Friday, September 26, 2008

Field Experience

It has been forever since I have blogged. I have been very busy! Lately I have been visiting and observing school libraries to get a feel for what goes on there. In the past two weeks, I have spent 22 hours doing this. (yes...I am keeping track) It has been enlightening to say the least. Some of the libraries have been fantastic. Unbelievable facilities and librarians who are energetic and really up to date on the latest stuff in school libraries. And then there are "other" libraries and librarians. Thursday I went to a rural high school with an older librarian. Her selection of books were very outdated. Her fiction section looked like it had not been visited in years. I felt very sad for the students, because reading just for the sake of it is not really presented in a positive way here. There were no displays to catch the attention of students to attract them to read. Maybe they have a smaller budget than other schools. They seemed to be very current as far as computers and technology. The librarian told me they are getting a Smart Board...so they have to have some money to work with. I guess it's easy to sit back and be critical. (forgive me) I'm really curious to see another school in this same district so that I can get a feel for whether it is something that can't be helped.
I visited another library where the selection of books was phenomenal, but I thought the librarian was very rigid in how she ran her library. She had very strict rules as to how things are run. This was in an elementary school. I saw a group of 3rd graders come in. They had assigned seats at tables. When they came in, they went to where their assigned seats were and all stood behind the chairs until they were told by the librarian that they could sit. She went over very specific procedures about how things are done in her library. Wow! She has some very specific ways of doing things! She has been a librarian here for over 30 years and I guess this works for her. I know I could not be as regimented though. A few days later, I saw a friend of mine who teaches at the same school. I told her I had been at the library. This teacher told me that some of her students are afraid to go to the library at library time if they have forgotten to bring the book they borrowed back. I was very careful with my words because I don't really want to be catty.
I went to our Middle School Library here in town and I saw Melimouse! (twice) I also saw Sam and Audra...but my own son was no where to be seen. He told me later that he peeked in the window and saw me. That particular library was awesome! I thought the facilities were great and the librarian has some great ideas! I took note of some of them so I can remember. Unfortunately, I cannot do my student teaching under her, because she is a fairly new school librarian, having just graduated from the school I am now attending just three years ago.
Yesterday I went to a high school and a middle school in an urban setting. Beautiful facilites! The two librarians that I shadowed were great and had a lot of suggestions for me. I came away from there with my head spinning with all the knowledge that they were imparting on me! I thought it was really cool to see such a multicultural group. They have a number of Spanish speaking students, so they have a selection of fiction written in Spanish. Interesting to see Harry Potter y la piedra filosofal on the shelf.
Anyway, I am learning so much. Today I haven't gotten much work done and I must make up for it somehow. I decided to go to a friend's house for lunch. I stayed there much longer then planned, getting home just on time for the school bus to arrive.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Those Carefee Days of Summer Are Gone...

I'm beginning to feel the crunch of school and deadlines. I'm wondering how it'll all get done. I am spinning so many plates right now. Many are getting neglected. I'm sure that I could probably organize my time better so that I could spin them all more efficiently. My house is really going downhill fast as far as neatness goes. I have so many memos from the schools of my children tacked up on the bulletin board. There are fees to be to pay and forms to fill out and papers to write and a sign to paint and laundry to do and meetings to attend and books to read and cross country meets to go to and stories to tell and schools to contact and go to....
I think you're getting the picture. Tomorrow I am going to the local public library to return 20 children's books and I am going to check out about 20 more I think. On Friday I went to an elementary school in Geneva to observe in a library. I loved being there. On Tuesday I will go to another elementary school here in my town. On Friday I will go to a middle school. Next week I will go to at least one high school.

Meanwhile...my house is getting messier and messier by the minute. I can't stand it, but don't have the time to devote to really clean it the way it needs to be.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

The Pig

The pig is not a nervous beast;
He never worries in the least.
He lives in tranquil life unshaken,
And when he dies brings home the bacon.

(Roland Young)

I know...you are all thinking, "Priscilla, that's sick!"
Just thought I'd share one of the many pictures we took of animals at the fair a few weeks ago!

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Me I Am!

I have been tagged by Kim.
1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. List 6 random facts about yourself
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post
5. Let each person know they've been tagged by commenting on their blog
6. Let the tagger know the entry is posted on your blog

  1. I love poetry....particularly silly rhymes.
  2. I'm really enjoying being a graduate student...even though it is a bit stressful.
  3. I don't really have time for blogging right now in my life.
  4. I am going to bake cookies with Alicia tonight because I love her and said I would do it.
  5. Tomorrow I am visiting a school library in the city of Geneva.
  6. I am very rebellious and refuse to do numbers 4, 5, and 6.
So there you have it!

Sunday, September 07, 2008

Eating

Eating! One of those activities that brings people together. What is it about food that bonds people? Yesterday I had to go to a meeting at the University of Buffalo for a class I am taking. I was in a room full of people I didn't know. We took notes and listened to the instructor, asked questions and jotted down more notes. The meeting ended at noon. Perfect time for lunch. A bunch of us decided to go out to lunch together.

By the end of lunch, we were laughing like old friends and some of us even exchanged phone numbers. It was nice to put a face to the names I have seen on my online courses.

I just love these pictures of Allen and Alicia at the state fair eating BLT sandwiches. We had become separated from Audra and Jamie...so we ate without them. Alicia and I shared a sandwich since they were pretty big.

I think I need to do lunch more often with friends. I've been feeling a bit separated from them lately.

Thursday, September 04, 2008

First Day Back

Today is the first day of school here in town. Now I have two middle schoolers.

Everyone seemed excited (but not to have their pictures taken necessarily). I didn't have to drag anyone out of bed this morning. I didn't have to nag everyone to "hurry" or "brush your teeth"...everyone seemed anxious to do that on their own. No worries about leaving on time or missing the bus this morning. *sigh* Some things never last long.
Only one left in the elementary school.

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Meadows

I finished one of the signs for a friend's B&B yesterday. She named her two guest rooms: one Meadows and the other Sunrise. I like how it turned out, but this photo does not do it justice. It looks a lot better in "real life".

Allen stayed over night at Sam's house yesterday and the two of them went to "Rheinlick" to get a bite to eat. They were pretty excited to check out Gudl's restaurant. He's still at Sam's so I haven't gotten a report yet. I can't wait to go there too!

Monday, September 01, 2008

The Three Sisters-Authentically American

Here we are...the three sisters. Corn, Squash and Beans. What I am refering to here of course is something everyone who grew up in NY State and studied the Iroquios Indians should know about. The rest of you will be naturally confused...but that's ok. I'll give you a hint. Anyway...we had fun at Martha's house. We saw Jim, who was home from Minnesota and we ate lots of food...and just generally enjoyed one another's company. And even though Rachel's "German Potato Salad" is not really authentically German(see Rachel's post and comments), I like it anyway. I had two helpings. What American Labor Day picnic would be complete without hot dogs and hamburgers....and corn on the cob? Baked beans are always welcome too...and squash. Like Zuchini. Not all of it was there...but it was authentically American. We are American and we like it that way. LOL! I'm just having fun with this post.
I hope all of my friends reading here had a wonderful Labor Day...even if you are not authentically American. Love to you all!