Kayla's Book Nook

Thanks to a co-worker who lent me the book, and friends and family that told me how amazing this book was, I finally read, Water for Elephants , by Sara Gruen. I have been hearing rave reviews from friends, family, coworkers, online sites, and other blogs about this book, and I have to say that I agree whole-heartedly. This is a wonderful book about love, life, the circus, and how connected people can become with each other and animals in such a short time. It's a stunning tale of the carnival and circus people of a time long ago, and how their lives revolved around the circus, the performers, the workmen, the animals, and the crowds. I loved all the characters in this book, and it was really interesting going from the past to the present with the main character. The love between Marlena and Jacob is so wonderful, and pure that it's a great part of this book. I also love how involved and invested Jacob becomes with the animals and some people in the circus. It's a tale of...

Last December, while surfing the internet for teaching jobs or jobs related to teaching, I came across Teach for America. This is a non-for-profit organization that rigorously interviews teaching candidates, and if accepted are placed in schools around the country that are in high-need. The teachers are placed in areas where there is a high achievement gap, so that these very qualified educators can start fixing the problem that low budgets, low parental involvement, and a belief in stereotypes cause. Once I read the online literature, testaments from Corps members, and everything else, I decided to apply. This application process is long, and sometimes hard, there is a lot of information that needs to be provided as well deadlines to hit for certain aspects of the interview process. All this information can be found online at their website, for a better idea of the timelines. This last week I went to my final interview for Teach for America, and it was a great experi...