A Happy, happy meal.

Guess what was in my Happy Meal yesterday?

If you guessed a tiny copy of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, you would be correct.

Books in Happy Meals: it is a thrilling thought. Now a whole new set of folks will have a shorthand phrase, “…if you give a mouse a cookie…” to describe a series of events drawn into play by one simple action.

As I was appreciating all of the young (and not-so-young) readers and the pairs of child-adult readers, I plunged into a chasm of doubt: what if reading doesn’t matter? (I blame the french fries here)

What if print reading, or reading in any format doesn’t make you a better person, or a person more equipped to make their own choices? An unthinkable thought for a librarian….yet….

One of our seniors responded to my query, “What if we don’t need to read at all?”

BL: There are things that books can do that movies and other visual media cannot, like empathy. Also, I think it is important for our brains to be activated by words.

Posing the same question to one of our juniors, I got this reply:

JP: Reading relaxes me, I take 10-20 minutes each evening to read – more if I have time – but I make sure that I read every day. For me, it is all about the stories. I find stories often give you hope and faith, like the book I just read, I’ll Give You the Sun. I like stories because they help you figure out how to live your life. I read every night before I go to bed because it's a nice way to separate yourself from all of the stuff going on in your own life, and get lost in someone else's story for a little while.

This web article supports JP and BL’s thoughts nicely, and points to some recent research:

http://mic.com/articles/104702/science-shows-something-surprising-about-people-who-love-reading-fiction

Back to the essential question of reading; Tim Parks, in his blog post for the New York Review of Books, writes,  "there are many ways to live a full, responsible, and even wise life that do not pass through reading literary fiction.” Perhaps, as a librarian, I am biased toward the benefits of reading, yet I am not finished thinking about the value of reading. Guess that is as it should be.

-Mrs. Eldridge

Reading in the Rain - A Sampling from the Class of 2015

Last week it rained. Which was wonderful for two reasons: first, we needed rain. Second, the seniors  exchanged a soggy senior patio for the warmth of the library. A handful were gathered near the big red reading chairs. Here is a sampling of their reading choices: 

 L.B. class of 2015: Alana the First Adventure by Tamora Pierce. “I’m not reading this now, but if you ask me what book I’ve really enjoyed, it would be the first book in the Alanna series. Tamora Pierce is my favorite author of all time. At my old school, this book got passed from friend to friend, from grade to grade: it was read by lots of people. I’ve recommended it to two people at Prep already today. The main character, Alanna, is not a perfect human – but she still pushes herself to achieve her goal of becoming a knight. Her temper does not go magically away, but she learns to live with herself and her quirks breaking gender stereotypes along the way.”
 

R.D. class of 2015: Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole.  “I am totally captivated by Confederacy of Dunces. Some people really hate it though. Everyone has met someone like the main character, Ignatius J. Reilly. He is wholly unsatisfied and disgusted with contemporary society, yet he contributes nothing. I see a lot of myself in him. There is a piece of Ignatius in everyone.”





 

S.M. class of 2015: Deliverance by James Dickey. “The book is harrowing, more so than the movie because the drama is more drawn out. These are normal people in an extraordinary situation: the common man doing uncommon things. The last 100 pages are like pure adrenaline. And, it’s a story about a canoe ride.”






 

A.P. class of 2015: The Brothers Karamazov by Fodor Dostoyevsky. “I’m not even done with it, but I think you would like it. It is a well-told story and it has the answer to every question you could ever ask. It’s hard to read – but it feels good when you understand it. It envelopes you.”








With clear skies and temperatures near the 80s, it is hard to believe it rained last week - but near the foothills here, I saw the shimmer of new green sprouts on the hillside.  More rain would be nice. Hmmm. More seniors in the library again would be nice, too. 

Mrs. Eldridge

Faces of Movember

Supporters of Movember in and around the Chandramohan Library at Prep:

Mo Bros hosting a Movember bake sale

Right outside the library's doors, bake sales are held (you can image how this could be good and bad at the same time). Today's sale featured delicious goodies - some hand made by members of the Men's Cross Country team at Prep. Besides the delicious assortment of baked goods, information was available explaining the Movember movement. Alumni James Woolley shared information and good cheer. Alex joined him at the table.

Scroll down. See more Mo Bros and Mo Sisters (surprise at the end):

 

 

Mo Bro in the downstairs library

Mo Bro in a study room

 

Mo Bros in the Conversation Nook

Mo Bros just outside the library

Librarian Mo Sisters

What! You are not surprised that we dressed the part?

 

 Today we put a different face on, mixing together community and activism in the library. 

 

 

 

-Mrs. Eldridge



It Wasn't all Unicorns and Rainbow Sparkles

Monterey morning

It wasn't all unicorns and rainbow sparkles at the Internet Librarian 2014 this year, but it was a solid look at where the profession is at the moment.

Aside from almost setting my room (and the Portola Hotel and Spa) on fire, it was a flawless trip.

Perfect weather, great sessions.

Nina Simon, from the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, lit up the stage with her keynote: a story of change and opportunity. A story of risk-taking and creativity during challenging times. As Nina said, "a crisis is a terrible thing to waste." I am in complete agreement with Daniel Cornwall of Alaska, "best keynote I've ever been to" (Daniel's blog has other summaries of sessions from Internet Librarian, and they are good).

Nina's Ted Talk (and blog)


 Josh Hanagarne , the World's Strongest Librarian, reads 200-300 pages a day - and is able to extemporaneously illustrate an idea with the perfect quote from a relevant reading. Oh, what a talent that is. Josh's keynote, both vulnerable and intriguing, unpacked the rhetoric behind the question, "Is Technology Changing our Brains?"  Here are some links you might enjoy:
Josh's keynote from 2013

Tweets from the keynote

Reading list from keynote (partial)



There were more sessions, excellent also. And wonderful, insightful conversations, and kindnesses (thank you, Nancy). I'm grateful for the opportunity to attend, sad to see it end, hopeful for next year.

-Mrs. Eldridge


David Mitchell Marathon

I have a question for you: what are you reading right now that you cannot put down? Or, what have you read recently that you could not put down? There is a reason I'm wondering: I've just finished a book marathon. It was good. It was delicious, but it's over.

Here is the scoop:
 In style, prose and structure, CloudAtlas is profound; asking life’s most essential questions without smothering the stories. A Prep student and I are debating whether this is our best-book-of-all-time selection.

The high point of the marathon was, The Reason I Jump; The Inner Voice of a 13 Year Old Boy with Autism.  Mitchell co-translated The Reason I Jump and wrote a compelling introduction that sets the stage for Naoki Higashida to tell his story. Emotional and exceptionally truthful, Naoki’s message is straightforward, “don’t give up on us. Please keep battling alongside us.”

Higashida explains, “From your point of view, the world of autism must look like a deeply mysterious place.” The Reason I Jump uprooted my previous model of life on the autistic spectrum.  The essence of Higashida’s world - accepting the mantle of otherness, and revealing its emotional highs and lows- hit a reset button for me. I don’t know what the result will be, but this book not only made me think deeply, but differently. Higashida said, “once you know the other person’s inner self, both of you can be that much closer.”

The Bone Clocks is Mitchell’s newest novel. The plot winds around and through the life the main character, Holly Sykes. The supporting characters are flawed; self-absorbed, snarky, down-on-their-luck, or drowning in grief, yet they are revealed so fully that I adjusted my initial resistance and enjoyed their stories. There is an other-world plot to the story, but I won’t spoil it for you.

 

It was a marathon of excellent writing, fresh and unpredictable – completely enjoyable. And now, a quest for the next book(s). Any suggestions?

 

-Mrs. Eldridge

Spies Like Us.

For 3 days last summer, tech training camp was where the action was: a fusion of technology and teaching. Along with a group of future teachers, I entered an alternate universe. 

The cover: Spies. Complete with official-looking badges and awesome passports.

The mission: to infiltrate the educational system and explore the connection between technology and the learning process.

Super-Special Agents briefed us – introducing tech tools -guiding our efforts.  As teams, practiced our nascent skills and shared discoveries with each other.

Along the way, I recognized the significance of the training camp –as a model of a

-         creative

  -          engaging

        -          collaborative

         and technically enhanced learning community.

Learning from the team was highly valuable – both in acquiring tech skills and in the exchange of ideas about how to use our new skills. 

The spy format kept us engaged and amused – it provided a creative platform for conversation and interaction: a way for the team to laugh and learn together.

At the end of our mission, it was clear that technology can enhance – and yet not overstep – the teacher/student learning experience.

The tech camp, Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers Today Through Technology, was the result of a grant written to the U.S. Department of Education. Here is a link to some of the areas explored: http://sites.laverne.edu/ear/camp/

 Special thanks to Mala Arthur. I loved camp!!

 

-Mrs. Eldridge

 

 

 

THE THREE PEOPLE YOU MIGHT WANT TO GET TO KNOW

Grady Willard and Bryce Lew
 in the Chandramohan Library

Grady Willard is our guest blogger today and it is with great delight that we share his post with you....


The school year has started. Whether you are new to Flintridge Prep or are returning after a long summer, you are undoubtedly going to be working hard to get back into that usual school routine, make new friends, hang out with old ones, and get to know your teachers and their classes.

But there is one thing that everybody should do, whether you are a Middle Schooler, a rising sophomore, or a senior.

Go talk to the Prep librarians.

More so than any other teachers at Prep, the librarians have the ability to see the big picture in each of our lives. The library sits at the center of Prep’s campus. Walk in and you will undoubtedly get a taste of student life: Student Community Action Council (SCAC) meetings, calculus tutoring, essays and theses in progress and bulletin announcements on upcoming student events. From the windows, you can see the daily grind of sports practices, with swimmers gliding across the pool and the football being tossed between two teammates.

The librarians see everything that happens on the campus. Their relationship with the student body is not just confined to administrative offices or classrooms. They fill in the gaps - those restless free periods, cold and sleepy early mornings, and bright and energetic afternoons - with guidance and friendship. You can walk up to their desk at any time and start talking classes, athletics, student government, community service or anything of the sort that interests you. 

You might be surprised about the stories each of them can tell. Mrs. Ursettie can discuss politics and philanthropy. Mrs. Eldridge can help you formulate theses and help with online technology and Mrs. Hodge can find a book on nearly any research paper topic (and without any trouble!).

 Use their vast knowledge to your benefit when you write a paper for Mr. Perlman’s Honors European History Class on Renaissance art or when you are researching water chemistry for Ms. Clark’s 11th Grade Science Class. All three librarians know the style of writing that Prep teachers are looking for and asking for edits can often help your grade. But the librarians are also eager to hear what you are writing about, give feedback on various arguments you are developing, and point out various ways to approach a topic. Here are just two examples that come to mind: A few months ago, Mrs. Eldridge helped me fine tune a point I wanted to make about the paradox of wanting both lower energy costs and a free and open market (the two cannot exist together!). She also helped another senior link the power of winning in a basketball game to brain psychology. The librarians want to learn, and they want to learn with you and from you. 

Prep’s librarians are in a unique position in that they just do not see the development of us as students, over one year. They see it for six years. And we can go back and back to them on any assignment until we graduate. 

But their work extends beyond the classroom. Mrs. Eldridge works with the Library Advisory Council to bring more technology to the library. Mrs. Hodge is the librarian who signs off on many student activity forms and will give you the confidence to do your best as you lead the Student Senate into organizing the Blood Drive or the Club Rush and Community Impact Fair. All of the time and dedication that these three put into student life shows just how committed Prep’s librarians are to our well-being and to their desire to see us succeed. Prep’s librarians see us at all hours of the day and want us to have fun too. They understand the enormous pressure we are under to make friends, get good grades, and get into college. That is why Mrs. Ursettie leads two big events on campus that are dedicating to showing off student talent, the Junior Parent Dinner and the always hysterical Mr. Flintridge Prep.

As Mrs. Ursettie once told me, the three Prep librarians have a sort of “inalienable
magic” when they are together. They can shift seamlessly from the fun hat to the working hat to the academic hat, always helping to inspire and advocate for the students body. Each librarian can do anything, at any time. 

So I hope that in the first week or two of school, you will go up to one of the librarians. Or maybe even all three. Introduce yourself with a couple of weird facts. 

It just might be one of the most important things you do at Flintridge Prep. And it will almost certainly land you three great friends not just for the duration of your Prep experience, but for life. 
____________________________________________________
Grady Willard is a member of the Flintridge Preparatory Class of 2014 and is beginning his freshman year at Georgetown University. One of the high points of each day of his senior year was walking into the library to share his latest thoughts about classes, student government and life with Mrs. Hodge, Mrs. Eldridge, and Mrs. Ursettie. He could not possibly think of a senior year without the kind, humble, and hardworking librarians. His only regret was that he did not get to know the librarians earlier in his Prep experience.