Happy Thanksgiving to all of our American friends, family and neighbours! Along with Turkey and football games, another staple of American Thanksgiving for many is listening to the 18 minute classic, “Alice’s Restaurant.”
November has been Peace month in the School Library, with an emphasis on understanding peace education, the anti-war movements, civil disobedience and other non-violent means of social change. Such themes overlap with American Thanksgiving in “Alice’s Restaurant.”
Originally released in 1967, Arlo Guthrie’s 18 minute long recording of “Alice’s Restaurant” is a protest song against the Vietnam War. The events described in the song, beginning with a Thanksgiving celebration amongst friends during the sixties, were the inspiration for a film which was released in 1969.
More than 50 years later Guthrie’s signature song is a staple of classic rock radio stations on and around American Thanksgiving.
Give peace a chance. Come down to the School Library to check out our current display of books related to the peacemakers, non-violence, anti-war movements, peace education, civil disobedience, radical forgiveness, and the cause of peace.
Should teachers set aside time during the school day for kids to read for pleasure?
Yes.
Should schools do more to encourage kids to become recreational readers?
Yes.
Will there be enough of a payoff for our education system even if it means less time spent on other things?
Yes.
The answer to all these questions is most certainly yes.
Reading for pleasure, recreational reading, free voluntary reading, personal reading– whatever you want to call it– is built upon the intrinsic goal of reading because it directly benefits the reader: Reading for the sake of reading. Yet there are myriad indirect benefits that come from recreational reading, many of which lead to profoundly positive educational outcomes.
Source: Freepik
A teacher should care that a student reads for pleasure, because reading brings pleasure to the student! However, more than that, a teacher can also point to so many other benefits that come from recreational reading that will pay off in terms of academic achievement, social learning and character education.
If teachers (or parents, or administrators) are worried that the kids are missing out on valuable educational lessons, please remember this: Students who read more for pleasure will do better in school. Recreational reading has many, many indirect educational benefits to students. Students who do more recreational reading will see improvements in vocabulary, writing skills, grammar, spelling, comprehension, critical thinking, concentration and so many other skills that are essential to one’s overall education.
Moreover, students who read more for pleasure will grow in social and emotional learning, as students can share in the experiences of different people, growing in empathy and understanding for people all backgrounds, ages, genders, orientations, beliefs and cultures.
As if those weren’t enough reasons for reading, here are some more. Reading books can help mitigate against the harmful effects of too much time spent on phones and in front of other screens. One simple and yet important example of this is that studies show that people who read from books or magazines before bed will sleep better than those who are looking at screens before trying to fall asleep.
There are so many reasons to read.
Schools need to do more to encourage kids to read for reading’s sake. In doing so, the school will reap the rewards of having kids who do better in school.
October is International School Library Month
and Canadian Library Month.
October is International School Library Month. Come down to your School Library to browse through our collection of books related to libraries, librarians, librarianship and library books.
Here are some non-fiction library books about libraries:
Do you have a Library Card? If not, get one! Do you use your Library Card? If not, why not? Take advantage of all that libraries have to offer. Visit your local Public Library, and the many great libraries of your city, including Surrey Libraries, VPL and FVRL. And as always, take advantage of everything that your School Library has to offer. October is Canadian Library Month. The best way to celebrate is to use the library!
October is International School Library Month. Join with schools in Canada and around the world as we take this month to learn about, and celebrate, the vital role that libraries play in education around the globe.
The theme of ISLM in 2020 is “Finding our Way to Good Health and Well Being.”
October is a big month for School Libraries. October is International School Library Month. Not only that, October is also Canadian Library Month. More still: October 16 is Canadian Library Workers Day. As if all that wasn’t enough, October 26 is BC School Library Day, with the annual Drop Everything and Read Challenge.
Look for more information about all these observances and events throughout the month of October, as we celebrate the essential role of Libraries, especially School Libraries, in our society.
Can you identify these books? These are the Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2019, according to the American Library Association. Reply with your answers in the comments.
Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary School Library 