Round two? I hear some of you asking "What happened to round one?" I kept my goals modest and quiet during round 1 of #Nerdlution just in case I failed. Despite what I have told my students in the past I HATE failing (not that anyone likes failing, but many have a better perspective on the subject than I do), and I especially hate to fail publicly. The good news is I did not fail. My goal was to post to this blog at least once a week over the course of 50 days and I succeeded. (If you want to learn more about #Nerdlution, check out Chris's post or Colby's post)
Now, for my goals (yes, plural) for #Nerdlution Round 2.
Goal 1: Continue posting to this blog at least once a week. I would like to post more often, but I need to remain realistic. I do not have a computer or internet access at home. I ride the bus for about 30 minutes to get to a public computer. This is not a bad thing, it just means that I need to be intentional about my blogging and make it worthwhile for myself and for potential readers.
Goal 2: I will write meaningful, positive comments on 50 different blogs over the next 50 days. I am borrowing this goal from Kevin Hodgson who wrote 50 comments on 50 blogs over 50 days for round 1 of #Nerdlution. He commented on one of my blog posts and I was thrilled. It is nice when someone comments on the blog, and I want to do something nice for other bloggers.
Good luck to all. Want to join #Nerdlution? Do it! Tell me about it in the comments if you like, but even if you want to keep your goals modest and quiet... DO IT!
Mountain View Friends Meeting has a Racism and White Privilege group that meets monthly, and discusses a wide range of topics from micro aggressions to nurturing our children. Last month the group met to discuss book titles that might help us explore racism and white privilege. This month we gathered together to decide on which book would best meet our needs, and was most suitable for inter-generational discussion. Some participants chose to write responses to the books they had read, and the group used these responses along with comments made during the meeting to choose our book. Mountain View Friends Meeting's One Book One Meeting:Racism and White Privilege title is My Mother the Cheerleader by Robert Sharenow.
I read My Mother the Cheerleader, and couldn't put it down. I thought that author, Robert Sharenow, did a sensitive and convincing job of narrating this story through the eyes of 13- year old Louise Lorraine Collins- an only child living with her single mother in a poor section of New Orleans in 1960: the time when six-year-old Ruby Bridges, a child of color, was brought to her school each morning in a black Pontiac sedan, accompanied by armed federal agents as "cheerleaders" chanted to the large crowd of angry, protesting parents and townspeople: "Two, four, six, eight, we don't want to integrate!"
I found the character development of a number of characters in the novel to be simple, honest and forthright. It provided a very personal perspective on the myopic views of race in that place and time. Yet it also portrayed in a very realistic way how, through one tragedy or another, inner transformation can happen through which tightly held convictions to white supremacy can loosen and begin shift even among the most staunch. ~ Eric
I read The Lions of Little Rock, youth fiction, and the adult title, A Mighty Long Way, My Journey to Justice at Little Rock Central High School, the memoir of Carlotta Walls LaNier, one of the Little Rock Nine who lives in Denver. They were both gripping well-written stories that I couldn't put down. I highly recommend both. ~Judy
I read The Lions of Little Rock also, and really enjoyed it. It gives you a really good feel for the tensions in Little Rock and some of it could lead to questions about what remains these days... ~Penny
It's (A Mighty Long Way) impact for me was getting inside the actual experience of the 14 year old who reveals her day after day terrors and feelings facing the mobs outside and the small and big tortures of and terrible isolation from the hundreds of white students in Little Rock's Central High. It is relentless for her and I couldn't even imagine the details she presents, despite what I already know about the struggle. She also faces guilt for the bombing of her family's home, loss of her dear father's job, and suffering of others because of her wish to get an education. One of the best things about it as a white person, I think, is the opportunity to hear the thoughts of a black child/woman and feel the oneness, be able to identify with her as a real person, because she goes very deep. I highly recommend it. ~ Judy
As part of the International Librarians Network, I participate in monthly discussions online, and with my partner who works in promotion at a public library in Poland. For January 2014 the ILN discussion topic is all about Library New Years' Resolutions. The questions are based on a ‘traffic light model’, green for go, yellow for change and red for stop. This is based on the concept that it’s easy to focus on trying new and exciting things, but in order to have the time and resources to try new things we sometimes need to think about doing other things differently and stopping some things all together.
What is one new thing you want to start doing in 2014?
About two weeks ago I briefly mentioned the Social Justice Librarian blog. This week I want to mention one of the bloggers, Greyson, and one of the posts in particular. The post entitled Real Parents and Ideal Patrons continues to shape my programming decisions AND how I speak to and about parents, patrons, and colleagues. One of my goals for 2014 is to start focusing more on social justice issues, and to perhaps write a guest post for The Social Justice Librarian Blog.
What is one thing you want to try doing differently in 2014?
I want to manage my reading differently in 2014. This past year was a year full of shoulds, oughts, and musts that overflowed into my reading life. I spent quite a bit of time thinking and worrying about what I should be reading, what I ought to read next, and what I must read to fulfill my commitments. Those shoulds, oughts, and musts impacted my reading life in two ways: 1. I rarely lost myself in any of the books I read. 2. I stopped reading solely for pleasure. This year I want to reclaim the sense of abandonment and joy of getting lost in a good book.
What is one thing you want to stop doing in 2014?
I want to stop hoarding books. I hear about a good book and I place it on hold at my library. This leads to me having several dozen books checked out at a time which means other library patrons don't have access to these good books. If I stop hoarding library books, I will be a better library patron, and I can enjoy the books I have checked out without the pressure of due dates and other patrons in the holds queue.
Patrons, librarians, friends, do you have any library resolutions for 2014? Please share in the comments.
This is not the post I had scheduled for today, but in light of different discussions regarding racism on the Christian Quaker Facebook page, I have decided to share an experience from my Meeting. Mountain View Friends Meeting has a Racism and White Privilege group that meets monthly, and discusses a wide range of topics from micro aggressions to nurturing our children. Last month the group met to discuss book titles that might help us explore racism and white privilege. As co-clerk for the library committee and as a Friend of color, I was and continue to be very pleased with the titles that were brought forth. More importantly, I am pleased with the discussions that are taking place around these books. We have not chosen a book at this time, but we are all reading the suggested titles and sharing them with each other. It has been such a joy to receive calls from Friends saying that they have finished one book and are ready for another. It has been a joy listening to the new light that some of these books have shed on the topics of racism and white privilege. Whether or not we ultimately decide to pursue One Book One Meeting, I am so happy that we are reading together, sharing together, and listening together.
