Here we are at the Library right before school let out. We had just finished signing up for the Summer Reading Program.
Tag Archives: literature
Best Friends
Today at Mary Mitchell we celebrated Valentine’s Day.
A lot of the children were quite when Miss Josefina, who is Dominican, explained to them that Valentine’s Day is not only about love between a woman and a man but is also about celebrating your friends. In the Dominican Republic the term they use on Valentine’s Day is el dia del amor y la amistad. She said in DR it’s more about friendship.
Here is a photo I took last year of a group of friends who happen to be in the right place at the right time.
They are posing in the Bronx in the West Farms Area near the 2 and 5 train-station. The art work is a sculpture done by Gabriel Salazar.
Banned Books
Last year one of my little fifth graders came in my classroom and asked me what masturbation meant. I first asked her to repeat the question to make sure I was hearing correctly, then I asked her where she heard the word.
It’s in this book I’m reading
What’s the title?
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Oh, I replied. Can I see the book?
She gave me the book and I told her to first let me scan the book and then we could ‘talk’. For the rest of the day I was wondering how to handle this situation. Finally, at the end of the day she came back for her book. I told her to first give me more time to read it. I thought maybe she was reading a book that was not written for her age bracket but then I found out the total opposite. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is written for people her age!
To say the least, I never explained what the word meant neither did she get her book back. Instead I gave her Ellie McDoodle Have Pen, Will Travel by Ruth McNally Barshaw.
I learned from Courier-Journal.com that this week is supposed to be Banned Book Week. Fight against censorship and free speech they call it…who’s fighting to keep our children innocent?
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