The way things are

I've written before about how seeing Toni Morrison speak from the second row at the 2011 National Book Festival was one of the best moments of my life.

So hearing that local politicians are disputing the suitability of The Bluest Eye for eleventh graders hurts my heart. 1, 2 (Strangely, my reporter husband has ended up covering this.)

I'll be in Minneapolis for Labor Day weekend, and I plan to try to avoid this:



We have limited time on this planet. Do you really want to spend that time squinting at a tiny screen?

Back to school

Back to school! 

While all the classrooms are adorably adorned with Pinterest-inspired decor, I’m feeling bad about my minimal preparation. There are cardboard boxes everywhere, and all the cables and odds and ends which came out of the old space are still around.  I don’t have any place to put it all, frankly. The library isn’t in the best location this year. We’re in what was the shop in the vocational building, where

• the floors are cement, and my hips and knees are already feeling it.
• the walls don’t go to the ceiling, so the noise from the bookkeeper, nurse, and the front office ricochets around, which is fatiguing.
• several bookcases splintered in the move, so our remaining shelves are tight.
• when the air conditioning kicks on, the noise from the compressor is startling. I don’t think there’s much, if any insulation here, either. There is a big rolling door which is all that divides much of the space from the outside…I’m dreading winter.

The construction crew has broken ground on the new academic building. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that, this time next year, we’ll be in that glorious space. 

Things are tough all over

You may have heard about the 49% proposed cuts to the NEH. It looks like teacher PD programs at the Department of State are under the gun as well. 

I hate this for the excellent teachers these programs have supported. I can't help but see it as more de-professionialization of education.