This past weekend I attended a conference at Boise State University called "Tell Me a Story." Along with topics on writing, plot structure, and what publishers don't tell you, I heard Kelly Gallagher speak about reading, common core, and testing in our schools. Kelly is the author of Readicide: How Schools Are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It. He contends that because schools spend so much time on testing and teaching to the tests, students lack strategies for deep understanding of reading, do not enjoy reading, are failing at reading and are therefore less creative thinkers.

For the most part, Kelly supports common core. From what I've seen with my children this school year, I think common core can be an avenue for deeper understanding and thinking. Testing is no longer multiple choice. Students submit short answer or essays in a text box. Our foreign exchange daughter had not seen a multiple choice test until she attended the high school here. In Switzerland her tests were all short answer or essay. I think this promotes deeper thinking and as teachers teach at a deeper level, students will be successful in learning. My children are discouraged because the teaching is different, but I think it will be better for them in the long run.  However, I do not support the increased testing. My daughter who is a junior this year was told last year that she wouldn't be testing anymore if she passed the ISAT. But because the state wants to establish a baseline for measuring growth, all juniors are taking the SBAC. The juniors are very unhappy. One student used the text box to create a map of Idaho out of capital letter "I's." They are missing a lot of class time to prepare for tests and to take tests.

I agree whole-heartedly with Kelly that students should do more recreational reading. That is one of my deep loves, reading. Students should be reading for fun. They should be reading for information. They should be reading to learn and to connect with their world. That's why I read. That means students should read books that are easy for them and books that are challenging. Kelly offers suggestions and examples for scaffolding reading in school so students can succeed with difficult novels and articles. During my oldest daughter's junior English class, she did not read one single novel all the way through. They read excerpts and watched movies. In my high school students' classes this year, the teachers read out loud which is a good way to begin, but the students need to read the book themselves. And re-read and discuss. They should not be stopped every few pages to analyze. This disrupts the reading flow, as Kelly calls it.

I do not know how to change the system. I appreciate the teachers who weave what is expected with what they know is best for students. As a parent, I will do my part by taking my children to the library, reading to them when they are young, discussing books and articles, and letting them see me read (often).

Even though we all know that death is a part of life, we long for immortality or the ability to live forever. In literature explorers search for the fountain of youth or the Holy Grail, Percy Jackson fights evil as a demi-god, and Bella will only be satisfied when she is turned into a vampire. But guess what? In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we know the real secret to immortality. In the Pearl of Great Price, a book of scripture, the Lord Jesus Christ tells Moses, "For behold, this is my work and my glory---to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). All of us who come to the earth will have immortality. We don't have to search for it or wish we could stay young forever. Every one of us will live after we die. Jesus Christ died and was resurrected and because of that we will be resurrected too. There are no conditions. If you have a body, if you lived on the earth, you will live again with your spirit and body reunited. Jesus Christ, the son of the Living God, a god Himself, laid down his life and took it up again so we could live after we die. That is the miracle of Easter. And that is one reason why I was not sad when my grandma died last week.

As I told my friends that I would be going to Utah for my Grandma Roundy's funeral, each said, "I'm sorry. That's sad." I responded that it wasn't sad because she was 90 years old and had lived a good life. I also knew that she would receive the second part of Jesus Christ's work and glory---eternal life. Eternal life is life with our Heavenly Father. My grandma was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was married in the temple to my grandpa, participated in all the saving ordinances, kept the commandments, and served faithfully throughout her life. That does not mean she was perfect or that she made no mistakes. For a long time she had no contact with a couple of her daughters. That's where the greater miracle of Easter played a part. Because of the atonement, because of forgiveness, because of the power of family, all six of my grandma's children were at the funeral. And that's where I saw the immediate immortality of my grandma---through the lives of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.  I love my family. I loved sharing memories, catching up on each other's lives, giving hugs, sharing smiles, shedding tears, and especially singing together at the funeral. I know Grandma was there with us, her heart overflowing with happiness as we came together to sing one of her favorite songs.

What causes me sadness and uncertainty is that some members of my family are no longer active in our church. They are great people whom I love and who have remarkable talents and abilities. I know my grandma wished that they would come back. In visiting with my family members, I couldn't see how our Heavenly Father can deny them eternal life or life with Him. I want all of us to be together and it sounds judgmental to say that some will and some won't. From Preach My Gospel, A Guide to Missionary Service, I read last night that "As we continue to exercise faith in Christ, repent, and renew our covenants, we enjoy continued guidance from the Holy Ghost. If we endure to the end of our lives in being true to our covenants, we will receive eternal life. A few members do not endure or remain fully active. However, enduring to the end is a personal responsibility. We 'work out [our] own salvation' (Phillippians 2:12) and we serve and love those whose faith has grown weak through inactivity" (pg. 88). This idea is connected to the post I wrote about being worthy to go to the temple. I related that the commitments we make in the temple are like being part of a lacrosse team that works hard enough and is committed enough to win games and succeed. While I don't understand how Christ will judge each of us after this life, I have faith that all will be made right.

Because of my grandma's life, my family members have bodies that are connected genetically and behaviorally. Because of her death, we came together and were reminded of our family bonds. Because of Christ's atonement and resurrection, we will each be able to see her again as immortal beings, our bodies and spirits reunited. Immortality is not a myth. It is a reality.

Jennifer Nielsen will be in Boise and Meridian next week. I love her Ascendancy Trilogy: The False Prince, The Runaway King, The Shadow Throne. Come and hear her speak at the Meridian Public Library on Thursday, April 24 at 5:30 pm. Or she will be signing books at Rediscovered Bookshop on Friday, April 25 from 4-5:30 pm.
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Or she will be speaking at "Tell Me a Story," a children's literature conference at Boise State on April 26. This is for readers, writers, librarians, and teachers. I'll be there.