school, as a grandma amongst adolescents. Since that time she has completed tertiary courses through British Columbia's Open Learning Institute. I interviewed Elizabeth about what, if any, lived school experiences had encouraged her to become a creative writer.     full text >>>

Including Students who are Deaf-Blind into Physical Education:
Barriers to Overcome
  Kerstin Kindinger

Inclusion is a major trend in today's education for students with a disability. It focuses on multiple components, including an appropriate setting, services, and the development of educational objectives for the child (Stinson & Lang, 1994). These trends indicate that inclusion is more than just placement going beyond the legal requirements of the Individual with Disability Education Act (IDEA) and the American with Disability Act (ADA). It especially considers inclusion in a community setting, which covers the whole lifespan (Horvat, 2003). Teachers, in particular, have the task of preparing all students for life after school through a comprehensive curriculum that includes life skills, so have a significant role in each individual's social, physical, and emotional development. This increases the importance for teachers in staying current with the latest education movements and legislation changes and to be aware of the needs and challenges students in their classes face in daily living situations.

Commonly, inclusion is associated with subjects that emphasize writing and calculating, not with physical activity (Butterfield, 1991). The current legislation has mandated (since 1975) physical education for all students stating: "Physical education services, specially designed if necessary, must be made available to every child with a disability receiving [Families and Advocates Partnership for Education] FAPE" (Council of Exceptional Children, n/a). Based on this definition, physical education should be considered a subject for inclusion. But reality shows that physical education is often a subject that is not integrated into an Individual Education Plan (IEP); it is considered unnecessary. The focus of this paper is a review of the current practices that create barriers for the inclusion of students who are deaf-blind into physical education.     full text >>>

Fundamentals of Curriculum Development for Expansion to a Model Courtroom Laboratory
  Carl Franklin

Recently, Southern Utah University (SUU) spent a considerable sum to convert a medium-sized classroom into a model courtroom. Deep red cherry wood was used for the judge's bench, bar, and jury box. Witnesses will take their place behind the waist high wall separating them from the jury as they sit in a red leather chair to give testimony. The courtroom also includes the latest in internet and video hookup for the judge, clerk, and court reporter. Even the counsel tables are wired through the recessed connections set into the floor below each table. An overhead LCD projector faces a white board with drop down screen. Visitors would be hard pressed to tell that they were not actually in a well-appointed modern courtroom. Instead, the new model court is actually a highly efficient laboratory to be used in the Criminal Justice and Forensic Science Program at SUU.

This article will explore the primary issues of curriculum development that arise when considering a courtroom laboratory. It will also examine the methods for creating a successful courtroom and using it across disciplinary boundaries to benefit the students, university, and community.     full text >>>

Warm Regard
  Naomi Jeffery Petersen

      Three-year-old Jersey Lem leaned forward and rested his chin on his tan, plump forearms, bridging the handlebars. There was an invisible force field between the last square of concrete sidewalk and the driveway of the house next door. The front wheel of his low-slung plastic trike was turned sideways, respectfully nudged right up to, but not touching, the force field.
      Lounging in his saddle, Jersey Lem gravely regarded the awesome power of his mother. It was her job to recharge the force field.     full text >>>