Banned Books Week

If you're familiar with my Sis's blog, you're aware that this week, September 27 to October 4, is National Banned Books Week. It's no secret that I am enthusiastic about reading. Some of my favorite things about school when I was growing up were RIF (a free book to take home? Awesome!) and Book-It (free pizza just for reading some books? Sign me up!). Yes, I did read an entire social studies textbook in one sitting after coming home from the first day of school (second grade, I think). When Grandpa Farr died and the aunts and uncles were cleaning out Grandma and Grandpa's house before Grandma moved east, what was the one thing that Sis and I really wanted from their house, to remember them by? Their set of Little House on the Prairie books. When visiting their other set of grandparents in South Dakota, who has their picture in front of Ma and Pa Ingalls's house in DeSmet, and out in front of some historical marker on the Ingalls's homestead? Two little identical girls obsessed with reading books. We probably read books nonstop on the two-day drive out to South Dakota (scenic Iowa, anyone?).

Were you aware that at one time Laura Ingalls Wilder's books were criticized as "fueling the fire of racism" for their depictions of Native Americans? Attempts were actually made to ban the Little House on the Prairie books. Instead of looking at books like the Little House series and even classics like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from a historical perspective and with respect to the author's frame of reference, some people apparently feel that books should be all lightness and fluff. Those people also believe that books that may be offensive to a few should be banned for all. Those people are an affront to the work of patriots like Patrick Henry, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson who guaranteed our right to read whatever we darn well please by promising authors the freedom of speech and the press in the Bill of Rights.

I work in a middle school filled with nothing but impressionable children. Do I believe that there are books inappropriate for those students to be reading? Yes, at times. Unfortunately, the books that the students should be reading are often frowned upon, while the books that the students should not be reading go unnoticed. True story: a sixth grade student in the study skills class I interpret in had a Nora Roberts book in her possession. I have never read a Nora Roberts book, but I do know where her books are shelved at the public library and I can assume that the subject matter is not appropriate for a sixth grade student. A deaf student with whom I work was reading Mildred D. Taylor's book Mississippi Bridge and was told to return the book to the library because her mother felt that the racial subject matter was inappropriate. Mildred D. Taylor, for those of you unfamiliar with her work, is one of the best children's authors out there. Her work is culturally and historically pertinent, not to mention beautifully written and full of stories about families that aren't dysfunctional.

My point is that reading is a wonderful gift. Books are to be treasured. Realistically, I can't travel the entire world, talk to someone from every culture, inspect every plant and animal, go back in time to meet the pioneers of the American West, etc. I depend on books to gain knowledge and insights into the human experience. Banning books because of fear and hatred isn't the answer.

Check out the American Library Association's list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books from 2000 to 2007.

Widgets!

Check out my new discovery! I was on the Goodreads site when I discovered that I could use a "widget" to give a sneak peek at my Goodreads Books Read bookshelf. I'm completely un-technically savvy, so I was excited to figure out how to add the html, etc. Hooray!

No School Again!

Yesterday and today I haven't had to go to work/school because of power outages. Yesterday, the entire district cancelled school; today, my building was one of three or four buildings that was closed. It was pretty awesome to wake up Monday morning and not have to go to school. It was even better today to wake up and not have to go. Even better, I get paid on calamity days (aka "snow days"). So, I'm pretty much getting paid to sit around home, surf the 'net, and watch television (yesterday's activities). Today I actually went out and about. I had to go downtown to the administration building to get my paycheck from last Friday fixed. I get paid by paper check and the checks that the treasurer sent out last Friday had "invalid" signatures, which on my check meant that there was no signature. I'm not authorized to sign my own check, so I had to drive into the admin. building and they stamped my check so I could deposit it. Then I went to the bank, the library, and Target...all while being paid. I love it!

You know what's even better? The fact that I don't have to go to work because my building has no power but I still have electricity here at home. I probably wouldn't be as chipper about the whole power outage scenario if I myself were without power. Like Ma back home. She called me late yesterday afternoon...from her car. Apparently the power at home went out Sunday afternoon and Ma's not sure when it's coming back on. Because Mom and Dad have well water, this also means that the pump is out, so Mom doesn't have any water. Dad, fortunately, is out of town this week and doesn't have to deal with the lack of electricity. Sorry, Mom!

Mom said that she is probably going to have to throw out everything that's currently in the refrigerator and depending on how long the power is out, everything that she has downstairs in the big freezer. Thank goodness my first anniversary has come and gone, otherwise my leftover wedding cake would be a goner (unbelievably, it was still tasty after a year in deep freeze!!). Mom also said that one of the trees at home, the ash tree (she tells me, as if I seriously know which of the fifty million trees at home is the ash tree), broke in half and will have to be chopped down. The house also suffered some minor wind damage; shingles were blown off of the roof and there is some siding that has come loose. Freakiest of all the damage is that one of the big pillars out front was almost blown off of the concrete porch! Yikes!

I'm not sure if I'll have school tomorrow or not...but after two days off, I'm so prepared to stay home again. I'm also not sure if today's school closure will count towards the state's allotted five calamity days. Yesterday obviously will, but since the entire district was not closed today, just a few buildings, I'm not sure if it counts toward the total or not. I'm hoping not, just in case we're closed more this week, and in case we have a lot of snow later this year.

What? It's September already? When did that happen?

Yikes, I can't believe it's already the second of September! What happened to the months of June, July, and August? More importantly, what happened to my summer vacation? It's gone...over...done...finished...*sob*

Now, before I give any of my readers the wrong impression, I actually do enjoy my job. You readers out there only get to hear about the wonky crap that goes on...teachers who don't know when the World Wars occurred, kids who think I'm speaking Spanish, middle school mayhem, etc. But those topics are what make the best kind of stories. I don't blog about the cool stuff I get to do, like making language possible for students who otherwise would have no means of communication with the world at large, teaching sign language to parents and teachers, interpreting for soccer practice, etc. Not that that stuff isn't fun or inspiring, it's just that I prefer to turn the frustrating situations I face everyday into stories that you can enjoy.