Monday, April 28, 2008

Living Library of PEOPLE

Last week the London Times ran an article about a man's experience being a "Book" in a library program called Living Library. Maybe this isn't the exactly right forum for sharing, but I can't help but find the whole thing entirely fascinating, and because of that, I have to share. Excerpt:

"The idea, which comes from Scandinavia, is simple: instead of books, readers can come to the library and borrow a person for a 30-minute chat. The human “books” on offer vary from event to event but always include a healthy cross-section of stereotypes. Last weekend, the small but richly diverse list included Police Officer, Vegan, Male Nanny and Lifelong Activist as well as Person with Mental Health Difficulties and Young Person Excluded from School. I was there as Gay Man.

In the catalogue we had been tagged with the kind of negative attributes that readers might expect to encounter. Male Nanny was down as “twee” and “child molester”. Police Officer was filed under “corrupt”. Mine included “very well dressed” and “has some sexually transmitted disease”, though thankfully there was no mention of Barbra Streisand."

It rather seems like an awesome idea. And maybe fits into the whole Seeds of Compassion thing. I'm noting it for future overly ambitious uses.

Email anne.kilroy [at] living-library.org for more info, if you are interested.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Electronic Mosquitos


Ok, I heard about this device about a year ago. And I know it's wrong. I know it violates teen rights. It's something I object to. But, I just, I just can't help it - it really makes me laugh. Some dark, evil bit inside of me finds the whole concept hilarious.


"The town of Great Barrington, Massachusetts, banned the device last year after a movie theater owner installed one. 'There was an outcry, and people didn't like the idea of torturing kids' ears like that," said Ronald Dlugosz, a town official. "People here don't tolerate that kind of stuff."'




I'm also very curious as to whether I can still hear it.


I just need to counter the last article.

"A new study released Thursday from the Pew Internet & American Life Project and the National Commission on Writing showed that the majority of U.S. teens, or 60 percent of those surveyed, do not view electronic texts as writing."

But what was more interesting to me in the article, was this bit:

"All teens write at least some for school, but 93 percent of kids surveyed said that they write for themselves outside of school."

This gives me hope that the author-run writer's workshop I have planned for July will be successful.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Eisenhower?

THIS makes me want to hold a trivia contest (quiz bowl?) in the library with the teens.

Perhaps I shall. Just to prove otherwise.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

RSS Feeds demystified (well, somewhat...)

I went to bloglines today and there were actually rss feeds there that I had subscribed to from other websites...wow! it worked!

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

stylists and librarians unite!

I read this in an article about more tween girls styling their hair.

"I tell stylists to get more involved in school and community events to reach out to these younger girls," he said. "They may not want to think in those terms, but these girls are our future business."

The approach sounded kinda familiar.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/lifestyle/358211_tweenhair09.html

P.S.
In a recent forum on Weary Parent, a child-raising blog, one person admitted in a post that she had tried to give her 11-year old daughter the blond-on-brown look of Jamie Lynn Spears of Nickelodeon's "Zoey 101."
"But that was a disaster," she wrote. "I had to pull her out of school for a day so I could fix it."

Monday, April 7, 2008

Tweens arrested for Death Note "joke".

Alabama Tweens Arrested in 'Death Note' Row
Anime-Inspired Notebook Deemed 'Terrorist Threat'

The Gadsen (Alabama) Times is reporting that two 12-year-old students at the West End Elementary School were arrested after school authorities discovered a Death Note-inspired notebook containing the names of faculty members, school personnel and students. The notebook was turned over to the Etowah County Sheriff's Department, where authorities classified its contents as "terrorist threats," even though the students told their principal that it was a joke.

According to the article, this is the third incident reported where students got in trouble and the first where they were arrested. It will be interesting to see how this book is handled. I think it is a great work, that really examines issues in a thoughtful and entertaining way. If teens are emulating this impossible concept, I see that as a cry for help...they must be awfully miserable to even joke about this, no?

Friday, April 4, 2008

Washington does good..new scholarship program for low-income teens!

WA Offers Low-Income Kids College Scholarships
Debra Lau Whelan -- School Library Journal, 4/2/2008 2:00:00 PM

Low-income kids from Washington no longer have to worry about who’s paying for college—as long as they keep up their high school grades and stay out of trouble with the law...

Had any of you heard about this? How cool is that?

The State's information page can be found here.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Emo battles in Mexico

Have any of you heard about the awful stuff going on in Mexico? Emo kids are being targeted and beat up in massive groups. A blog post that sums it up well: Violence against emos sweeps across Mexico.

When I hear about things like this, it makes me wonder about the big problems we have in the world, and ponder what is driving these youth to lash out at easy victims.

Sad sad sad.