Where Was I?
I just noticed that I didn't post yesterday. I have no idea why, or what else I might have been doing. Huh.
I stopped at Whole Foods before to get some chicken, and I also got something called "Yucca Fries." I looked it up when I got home; it said that although the yucca plant is sometimes eaten (parts of it, anyway), usually, when you see yucca as food, it's really yuca, which is what tapioca comes from. So I ate it. It was really good. Medical report to follow.
I am not actually reading tonight (although I put a new book title down there), but earlier today I finished this teen science-fiction/dystopia book that I started reading while I was on hall duty Monday: Unwind, by Neal Shusterman. The premise is that in the future, following a war between the Life Army and the Choice Brigade, a compromise is reached and passed into law: human life begins at conception and there are no abortions. However, when a child reaches 13, his parents may choose to have him "unwound"; that is, they make a choice and their child is taken away to lead a "divided" life, in which all of his parts -- organs, everything -- are used as replacement parts for other people. Kind of like a retroactive abortion, but technically still alive, just split up into parts scattered around the world. When the kid reaches 18, he's safe. An interesting and thought-provoking book.
Yesterday's news was that K went to the school where she'll be student teaching and everything looked good, the teacher she'll be working with seemed terrific to her. Good news, since that tends to be a kind of make-or-break thing. The kid's taking her "Methods of Teaching" class this semester, which is the biggie, and it seems to be getting really excited about going out and doing it. Nice to see for an old veteran like me.
Funny, we do discuss various aspects of teaching, lesson planning, philosophies involved, and so on, and I sometimes think that she's a little surprised that I know what I know. It's that old prejudice that school librarians aren't really teachers, and she should know better and probably does, but when I discuss pros and cons of certain very specific techniques with her, it's as if she didn't think I would know that because I'm not a classroom teacher. It's like being Rodney Dangerfield, y'know: I don't get no respect. I think when I retire, I'll just tell people that I was a librarian, and not a school librarian, and maybe then they'll know what I do. Did.
Anyway. I'm all full of chicken and yucca fries, and I have to go wash out my little lunchbox for tomorrow.
WATCHING FAMILY GUY :: ENTRY #1862
READING: Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! by Fannie Flagg
Whoa, that does sound like an interesting book. Kind of scary, though... Who would choose to unwind their kid at age 13, though? And isn't that a terrible age to make that kind of decision? I am sure my parents would have chosen to unwind me; I was pretty annoying at 13.
ReplyDeleteI got your gift today!! I haven't opened it in full; I was going to let Gracie tear open the wrapping paper. But I did want to let you know that I did indeed receive it safely. More on it to come!! THANK YOU!!
In our local school system, a librarian/media specialist is a level above teacher. When I volunteered to work with one of them in the elementary school, she knew less than I did. (She did appreciate the way I catalogued books and produced catalog cards.) She did not get a whole lot of respect from the kids or the other teachers (who were dumber than dirt).
ReplyDeleteEventually someone decided they couldn't afford a L/MS, and she went back to her other specialty, teaching Spanish. Who ran the library? A teaching aide. Of course, I couldn't apply for the job because my husband was working; I think it was paid under a government fund.
My guardian angel has saved me from lending libraries ever since.