Making Slides and Trying New Things

It is always amazing what 8-year-olds can do!

They are resilient, smart, and perceptive in a way that, quite frankly, adults rarely are. 

On Thursday I went to PES and talked with a third grade class. Ms. Barton has been leading her students in a Genius Hour all year long.  After coming up with their topics an doing research, they wrote reports and were ready to share there findings. At that point, i got to jump into the fun and teach the scholars how to use Google Slides. 

But before we ever got to that, I asked them about their topics. 
Cheetahs!
Minecraft!
LEGOs!
Road Runners!
Dirt Bikes!
Micro Chips!
Call of Duty!

They talked about their topics with such enthusiasm and pride, the knowledge radiated from them. 

Then we set to work. We talked about Google Drive, how to find it, and how to find your files. 
We talked about how to make a new file, how to create a Slide file, and how to rename it. We discussed the importance of naming all files (who wants 25 untitled documents??). 

They got to choose a theme, and had such fun. It was great to see the creativity.  Out of the class of 25, very few had the same theme. 

They made a title (their name) and subtitle (something interesting about themselves).  It was great to see their confidence and personality come out as they named themselves with pride, enthusiasm , and self-respect. 

Then we got to the meat of the project. 

Adding slides.
Changing fonts.
Changing font colors.
Changing font sizes.
Making bulleted lists. 

Four students even presented them to the class, and we talked about what we liked best about the slides, celebrating each student with a chorus of snaps. 

And these kids are 8.  

Eight years old and tackling new technology, researching complicated topics and asking difficult questions. Learning, adapting, changing.  Entering into new technology not with fear but with excitement of the new possibilities ahead of them.

This is why it is so important to get tech into their hands, show them how to use it, then let them run wild.  

Guest Blogger Miranda Wetzell

Four Fun Facts about Miranda Wetzell  

Miranda Wetzell and To Kill a Mockingbird

What is your favorite book?

1. My favorite book of all time is To Kill a Mockingbird.  I realize that is a very English teacher-y thing to say, but it's true.  The story line is one that transcends time and is something relatable in some way to every generation.  My non-teacher-y favorite read is anything by James Patterson.  I love the fast paced story lines, and as a busy mom, the short chapters make me feel like I accomplished something. 

What is your favorite way to read: digital, print, or audio?

2. I am someone who needs a physical book in my hand.  There's something to be said for turning a page or getting to close a book once you're done reading it.  I liken it to this: our current generation will never know what it is like to hang up on someone and have the person on the other end of the line KNOW you're angry by the way you hang up. That old fashioned slamming of the receiver was a catharsis.   Likewise, there's something satisfying about slamming a book shut when you are unhappy about the outcome or gently closing a book and sighing when all is right in the literary world.  Angrily jamming one's finger to close an e-book just doesn't have the same effect. 

For your fun reading, do you typically read fiction or nonfiction?

3. I have read so much non-fiction for classes and my job, that I enjoy unwinding with a good fiction read.  However, I'm a sucker for Elizabethan history, so I read a great deal of non-fiction regarding that topic. The Tudors make for some page turning reading. 

Who is your favorite character from a book? 

4. With TKaM being my favorite book, Scout and Atticus Finch come to mind.  Scout is so innocent, yet she is insightful beyond her years...Atticus (TKaM version, NOT Watchman style) is so fair-minded and willing to do what is right no matter what the cost.  That innocence that is so lost at a younger and younger age these days is something that is captured perfectly in TKaM.  The desire to do what is right is something I think a lot of people still possess but are too afraid to act on.  

I also love Wonder Woman.  I'm currently reading The Secret History of Wonder Woman and she is just a fascinating character.  She paved the way for a lot of strong women heroines. 

I ♥ YA Books

When Harry Potter first became wildly popular, around 1999 with the Prisoner of Azkaban, I had just graduated from college and spent some time working in a bookstore and clerking in a public library.  At that time, I remember reading an article about the fact that the publisher was printing two different versions of the paperbacks: one for kids, and one with a plain cover for adults. I found it odd that there was enough money to be had in such an enterprise, but there definitely was.  

The root of such a situation? The belief that people should be embarrassed to read YA (young adult) fiction. Why?

YA is too easy
YA is too soft
YA is childish
YA is not real reading. 

I am here to tell you that all of these are wrong. 

First, I firmly believe that there is a book for every reader, and what anyone reads is none of my business.  

I do not care about your "reading level".
I do not care about what is considered "good literature".
I do not care about what issues are covered in the books you are reading.  
All of that is none of my business. 

Second, when we look at the "best" that that YA has to offer, these are books that tackle issues with a level of honesty and passion that is often missing from non-YA.  

• Long before people were willing to be open and honest on issues of gender, adolescence, and the issues facing young girls, Judy Blume was unflinching in her approach in Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. 

• Mildred Taylor's Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry dealt with issues of race, segregation, institutional racism, fear, and family in a way that made these very real issues accessible to young people.  I still remember when I read this book in school, vividly imagining the young kids being run off the road by the bus and the visceral anger I felt at the situation that seemed so huge and completely unfair.

And this list could go on endlessly: 

• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: fear, doubt, faith, loyalty and forgiveness
• Anne of Green Gables: Family, adoption, loss, bullying, education, self-empowerment, gender
• Lord of the Flies: Power, government, control, standing up for yourself, standing up for what's right, powerlessness, shame, isolation

That doesn't even begin to discuss the treatment of underrepresented and marginalized populations.

• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is an unflinching look at the lives and issues of Native Americans and the consequences of the reservation system. (As a side note: this is one of the books people most frequently want banned, but that is another day's blog.)

• Gene Luen Yang's American Born Chinese deals with growing up Chinese-American in San Francisco, tackling issues of identity for the children of immigrants. 

• Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan follows the life of a young Mexican farm worker during the Great Depression.  Set in California, this book deals with issues of personal identity, national identity, poverty, humanity, and cultural respect. 

• Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower deals with LGBT issues with honesty, humor, and boldness.  It is one of a growing number of LGBT YA that finally begins representing a traditionally overlooked group. 

So, lets say that it mattered what issues are being dealt with or what tough topics are analysed, YA books make the grade.  They deal with everything.  YA lit talks about issues that much of non-YA lit tries to avoid or gloss over.  

Plus, YA books are fun! They are funny and irreverent; they can be sarcastic or witty.  They can also break your heart. But they can also bind it back together again. 

I  ♥ YA Books. 

Choosing What to Read

The most common questions people ask me are what am I reading and how do I pick what I read.  It is always a difficult decision because my "To Be Read" (TBR) list is longer than a lifetime could accommodate. How, then, does someone choose what to read? 

For me there are a few ground rules.

1. My free time is just that, my free time. When it comes to my reading for enjoyment I jealously guard that time.

2. I typically read only fiction.  My life is nonfiction enough. When it comes to reading for fun, I almost always pick fiction. 

3.  3 chapters. That's how long I give a book to grab me. I don't waste my time on books I don't enjoy; if, by the end of chapter 3 I am not into it, I set it aside with no guilt.

That being said, I typically choose books from a variety of sources. Some are the usuals:

• Books that my students or children love
• Books that lots of students are requesting
• Books by authors I love

I also greatly respect some award lists. Not all, but some. These include the following:

• The Longlist for the Man Booker Prize
• The Longlist for the National Book Award for Fiction
• The Longlist for the National Book Award for YA
• The Newberry winners and finalists
• The Printz Awards
• The Pulitzer for Fiction

(Caveat: any list brings its own hit-and-miss nature.  All the Light We Cannot See was the most beautiful book I have read in a long time and won the Pulitzer, among other awards. Just the year before, that same award went to The Goldfinch, which was tedious, pompous, and preachy.)  

As a show of solidarity, and because I am passionate about intellectual freedom, I try to stay on top of any books that are currently in the news because of challenges but also to check out the following:

• The ALA Frequently Challenged Books list

There is also the factor of serendipity.  I was recently looking for The Chimes by Anna Small. I was looking on Overdrive and it instead brought me Chime  by Franny Billingsly; it looked interesting so I read it and was pleased I had done so.

All of that being said, I sift through all of these lists and recommendations. I know that there are some issues I just can't really stomach.  I know my limitations, and I respect them. I read, and honestly loved, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, but it was a challenge, with the graphic violence against women. 

Sometimes, I read things that push my limits because I think that at times my heart needs to be broken. I read The Kite Runner when it first came out, and I had to repeatedly stop because it was hard to see through the tears.  Then again, I own Behind the Beautiful Forevers, but haven't yet read it because I am not sure I can handle it. One day, perhaps. I think there is some give in any of these decisions.  Wanting to know about an issue, but needing to respect my own boundaries. 

The Lifesaving Power of Poetry

Poetry is powerful. It can reach every person and express something in a way that prose never can.  One of my favorite contemporary poets is Shane Koyczan.  He touches on a lot of issues facing students today, things like bullying, internet trolls, the powerlessness felt by young people, relationships, and the afterlife. 

With the start of school, he released a poem that profoundly touches on the difficulties many students struggle with at school. It brings a beautiful message of hope. 

I hope that all students find the library to be a safe space. 

I want them to know that I am an ally.  

I deeply believe that books, words, stories, poems, these things can change lives. 

Save lives.  

"To The Kid Dreading The First Day Back To School"
By Shane Koyczan

Each day will be a test

answer the true or false questions
with essays

there will be no easy explanations

you will believe
no one can understand
how much of everything it takes
to keep coming back to this place

to hear lockers slamming shut
like a bouquet of accidents
laid upon the headstone
they keep carving for you

you will believe
that no one could ever fathom
how much your anxiety weighs
or
how each breath
is crushed out of you
or
how violent an act it is
to simply be who you are

you will believe you are alone

believe me
when I tell you

there are others
who will understand
what it costs
to raise your hand
when they take attendance

others who will know
that your voice
had to erupt from your throat
like a squall
just to confirm
that you
are

"Here."

Book review: I Am the Weapon

From the very first page, you know something is different about the narrator.  A teen boy by all appearances, but something in the way he speaks and the things he does tells you that he is more than just an average teen boy. 

Allen Zadoff's book I am the Weapon is an Abe Lincoln Reader for 2016, as well as being the first in the Unknown Assassin series.  It is 353 pages long, but moves at such a quick pace it hardly seems that long. 

The story is detailed and complicated. It has elements of mystery, suspense, romance, and international intrigue.  There is a lot of violence in it, but it felt more like The Hunger Games than The Walking Dead.  The violence is specific, planned, and serves a purpose. In fact, it reminded me very much of Mission Impossible.  

One aspect I really appreciated was that it is a teen boy in a high school and brings along with it all of the high school experience, good, bad, and ugly.  There are difficulties with friends, finding out who you are, testing boundaries, discovering what matters. There is a strong element of questioning authority--parents, the school, the government-- that I thought fit perfectly not only to the book but also today's real world experience.

There was also an element of international intrigue that I though was handled well.  I was initially afraid that it might be problematic in terms of stereotypes and well-worn tropes, but at the risk of being spoilery, I was pleasantly surprised with the treatment. 

I really enjoyed I Am the Weapon,  and I think it is a good fit for readers who appreciate intelligent, action-packed plot lines that not only entertain but also make you think.  

Student Space = Discovering Amazing Talent!

One thing I firmly believe is that a high school library is a space for the students.  It is their space.  As such, it should be comfortable for them, inviting, and something that meets their needs.  I really want their say in the decor and the general look of the library. So when it came time to put up the graphic novel/Manga section, I wanted a student to be involved in the signage. And boy, howdy!  

I asked the art teacher to recommend a student who might enjoy the project, and she sent someone to the media center. We talked about the space, the size constraints and my generally non crafty idea for signage. He came back a few days later with some ideas to run by me, and I assured him that I trusted his artistic vision.  He worked in his own time, using his study hall and free time to make the sign.  And it absolutely blew me away.  

The beauty.
The detail. 
The skill. 

It was beyond anything I could have imagined or dreamed up.  So, here is the work by Israel Buyno.  His work really brings out the beauty of what graphic novels can be and how they can appeal visually as well as through words.