Ok, I will keep this short as I tend to overexplain..sorry, bad habit of mine..working on it.
As I reply to your posts I try to provide an honest answer from the education side, as I'm hoping that's why I'm here. Education is very different than it was when I started 18 years ago. But I'm still here...I love my job, I love my kids (people that know me know when I'm talking about my kids and "my kids". Just like all of you, I have many examples I can share but they mean more to me than you, so again, I'm working on not overexplaining lol.
But...our society is different now, you all see it in your libraries I'm sure. I don't know if you can ask people to leave and not come back but in our school unless something really, really awful has happened we can't, and parents aren't as bothered by their children's behavior anymore. More schools are seeing in-school and out of school suspensions in our area and the families are like, well, our family feels that way so they are how they are. What do you do, when you have 5% extremely out of control, 5 % on the brink, and 85% hanging on. This is how it feels for students and staff, our students have asked to create a mental health group for the students to deal with everything affecting them. "The good kids" are now the ones on the brink and getting suspended for things you hear being discussed on CNN or FOX news in the political world. Families are different, and that is what our country was built on, but, we all have an even more daunting task. How do we prepare these young people for the workforce where they will not be protected with suspensions, or it was the teacher's fault, or so and so's fault. They will be fired...CCR takes on a very new and real role in all of our lives.
This is why I post the replies that I do, it is not to be a Debbie Downer, it is to provide all of you with as much information as possible into our ever changing world of education. We are just a mini version of society, as are your libraries. Your questions are wonderful for me, because you provide me with hope. This project has provided me with hope, it sounds corny, but I worry so much about these kids and to know that all of you are putting together plans in your community to help your kids be successful keeps me going. I look forward to sharing my ARC project with you. I just got another book in the mail today, they just keep coming..publishers want to get them into the hands of librians I'm finding :-)
Happy Monday!! Two Girls State Tournament Games for Me one Wednesday and Thursday, Thursday Night Boys Basketball Section Finals (If we win boys are going to state), we had a 2 hour late start today thanks to Mother Nature and her 7 inches of snow which thankfully is about half gone already. Did I tell you we had two tornadoes last week here in the state due to a severe thunderstorm. Oh, btw, we have to make up any days we miss now because we will lose funding if we don't lol. I am SO THANKFUL I am a Media Specialist!!!!!! I'm smiling as I write this because my red-headed 17 year old comes down and asks "2 hour late start right Mom" , his long standing joke on a day when there is no chance of one. Life couldn't be better...I'm being serious...have to go help darling daughter with mystery highlighted background in Google Docs...Night! Amy