….or not done, as the case may be. I was in a pretty big reading slump over the last few weeks, not completing any books as it seemed that I couldn’t get into them at all. I’d requested a few from our library through Inter-Library Loan, and holy crap, it seems to take forever. Two of my three requests were denied, and the one I got was written in such a distracting style that it took me 4 days to get through the first chapter, so I ended up returning it.
I also attended a professional development activity that ran for three days out of town, which I thoroughly enjoyed, revolving around state-mandated testing, where we as teams were able to recommend score levels for proficiency ratings. Go Team ELA 6th Grade! The process gave me new insights into using data in the classroom and thinking critically about skill-building.
A few days ago, my wife brought me home some YA reads: The Cure for Dreaming by Cat Winters and The Program by Suzanne Young. I read The Program in two sittings over the course of yesterday and really enjoyed it, though the lack of diversity was glaring. GLARING. No mentions of any people of color, LGBTQ+ culture, etc, not even negative stereotyping, as if erased completely from the narrative of life. I did feel, however, that it took a good look at depression, though again a major criticism is that it could have been much deeper by examining the fact that LGBT youth are much more likely to attempt suicide, or that youth of color face on-going harassment and discrimination that can lead to serious mental health issues including internalized racism. I understand that it’s a dystopian future novel, but are there no Hispanic or Asian or African-American or queer or lesbian or gay youth left in Portland? Just wondering. Feel free to leave thoughts or feedback in the comments if you’ve read this book (or if you haven’t!)
But I’m glad for one thing: it’s jumpstarted me back into the reading world.
Though I haven’t posted any reviews for awhile, I did have the chance to read Mr. Fox by Helen Oyeyemi, and of course, I loved it :).
School begins soon, so I may continue to be a bit absent from blogging as I need to spend some significant time planning out my first semester units. I totally revised the freshman curriculum to include more diversity, and I’m super excited, but really nervous, too, considering that most of the town where I teach is super-conservative Christian, and I’m teaching I Am Malala before Christmas. We’ll see how well that goes over, but I stand by my choices.
And finally, I have not played any Pokemon Go. First, it’s hot as blazes here in Missouri. Second, I never was really into Pokemon even though the vast majority of my friends in high school were. Third, my phone doesn’t have the space. Fourth, I would rather watch movies. Lol. But as long as people don’t keep running into traffic, I’m cool with the movement (like it needed my support, right?)
Anyway, enjoy the rest of your day, and if you’ve ALSO been in a reading slump or have any ideas on better ways to find free books other than Inter-Library Loans, please please please comment. :). Peace out.
Good luck with the back to school preparation. I grew up in Iowa, though I now live in Georgia. I’m excited to see someone try to include more diversity in a Midwest classroom. I am Malala has been popular here in the Atlanta area.
I work in a public library and I’m not sure what to tell you about ILL books. I know we don’t fill requests for books that are new and relatively easy to purchase. And of course free books and used bookstores never have the titles I’m looking for . . . because the library doesn’t have them either.
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I know you said you were excited to read my Anne of Green Gables review, so perhaps you should re-read it! Also, good for you for including my diversity in your curriculum. I know it’s hard. I teach The Autobiography of Malcolm X at a Catholic college, and while I don’t hear anything from the faculty, there are always many students who complain that a man totally unlike them is the focus of their studies.
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ILL do take a long time, but that’s because they have to be shipped and processed from other libraries that are sometimes far away. I love, love, love ILL, though, because it gives me access to some out of print books that I wouldn’t be able to find otherwise. So! Do not give up on ILL is my advice!
If you have an ereader and a friend whose library has a more robust ebooks collection, you might consider an, ahem, arrangement.
Good luck with lesson planning. I just moved so am buckling down on that these next two weeks. School starts soon! I’m not ready!
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I admire teachers so much! It’s understandable that you won’t be able to blog as much as you want to, but please keep doing all the wonderful work you do.
Honestly, you aren’t missing out much with Pokemon. I’m a huge fan and the game is still missing too many features to be worth your time. I did enjoy it and play it occasionally, but it has much room to grow. Instead of playing PokemonGo, I have also been watching more movies and reading haha! I think that’s time better spent.
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