I think changing Halloween celebrations in schools to Harvest parties is stupid. There. I said it. It infuriates me that some closed minded dorks can't cope with the idea of Halloween. Oh, I think if little Johnny in 1st grade came home and told his mom that at the school Halloween party they sacrificed a live virgin, held a seance to contact a dead principal and drank the blood of a goat, I might raise my eyebrows--- and realize this had nothing to do with Halloween. But kids in ghost costumes are forbidden? No skull decorations because they're the sign of the devil? Plu-eeze!
What got me thinking about this is I'm decorating the school library for Halloween. Now, I work at facility for youth where they've been court ordered. We're just one step away from prison/ jail. We are also a very CHRISTIAN facility. I work in the PUBLIC school library. I have to consider I'm in a public school that's strictly for highly at risk youth in a Christian setting. Oh yeah, don't I just fit so well there?
Anyway! I'm trying to decorate and someone mentioned that I couldn't have Halloween decorations because it's "not Christian." I seriously bit my tongue and summoned all my will power to keep my mouth shut. And I wished I could've channeled Lilith!
Normally when faced with a comment like that, the first thing I want to do is buck the system. Of course. I know, I'm officially 40 years old and I still want to rebel at the first sign of being pushed- you'd think I'd outgrow it but still to no avail. And normally I think it's far easier to ask for, or even beg for, forgiveness rather than to ask for permission. But since I had already pissed off people about Banned Book Week (this will be an upcoming post!), I just thought, "Screw it" and I asked my principal.
And he didn't care if I decorated for Halloween, he didn't care what sort of decorations as long as they weren't "gross" and were "tasteful", and he didn't care if I called it Halloween. He asked me to not use skulls because that's a campus wide rule. So, HA!
I've been making Halloween happen. I have jack-o-lantern window clings, and spider webs, with spider rings. I have a bulletin board dedicated to our authors of the month: Edgar Allen Poe and Stephen King. I have a pumpkin full of candy. We have a scarecrow and tombstones. I'm working on table top lanterns with battery operated candles. We have a Raven, a'la Poe. I'm even planning a Poe presentation and a little bit of information about All Hallow's Eve.
So I'm gonna Halloween it up! And I plan on going in costume on the appropriate day! I thought about wearing a costume a day, or least a variety of masks and hats daily but I think I'll wait and do that the week before and on the Big Day. I think I'm even going to see if I can host a Halloween Library Party on Oct. 31.
Any chance to eat candy, wear a tiara in public, and rebel against Big Brother!
Nothing mild mannered about this librarian,
Maggie
Showing posts with label librarian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label librarian. Show all posts
Monday, October 3, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
The run around
This is stupid but it's driving me crazy.
We have a program, that we pay for, through Scholastic called Reading Counts (RC). The very basics are that Scholastic gives books a reading level and a point value. Kids take a 10 question multiple choice quiz on a computer over a book. If they pass, the get points. If they fail, they get nothing. Teachers can use this tool however they want. It's a K-12 program. There are some more ins and outs but this is the general gist.
Here at my school, our English teachers tell students they get extra credit for reading books and passing the quizzes. Our library does some incentives, too, which is awesome for the kids. (One milestone is 500 point- an off campus pizza party for the student, a staff member and a friend!)
To keep current on the quizzes, schools have two options: 1) subscribe to the Scholastic online service that automatically uploads the updates as available; or, 2) receive in a CD in the mail and manually load the quizzes into a school's local quiz bank.
Because of costs and our school's situation in our school system, we have the "CD in the mail" option. Since I started this job, we've not received any CD's.
I will say it was the middle of February before I figured this out. So I started making calls to some people here in our buildings to see if the CDs we delivered to somewhere else on campus; they would have the old librarian's name so I thought someone might have taken it upon themselves to deliver CD-ROMs to any of the IT departments. No. They also didn't go to our administrators nor were they sent back to the company- another thought I had since there was a name change in librarians.
I called Scholastic and left a voice mail with our rep. Four days later I've heard nothing so I try again. Still nothing that week.
I call Scholastic and get bounced to four different people before I get sent to Customer Service. The operator tells me we have the online service. I tell her we do not. She says it must be a mistake and says she'll send the discs out and I should receive them in 5-7 business days. Now, remember, I'm wanting the updates for January thru March.
On the 7th business day I get a message from a nameless rep at Scholastic that says we belong to the online service and to call their 800 number for help if I need it.
WE DO NOT BELONG TO THE ONLINE SERVICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I call and actually get MY school's rep on the phone. I explain to her. She says the computer says.... you guessed it, we belong to the online service. I tell her okay fine and ask her to walk me through it. We start the process and Lo and behold I can't get online to the information because I don't have an online account.
After many clicks and being put on hold at her end, she comes back and tells me to start doing title searches of new books that were added to the online quiz bank in the last 3 months. She gives me about 10 titles and I have access to none of those quizzes.
Her answer is that she needs to "further investigate" to see what's wrong. She's supposed to call me back tomorrow.
I don't think she needs to investigate. Someone just needs to mail me the damn discs. As I told her, I have 2 years worth of CDs in a box so I have no idea what the damn problem is now.
Impressed I am not,
Maggie
We have a program, that we pay for, through Scholastic called Reading Counts (RC). The very basics are that Scholastic gives books a reading level and a point value. Kids take a 10 question multiple choice quiz on a computer over a book. If they pass, the get points. If they fail, they get nothing. Teachers can use this tool however they want. It's a K-12 program. There are some more ins and outs but this is the general gist.
Here at my school, our English teachers tell students they get extra credit for reading books and passing the quizzes. Our library does some incentives, too, which is awesome for the kids. (One milestone is 500 point- an off campus pizza party for the student, a staff member and a friend!)
To keep current on the quizzes, schools have two options: 1) subscribe to the Scholastic online service that automatically uploads the updates as available; or, 2) receive in a CD in the mail and manually load the quizzes into a school's local quiz bank.
Because of costs and our school's situation in our school system, we have the "CD in the mail" option. Since I started this job, we've not received any CD's.
I will say it was the middle of February before I figured this out. So I started making calls to some people here in our buildings to see if the CDs we delivered to somewhere else on campus; they would have the old librarian's name so I thought someone might have taken it upon themselves to deliver CD-ROMs to any of the IT departments. No. They also didn't go to our administrators nor were they sent back to the company- another thought I had since there was a name change in librarians.
I called Scholastic and left a voice mail with our rep. Four days later I've heard nothing so I try again. Still nothing that week.
I call Scholastic and get bounced to four different people before I get sent to Customer Service. The operator tells me we have the online service. I tell her we do not. She says it must be a mistake and says she'll send the discs out and I should receive them in 5-7 business days. Now, remember, I'm wanting the updates for January thru March.
On the 7th business day I get a message from a nameless rep at Scholastic that says we belong to the online service and to call their 800 number for help if I need it.
WE DO NOT BELONG TO THE ONLINE SERVICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I call and actually get MY school's rep on the phone. I explain to her. She says the computer says.... you guessed it, we belong to the online service. I tell her okay fine and ask her to walk me through it. We start the process and Lo and behold I can't get online to the information because I don't have an online account.
After many clicks and being put on hold at her end, she comes back and tells me to start doing title searches of new books that were added to the online quiz bank in the last 3 months. She gives me about 10 titles and I have access to none of those quizzes.
Her answer is that she needs to "further investigate" to see what's wrong. She's supposed to call me back tomorrow.
I don't think she needs to investigate. Someone just needs to mail me the damn discs. As I told her, I have 2 years worth of CDs in a box so I have no idea what the damn problem is now.
Impressed I am not,
Maggie
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Be careful what you wish for
I've really wanted a work study student in the library. We have a few spots on campus where students can work and after I begged and pleaded, the library was added to the list. I was given a student. She's supposed to work for me three periods a day.
This is where the title comes into play. I should've be careful what I wish for. Or maybe I should be much more specific in what I wish for.
See, I wanted someone who could put books away, straighten shelves, cover books, help with inventory, put the shelves in alphabetical/ Dewey order, make bulletin boards, and do some desk top publishing to promote library activities. This was my dream person.
What I got was a girl who is special education and very low functioning. One reason she's at our facility is that she couldn't function in a regular school setting, and her parents don't want her. While this is a heart breaking story, and it is, this is the person they assigned to WORK IN THE LIBRARY. This is not a good fit.
She worked with me for a week. She is a very sweet child. I don't think she would harm a fly. She is certainly not a troublemaker. But she is very, very slow. And she doesn't really read very well. She can't do complex tasks. I saw this was not going to work well but I tried. At the end of the week when the Work study director and I met with her, we asked what the most difficult task was she was given. She said that straightening shelves. people, straightening the shelves is the easiest thing I have to do in the library!
No one knew how low functioning she was when she came to our school so no one can really be blamed. The problem is we have nowhere else to put her. Most of the work study jobs are independent and I think she would be better as part of a team, where she would have other people to keep her on task, keep her motivated and for her to follow what they do.
I like her and I feel bad that after a week and a half, it isn't working. I just can't afford to stand next to her to show her the steps over and over again. This isn't me being mean and not wanting to work with special ed- ah, contrary since that's what I did for the last year and a half in education. And I like working with special ed. kids. This is just an a bad fit job for this particular child.
We think we might have some other choices rather than a work study for her. But if she's pulled from the library, I won't be assigned another person. All the kids in the program have been placed. Drat!
I had such great plans! Ah, maybe next semester!
Maggie
This is where the title comes into play. I should've be careful what I wish for. Or maybe I should be much more specific in what I wish for.
See, I wanted someone who could put books away, straighten shelves, cover books, help with inventory, put the shelves in alphabetical/ Dewey order, make bulletin boards, and do some desk top publishing to promote library activities. This was my dream person.
What I got was a girl who is special education and very low functioning. One reason she's at our facility is that she couldn't function in a regular school setting, and her parents don't want her. While this is a heart breaking story, and it is, this is the person they assigned to WORK IN THE LIBRARY. This is not a good fit.
She worked with me for a week. She is a very sweet child. I don't think she would harm a fly. She is certainly not a troublemaker. But she is very, very slow. And she doesn't really read very well. She can't do complex tasks. I saw this was not going to work well but I tried. At the end of the week when the Work study director and I met with her, we asked what the most difficult task was she was given. She said that straightening shelves. people, straightening the shelves is the easiest thing I have to do in the library!
No one knew how low functioning she was when she came to our school so no one can really be blamed. The problem is we have nowhere else to put her. Most of the work study jobs are independent and I think she would be better as part of a team, where she would have other people to keep her on task, keep her motivated and for her to follow what they do.
I like her and I feel bad that after a week and a half, it isn't working. I just can't afford to stand next to her to show her the steps over and over again. This isn't me being mean and not wanting to work with special ed- ah, contrary since that's what I did for the last year and a half in education. And I like working with special ed. kids. This is just an a bad fit job for this particular child.
We think we might have some other choices rather than a work study for her. But if she's pulled from the library, I won't be assigned another person. All the kids in the program have been placed. Drat!
I had such great plans! Ah, maybe next semester!
Maggie
Friday, January 7, 2011
Donations welcome
I've been researching grants so I can buys stuff for the library like new books, books to have a book club, and funds to sponsor an "art and lecture" series.
My idea for an "art and lecture" series is to bring in guest speakers who would give a 15-20 minute program and then teach the students how to do a craft/ art project. I have a woman in town who makes jewelry. She could come in and tell her story and then show the students how to make something. I would need money to cover the cost of materials. I know of a woman who makes her skeins of wool yarn. It would be awesome for her to share the process and let the kids knit a hat. Ditto a candle maker. Ditto a soap maker. Ditto an organic gardener. These people will donate their time and sell me supplies at cost but I need money for the "cost" part.
As for book club, I want to be able to get 10 books a month so 9 kids (and me) can participate each month. I would like the students to be able to keep the books if they want- I can't even begin to explain how much would mean to some to these kids to be "given" a book. (And I have a sign up process so different kids will be able to participate monthly; I don't want it to be the same kids over and over.)
Any suggestions of where to go for money, please let me know. I know about our community foundation, local churches, and utility company foundations. I used to write grants for a living in a previous lifetime, so I know the basic drill. But I've been out of the game for awhile and it can't help to give me some ideas, please!!!!
The problem I have is that we have a development office who writes grants for stuff for the entire facility and I'm not "ALLOWED" to write to the same places. I understand, on principle. But I want a couple hundred bucks where they ask for several THOUSANDS.
Someone suggested I tap into private individuals I know who would give some money. Ummm, okay. I don't that many individuals who could give me $100 a month so I can do book club, and another $50-100 a month for art and lecture. I'm going to give that a whirl. I know I could just people for whatever they can give, and do it in small increments, and that's probably what I will do.
So, I'm cheating and starting here. If any readers would like to make a donation to the library for either of these projects, please let me know. I can start a paypal account, or for those of you who know me/ trust me, I'll give you my address and you can send the funds to me, made out to the school of course. And I can provide a receipt- tax deduction!
Thanks for your support!
Maggie the Librarian
My idea for an "art and lecture" series is to bring in guest speakers who would give a 15-20 minute program and then teach the students how to do a craft/ art project. I have a woman in town who makes jewelry. She could come in and tell her story and then show the students how to make something. I would need money to cover the cost of materials. I know of a woman who makes her skeins of wool yarn. It would be awesome for her to share the process and let the kids knit a hat. Ditto a candle maker. Ditto a soap maker. Ditto an organic gardener. These people will donate their time and sell me supplies at cost but I need money for the "cost" part.
As for book club, I want to be able to get 10 books a month so 9 kids (and me) can participate each month. I would like the students to be able to keep the books if they want- I can't even begin to explain how much would mean to some to these kids to be "given" a book. (And I have a sign up process so different kids will be able to participate monthly; I don't want it to be the same kids over and over.)
Any suggestions of where to go for money, please let me know. I know about our community foundation, local churches, and utility company foundations. I used to write grants for a living in a previous lifetime, so I know the basic drill. But I've been out of the game for awhile and it can't help to give me some ideas, please!!!!
The problem I have is that we have a development office who writes grants for stuff for the entire facility and I'm not "ALLOWED" to write to the same places. I understand, on principle. But I want a couple hundred bucks where they ask for several THOUSANDS.
Someone suggested I tap into private individuals I know who would give some money. Ummm, okay. I don't that many individuals who could give me $100 a month so I can do book club, and another $50-100 a month for art and lecture. I'm going to give that a whirl. I know I could just people for whatever they can give, and do it in small increments, and that's probably what I will do.
So, I'm cheating and starting here. If any readers would like to make a donation to the library for either of these projects, please let me know. I can start a paypal account, or for those of you who know me/ trust me, I'll give you my address and you can send the funds to me, made out to the school of course. And I can provide a receipt- tax deduction!
Thanks for your support!
Maggie the Librarian
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