Tag: school

February 4, 2020

Start Off Black History Month With a Book From the Rolling Thunder Book Bus!

Black History Month is here! Starting the month off on a good foot (or tire) is a book bus offering lots of books to a school in Oklahoma. The Rolling Thunder Book Bus is offering tons of new books donning the faces of several important figures in black history such as Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King Jr., Booker T. Washington, Harriet Tubman, W.E.B. DuBois, and many more.

image via nba

Many second graders in the school waited patiently as NBA player Dennis Schröder was on the book bus helping students pick two books each. You can check out quotes from the students and Schröder himself here.

One child asked if Schröder had any Michael Jordan Books, which prompted him to find the book for the student aboard the bus. Schröder stated, “Just to be with kids, it makes me happy.” A second-grade teacher, Berna Johnson, emulated civil rights hero Rosa Parks as she conducted students on and off the bus. Students were referring to her as Ms. Parks the entire day.

image via nba

Having Dennis Schröder on the bus distributing books could serve as an example to the students to love reading. Berna Johnson said, “It will sure help the teachers because we can always say ‘you know, Dennis Schröder was on the bus, he loves to read.’ That’s all it takes.” Having a sportsman promote reading reminds children that it doesn’t have to be one or the other.

If you’d like to read books from important black history figures, the links for them are at the top!

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December 9, 2019

The Marginalia Controversy

What a topic. People will get MAD about this, but they’re all wrong. Only I’m right, so listen to me. Don’t tell me where you land. People I very nearly respect believe in writing in books. But let’s actually talk about this, book lover to book lover.

Marginalia used to mean really crazy drawings around hand illuminated passages from really crazy books. And all those snails. Look it up, what weird stuff.

Image via Twitter

Me either, medieval knight. These days, margin notes are mostly something students do to try and avoid losing their minds. And maybe pass some tests/write some essays. I know very few people who DON’T write in their books. Some of them underline on the subway. It’s horrifying to see. The lines are so inconsistent. Half of the quote is always crossed out. It’s a horror movie. I don’t have photos. I try not to even look. But here’s an example of some notes that are still better.

Image via Columbia University Libraries Blog

At least these are color coded, though that one crossed out quote makes my blood run cold. It’s a mess. different sizes of notes, undecipherable handwriting, a ton of stuff is covered, but does that mean margin notes are bad? Yes! They’re always bad! Listen. Past me didn’t know anything. And past you didn’t either! If I don’t like the book I’ll give it away, and that’s just rude. If I do like it, why would I want it written on forever? When I read that book, if it was for school, I definitely hadn’t slept. The writing probably IS messy. I probably DID write it on the subway. Also, most of my notes probably aren’t interesting, aren’t smart, and don’t make any sense.

Image via Entropy

An actual photo of my hypothetical margin notes. I joke! Who would just use red? But my point is, I would want to throw this away the SECOND I finished the essay. And you should never throw away books. Recycle them! I’m joking. Please don’t do that either. But if I take notes on another page, or on a post-it? They’re GONE. I never, ever have to see what I thought about Hamlet when I was a freshman.

Image via Research Teacher

I’ve been talking about margin notes you can never get rid of, in pen, but pencil is SO much worse. It’s worse! It’s messier, it’ll smudge like crazy, they can’t be color coded, and are they really erasable? Consider it. Maybe you’ve got a good eraser, and you’re going to be careful, but you’ll have swathes of fuzzy, muted text, with the inscrutable indents where the writing used to be. It’s time consuming and ridiculous, and it makes me angry.

Image via Colleen’s Blog

Notes should always be on tabs. Always! There are so many benefits. How do you know where your margin notes are? How do you know? Just flip through every single page until you see something smart? If you write on a sticker, you can leave it poking out. Want to pull a quote? Just check all the tabs you left above good pull quotes. You’re organized. You’re in and out. Color code. Live your best life. Just don’t write in books.

Image via Books Are Friends, Not Food

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Featured image via Let’s Do

September 30, 2019

5 Uncursed Howl’s Moving Castle Memes

This is the point where I confess that Howl’s Moving Castle is my favorite Miyazaki movie by far. They’re all good! But I connect with Sophie on a deeper level. If you’ve yet to read the book, get ready to have the experience of the movie turned up to eleven. Sure, it’s not as soft or as serious, but believe me when I say you will not miss it. Obviously the movie is iconic, but the book characters are on a whole other level. Thanks for coming to my ted talk. Here are some memes.

That’s Growth

Image via Pinterest

Who doesn’t want to be very very old? Sure, hypothetically the curse is a punishment, but Sophie clearly finds it as liberating as I would. Meek little Sophie Hatter starts breaking into magic houses and bullying demons. Talk about a glow up. In the book, Howl tries to lift Sophie’s curse, but her own magic keeps it in place. It really goes to show they’re a good match. She’s ridiculously stubborn and he’s just ridiculous. Still, we stan, and I think we can all relate.

It’s What he Does

Image via DeviantArt

This might be the hottest take I’ve ever seen. Of course he bites her hair. It looks like stardust! And what does Howl do to stars? Eats them. You’d think he’d learn his lesson. Unless you’ve seen the movie, read the book, or heard about literally any of his choices. Learn his lesson? This is a man who literally will not stop ghosting immensely powerful witches and then running away. The mistakes are endless. She looks surprised here, but I don’t think anything can surprise Sophie anymore.

It’s a Different Vibe

Image via WhiteSmilingBeauty

I’m not going to get all ‘the book was better’ on you because I absolutely adore both, but book Sophie is an honest to god force of nature. When she gets mad she kills an entire garden. It’s sort of the spiritual opposite of Howl’s slime meltdown, I guess, because it’s productive, but still absolutely ridiculous. Just talk about your feelings instead of throwing dramatic magic everywhere! You guys are too powerful to be this messy.

Metamorphosis

Image via Pinterest

Sure, education is important, but at what cost? What is it about just going to class that ages me fifty years? I can’t be alone. Maybe it’s the fluorescents, maybe it’s learning, maybe it’s the fact that I’m too lazy to wear my glasses at home, but there’s a sharp contrast. I don’t even need a witch to curse me. Just tell me I have sixty pages to read in two days and I wither like the witch of the waste trying to climb the stairs. Stay strong, and don’t use school mirrors.

Slime Icon

Image via Rebloggy

True story, every day for about a month I walked past a closed popup, but it’s banner was still outside and described it as ‘a slime experience’. Who would want that? Howl, apparently. I’ve had some hair dye gone wrong, and I’ve been dumped, but never have I flooded my entire living room and half of Porthaven. He just hired Sophie, she just got everything clean, and now he pulls this? Still, it’s one of the most memorable scenes, and characterizes Howl pretty powerfully without any explanation needed.

Featured image via Ameno Apps

August 19, 2019

LGBTQ Books Are Being Censored and Authors Are Fighting Back

According to Entertainment Weekly Middle Schools across the country are resisting teaching LGBTQ material in the classroom. One incident occurred with an author called Jen-Petro Roy, who had booked a trip to Texas in order to talk with students about her book, P.S. I Miss You.

Image Via Goodreads

The novel follows an eleven year old girl who begins questioning her faith and sexuality, discovering she may not be straight and what that means for her identity. But, out of the blue, the school cancelled the scheduled visit.

According to Roy, the school had decided that by featuring her work, they’d be promoting an LGBT ‘agenda’ and she didn’t end up going to Texas after all. This is only the latest in a long string of controversies in children’s literature. Despite children’s books pushing forward with progressive attitudes, many LGBTQ voices are being silenced.

Image via Entertainment Weekly

Authors all over the country have noted they are suffering from being banned from even discuss LGBTQ material and many feel like they’re being gaslit. Schools often give excuses for teachers writing this material to not appear, making excuses that include scheduling conflicts or students study time. She describes this practice as ‘soft censorship’ and notes its really quite troubling, essentially enacting a ban on what literature young people are exposed to. She discovered parents had become upset at her for featuring pride flags on social media and they complained to the school, which likely helped make the decision.

Image Via Amazon

The author further noted that bans might get more attention for the schools, making it extra motivation to allow them to get media attention they wouldn’t otherwise receive. Anonymous employees for schools revealed they had pulled books they did not ‘line up’ with school values, with nearly one third being tossed out or banned. For example: Renegades was banned because the main character has two dads.

The authors noted that kids are suffering the most for this and that this banning of content will ultimately hurt kids in the future. What do you think of these schools and their policies? Tell us in the comments.

Featured Image Via Barnes And Noble

July 24, 2019

This Bookmobile Encourages Reading by Bringing the Party to You!

Twice a summer for the past ten years, the bookmobile has partnered with Ballenger Creek Elementary School to encourage reading for children in Frederick County, Ohio.

Image Via Bookmobile | Washington County Free Library

Brought to people around Frederick County, the ‘bookmobile’ has been around since 1965. Eight vehicles have held the title of ‘bookmobile’. There are two on the road today, and boy, do they get around!

A single bookmobile can carry about “11,300 items, roughly half that of a small library branch“.

The idea of a library on wheels might seem old-fashioned, but they’ve been around for fifty years, bringing books to adults and children around the County. Considering the operating costs is about $185,165 or 1.4% of the county libraries budget, it seems like they have been well worth it.

Ten years ago Sally Marin, an English Language instructor at Ballenger Creek, noticed a problem in her school.

A lot of our EL families have never been to the library, and they maybe don’t have library cards or don’t understand how the whole thing works.

Image Via Frederick News-Post

Hoping the bridge the gap, Marin launched the partnership whit bookmobile. Given that the public library is closed during the summer, this program has helped kids continue reading during the summer break.

If kids read four or five books over the summer, they can maintain the reading gains that they made that school year…It’s just like an athletic skill. You can’t expect that you’re going to maintain a certain skill level in any sport if you don’t practice. The same is true for reading

Now it’s summer the bookmobile comes along to offer its services while hosting an ice cream party!

Adults inside the Boomobile — Image Via Frederick News-Post

Books can be checked out, returned, and put on hold and people can sign up for library cards right on board. Who would want to get their first library card from this amazing station?

Plus, with about 3,000 items inside, ranging from books to DVDs to magazines, there are many options to keep children engages while they eat their ice cream and Popsicle during the hot summer days.

Looks like this van is going to get children on the road to reading!

Featured Image Via Bookmobile | Washington County Free Library