Thank you to Ms. Medvetz and Ms. Sullivan for asking for assistance for their classes’ English research papers. Both teachers require students to have print and electronic sources. Rather than having students rummaging through the library stacks, however, they have the LMC prepare a cart with the best, most current books and magazines in our collection. Students are still free to look for themselves through our shelves, but with so many good online resources available, most students don’t.

               One thing teachers might not know, is that once a cart is prepared for a particular topic, we scan the books into our Follet’s software where we create a category, such as PRO/ CON Topics or Novels About Math. This can be printed out as a reading list for students, and can be amended as new titles are added.

               In checking on a link for E-Library, Ms. Medvetz discovered that it was broken, and we had to turn to other databases. Ms. Sicard (my trusted aide) found a good alternative in Gale Student Resources, a database I never mention. We also reminded Ms. Medvetz of Pro/Con.org, a site run by a non-profit organization whose mission statement says, “”Promoting critical thinking, education, and informed citizenship by presenting controversial issues in a straightforward, nonpartisan, primarily pro-con format.” 

               Ms. Sullivan’s class was rewarded by Ms. Sicard’s persistence when she checked the E-Library link again and found that it was now working. In order to access these subscription databases, students need a library card from the Haverhill Public Library, so we always remind students to apply for one. (All you need is an ID and proof of residence). 

               Another way I got to participate with a class this past week was by being invited (along with History teacher, Ms. Jones) to debate one of Mr. Levine’s classes. Wednesday through Friday during 4^th period, groups of three, four and five students did a wonderful job presenting opening statements, rebutting counter points and examining tough questions that we confront as a society. Among the topics we covered were, “should children’s beauty pageants be banned” and “should Columbus Day be recognized in the United States”? To prepare for the debates, the students used many online resources including a site recommended by Mr. Levine himself, and hosted by the international debate education association. Needless to say, we will be adding it to our blogroll. 

               I also want to thank Ms. Nunez-Donnelly for her recent visit and for helping us recycle our People in Espanol magazines by repurposing them as authentic examples of Spanish language in print. When her classes recently visited the LMC to do research, she noticed that People in Espanol was among the periodicals which we receive. Since we no longer archive print periodicals, Ms. Nunez-Donnelly asked that we pass along the magazines for classroom use. The articles in the magazine are perfect for practicing Spanish as they tend to be short, high interest and non-technical in nature.

               We do keep a few back issues of other magazines, as space allows, and classes often use these for art projects and/or presentations. Ms. Nieves in F22 (aka, in-house) also gets a bi-weekly delivery of older magazines for students to read. When they claim to have no homework or classwork to make up, she encourages them to find something interesting to read. Considering that we pass along back issues of magazines such as Mad, Motor Trend, Seventeen, Hot Rod, Entertainment Weekly, Discover, Sports Illustrated, Rolling Stone and ESPN, they should be able to find something to spark their interests. 

               Whenever possible, I try to copy and share interesting articles with teachers, especially those who frequent the LMC and discuss their classroom interests with me. Among the articles that I passed along recently are:

• Elite Athletes Have a Brain for the Game (Science News Magazine): Studies show that what separates the best athletes from the rest of the pack is usually a case of mind over matter. Practice, focus and attention are all variables for how an athlete performs, and in the end it really is in their minds.
• Self Control Pays Off Says Study (Science News Magazine): According to this article, patient children can be identified as early as age three. Turns out the quiet, aloof ones might be on to the secret of success.
• 50 Best Restaurants in Boston (Boston Magazine): While the print article is pretty good, the online equivalent has great pictures of delicious food with the restaurant information (I know, your smartphone also has it). What a great list to have the next time your field trip just happens to be in Boston.
• Friending Atticus Finch: English Teachers’ Perspectives on MySpace as a Contemporary Framework for Literary Analysis (Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy). What better demonstrates the quick pace that technology is moving at than having an article published in 2011 talking about MySpace? By the time the JAAL starts writing articles about using Twitter at school, it’ll be so yesterday. 

                In closing, I’d like to again thank everyone that uses the LMC and its many resources, especially the two humans who staff the place. Nothing makes us happier than seeing the place being well used and feeling like we could help you all in your academic pursuits. Thank you for stopping by. Have a great day and a great new semester.

 Copyright © henry toromoreno, 2011. All rights reserved.

……………As usual, the idea of New Year’s resolutions came up and we made a game of it and laughed about it. While it was a light-hearted discussion, I think New Year’s resolutions are a great way to jump start a personal challenge, make a positive change and/or develop a skill you’ve always wanted. This blog started for me as a New Year’s resolution back in 2007, for the following year. I simply wanted a place to practice writing regularly and a forum that would allow me to communicate my interests (both professional and some personal) with an audience.

……………This post marks the beginning of my fifth year writing this blog. I have written 165 posts and shared over one thousand links to websites from everywhere around the web. Conservatively estimating that each post is about 500 words long, I’ve written over 80,000 words and I am probably closer to 100,000 words or the length of a 400 page book. I am not listing these numbers as a self-congratulatory exercise, but as a demonstration of how accumulating a little work over time can add up to something you didn’t even envision.

……………My mother used to say to me, “the thing to remember about life, is that one day follows the other”. She used this line in bad times as a way of saying, tomorrow you get to try again. She also used this line in good times as a warning, that without practice or a plan, you end up without direction.

……………New Year’s resolutions are something most of us take lightly, but they serve as a yearly reminder to take inventory of ourselves and of our lives. Planning to do something is just the beginning though. The harder part, as we all know, is doing it … and continuing to do it.

……………Thank you for stopping by and I hope you found something worthy of a resolution.

Quick Hits: As usual, there are some finds I’d like to share.

• Most Popular New Year’s Resolutions: In the spirit of making changes, this infographic from LiveScience.com shows what most people promise to work on for the new year.
• The Big Waste: The Food Network is not the first place I think of when I think of educational television, but they do have some delicious (and ridiculous) ideas for what to do with food. This program is advertised as something with a conscious, as the Food Network takes a look at how much food we waste on purpose. We throw away lots of food (surprise, surprise) because it just doesn’t “look good”.  (Sunday night, 1/08/12 at 10 pm)
• A.J. Jacobs: How healthy living nearly killed me. In the spirit of Morgan Spurlock’s 30 day documentaries, Jacobs gives his short talk revealing how following all the best advice about how to live a healthy life led to some small changes that really matter.
• Sebastian Wernicke: 1000 TEDTalks, 6 words: This statistician has given other TED Talks, and in this one he tackles the job of trying to distill the meaningful content of one thousand presentations to just six words. I could tell you what those words are, but that would rob you of the chance to wonder what they could be.

Copyright © henry toromoreno, 2011. All rights reserved.

__________After reading the article myself, I don’t understand what all the hysteria or controversy is about. Or maybe I understand, a little.  In Time magazine, the writer Toure, responded to Marks’ article by basically condemning the author for having the audacity to give poor black kids any advice since you know, he’s not black, poor or a kid. How dare he? This kind of hulabaloo is about race and its entangled relationship with social class, when the article, with all its obvious limitation is really about work, and the personal responsibility each of us has to hone our talents in spite of our limitations. Amy Chua caused a similar uproar when she published her book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom, where she praised the rough discipline of her “Chinese” upbringing over the soft laissez faire parenting of “American” mothers.

__________Take away the element of race/ ethnicity, and it’s really a conversation about class differences …. that is, connections and expectations. But Mark’s article, as trite and superficial as it is, is also most importantly about the work that makes the difference between “getting by” and “being great” at something. The work, the commitment and the vision to bring them together is something that no one can give to any of us. Malcolm Gladwell points out in his book Outliers, that there were plenty of kids who grew up in the same suburbs at the same time as Bill Gates, but it only produced one Bill Gates.  The same can be said nowadays of people from all walks of life, from plenty of places (think Mark Zuckerberg, Sean Carter, Justin Bieber … yes even Bieber).

__________Many minority writers, including myself, who have taken the time and energy to respond to Mr. Marks’ suggestions are obviously seething at the paternalism they sense in his work. The idea that all it takes is hard work to make it in this country, however, is one of our nation’s most treasured myths, along with the notion of the DIY individual and the countless tales of bootstrap pulling. Today we remember Horatio Alger not because he was a great writer, but because he cemented in our collective imaginations the archetype for the American hero … a nobody from nowhere, an outsider who through dint of hard work and personal perseverance casts off that most distasteful of all un-American blemishes: poverty.

__________Mr. Marks could have saved himself a lot of trouble if he had just removed one word from his title and thesis. Of course, this would have meant that no one (including myself) would be talking about the article today, and that’s no way to sell a story. What controversy would anyone find with such cream puff advice such as, “And the very best students, even at the worst schools, have more opportunities.  Getting good grades is the key to having more options.  With good grades you can choose different, better paths.” Blah. It’s such a shame that bringing in race is still like throwing a Molotov cocktail into the discussion. But it is and it will remain so as long as class and race are so closely tied together, and as long as we continue to discuss racial groups as monoliths with some sort of essentialist quality that percolates in the blood of each individual.

__________What I found most interesting about Marks’ article was his perfunctory and mostly unintentional revelation that there is a class system at work that most people (black, white, and other) pretend doesn’t exist. He mentions that his own kids have an advantage over the kids in the poor neighboring community just because of where they live and who they’re surrounded by. Then, in the middle of his tips he says this:

• “Most private schools I know are filled to the brim with the 1%.  That’s because these schools are exclusive and expensive, costing anywhere between $20 and $50k per year.  But there’s a secret about them.  Most have scholarship programs.  Most have boards of trustees that want to give opportunities to kids that can’t afford the tuition.  Many would provide funding for not only tuition but also for transportation or even boarding.  Trust me, they want to show diversity.”

__________Three things struck me about this passage. First his admission that most private schools are not filled with the best and brightest students who are there necessarily because they tested in or showed great promise in some field. They are there because they belong to a certain class. Period. Second, the idea that scholarship programs are some sort of secret, even in this day and age of ultra connectedness; some back door entry into the hallowed halls of their privileged institutions. Thirdly, the line “they want to show diversity”. Not they want to be diverse. Not they believe in diversity. They want to “show” diversity. ‘Nuff said.

__________I provide links for all my references, so you can read and decide for yourself how you feel about this all. Thank you for reading and I hope you have a great Sunday.

Copyright © henry toromoreno, 2011. All rights reserved.

• The Sketchbook of Susan Kare, the Artist Who Gave Computing a Human Face, by Steve Silberman/ In the wake of the passing of Steve Jobs, a number of other Apple related stories have begun to emerge and I found this one fascinating for a couple of reasons. First and most importantly to me is the idea of getting to peak into someone’s notebook/ sketchbook/ diary/ journal. I blame my uncle Leonel, and his gift to me sometime around my 12^th birthday or Christmas. The Sketchbooks of Leonardo da Vinci introduced me to my first icon and hero. But this love of mine to look behind the scenes at the creative process is not unique, of course, otherwise there would be no DVD bonus tracks to speak of. The commentary track on every DVD is basically a book without the reading. I found the Kare’s sketchbook both fascinating and nostalgic.
• The Dwindling Power of a College Degree by Adam Davidson. The Occupy Movement has brought attention to the growing disillusionment of young college educated Americans who have little prospect for a profitable career and are burdened with crushing debt from that college experience. It’s not just a bunch of whiny, lazy people who want everything taken care of by the government. The reality is that there have been huge economic shifts in the last two decades, and the results are starting to shake the foundations of the “American Dream”. No one knows for sure what the future holds, but there have certainly been disturbing economic trends that indicate there are serious problems with our current version of capitalism.
• Gabe Zichermann: How games make kids smarter. TED Talks … Do I ever write a month’s worth of posts without mentioning this site at least once? Whenever I have a few minutes, I make sure that I stop by this site to view their latest offering. This time around I discovered Mr. Zichermann’s provocative talk which asks, “Can playing video games make you more productive?” While I agree with the idea that games present novel challenges which may make some kids better problem-solvers, I completely disagree with the presenter’s conclusion that the days of sitting around with a cup of tea and a good book are over … that’s just plain ol’ ridiculous.
• Frontline Videos: Among the many video resources that I have listed on the eponomously named page of this blog is the PBS offering Frontline.  You can find all their free streaming videos on their website. I purchased their College, Inc. video, but you can also find it here along with dozens of other interesting videos such as the Madoff Affair (Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme), Top Secret America (post 911 government and privacy), and The Card Game (credit cards and consumers). The great thing about streaming video is you can find the portion you want, and only play that for your class. Online resources like this are great now that we have video projectors in many classroom, and it’s another reason teachers and students should get into the habit of bookmarking these sites for easy reference.
• Fahrenheit 451: the authorized adaptation by Tim Hamilton, with an introduction by Ray Bradbury: Not all of my reading is limited to text. I love a good story told using animation, and I try to add a few of the best “stories told in pictures” to our library collection with every book order.  I’m not saying that picking up this graphic novel is a substitute for reading Bradbury’s full length novel, but I would certainly use it to compliment any class room reading. Best of all, the introduction by Bradbury is not some thrown together blurb, but a mini essay about the creative process and the many forms a story can take.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you find something worthwhile.

Copyright © henry toromoreno, 2011. All rights reserved.

          So Halloween was canceled? Or postponed in many communities because of a freak storm that left as many as three quarters of a million people in Massachusetts without electricity. Sure, it’s been great weather ever since, but I was one of those people left without power for a few days, and I have neighbors who didn’t get their power back until more than a week after the storm had passed. My home got its connection back to the civilized world around one in the afternoon on Tuesday, November 1, 2011. As is usual for me, this “event” gave me much to think about and reflect upon. Here are a handful of personal observations:

• I am woefully under prepared for emergencies: The truth is that I have lived through many events that would qualify as emergencies, such as the the blackout of ’77, the blizzard of ’78, Hurricane Gloria, Y2K, the noreaster of 2004, the financial meltdown of 2008, and so on. While each of these events impacted my life in some small way, each was a relative blip in my emotional landscape. I’ve been really fortunate to have lived four and a half decades of a relatively crisis free life. I’ve never been in the bull’s eye of something like Hurricane Katrina, Chernobyl, Bhopal Gas Leak, the World Trade Center or any other such catastrophes we learn about daily. Perhaps it has been this experience that has led me to be so lax in preparing for real catastrophes. So far, I’ve gotten by okay with just what I have available to me to get by, until things get back to “normal”. If my wife hadn’t sold candles at some point in the past, we wouldn’t have had any in the house. The only flash lights we had were all attached to my oldest son’s “spy gear” toys … night vision goggles, nerf guns with lighted scopes, thumb sized LEDs.
• Electricity & indoor plumbing are the roots of modern comfort: Sure glass windows are great, and electronic gadgets that we plug into the walls make for awesome forms of entertainment, but the truth is that we really only need lights, heat and water indoors to make for pretty fabulous modern living. I use my computer, television and radio like the media addict that I am, but I didn’t miss them hardly as much as I missed having lights to read a book by, and water to rinse my hands and take a shower. I can, however, learn to live comfortably without most of my appliances. During my years in college and grad school, I didn’t own a TV for seven years. Even today, I’ve never owned a microwave, ipod or a DVR unit. I don’t eat much toast or make much coffee at home. What I do need at home are lights, a refrigerator for food, a stove for cooking, heat in the home, and a working sink, tub and toilet. Everything else is a bonus.
• I am no longer a city boy at heart: I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and while I did have to shovel out my stoop and the sidewalk, I never had to worry about trees or leaves or any sort of yard work. It has been more than ten years now since I bought my first home and I have learned how much work it takes to maintain a house and the property it sits on. Even though I have a lot of land to cover, I really enjoy the time I have just being outside, raking a bunch of leaves, clearing some brush, cutting back a tree. It is hard work and time consuming, and I don’t really do any gardening or beautifying of my place. I don’t wear headphones or listen to music while I work outside. I just listen to the sounds coming from the woods around me, monitor my breathing and lose myself in thought or thoughtlessness.
• I love my solitude, but recognize my need for others: While I was out there clearing my yard of the debris left by the one day storm, I couldn’t help but feel really lonely at times. Individualism is held in the highest regard in the United States and it is the reason we all want our own homes, our own cars, our own rooms, our own everything. We are not used to sharing, especially when it comes to sharing burdens or responsibilities. I grew up in a house with two younger brothers, two adopted cousins, my maternal grandfather, my paternal grandmother, two uncles and an aunt. Whenever there was something that needed to be done, there was much help to be had. Nowadays, I have to bribe, threaten or trick my eleven year old son to come help me; but once he’s out there, it changes everything.

Quick Hits (In the spirit of thankfulness)

• Thank you to Ms. Jones, for giving me the idea of being thankful, and for always having a smile and kind word … no matter what.
• Thank you to Ms. McClain, Ms. Nunez-Donnelly and all their dancers for their wonderful presentation in the LMC for Hispanic Heritage Month. The enthusiasm and eager participation of the audience demonstrated the finest qualities of our student body and left us all feeling really good heading into that weekend.
• Thank you to Ms. Patturelli and all the guidance counselors for their wonderful effort in organizing and supervising the college fairs held in the LMC during October. It was great to see so many schools visiting HHS and realizing how many opportunities you open for our students through your work.
• Thank you to all the teachers (too many to name) who continue to use the LMC computer labs and resources, despite several technological set backs. Your patience and understanding in dealing with our technical difficulties proves you always have a plan “B” to fall back on. We’ll continue to work hard to keep our labs in the best condition possible because we believe your students’ time and work matters.
• Thank you to the building maintenance crew who always comes around to help in a pinch. Your attention to detail makes a huge difference in our work environment. I like the color coded hallways if for nothing else than to break the beige monotony. (Now help me finish painting the mural out side the TV studio).
• And of course, my biggest “thank you” to Ms. Sicard, for refusing to stop showing up. Thank you for being there day in and day out, bright eyed and fluffy tailed, ready to take on the hordes that come at you before I even step into the building. You are like the NOAA tsunami warning system in the ocean of my job. (Too much Big Bang Theory in the background).

The LINK: As always, I look through TED Talks to find a fascinating speaker. I hope you feel the same way after listening for twenty minutes. Charlie Todd: The shared experience of absurdity (Like we’d know anything about that).

Now this post is done … and I can move on. Thank you for reading, and I hope there are many things you’re thankful for today.

Copyright © henry toromoreno, 2011. All rights reserved.

               So, how do we decide what to use our valuable (and shrinking) book funds for*? Many of our book orders are recommendations from teachers and students, along with our own choice titles. We pay close attention to the conversations we hear all around us, so that if there’s an interest in a title or a writer, we make sure they find their way onto our shelves (That explains how Potter, Twilight, Da Vinci Code, and many others arrived). We also recognize where our collection is lacking, and try to improve those weaknesses. Needless to say, this is not an easy or simple task, trying to consider and balance all of the resource needs for a school as large and diverse as Haverhill High School.

               Thrown into the mix, of course, there are my own biases combined with my educational philosophy. There’s no sense in having this much power (to fill the shelves with ideas) and not trying to shape it in some meaningful way. Looking through the book orders, it should be clear that I have an agenda, and here is some of it, along with examples of books I ordered for our collection.

• Promote professional development: I’ve mentioned in past posts that I was working on a professional development library for our faculty, and that work continues. Our modest collection now has a great new area rug where the orange “landing strips” used to be. (Only true Hilltoppers know what I’m talking about). Among the new additions to this burgeoning collection are Improving Human Learning in the Classroom: Theories and Teaching Practices and Google and the Myth of Knowledge.

• Expand notions of “literacy”: I openly admit that I loved reading comic books as a kid. Even now, a good graphic novel or a cartoon in Mad magazine can be just as satisfying as a text only book or a magazine article. Nowadays, many educators are finally beginning to rediscover that there is more than one way to tell a story. We’ve been expanding our graphic novel collection for years now. Among our current collection you’ll find titles such as Maus I & II, Citizen 13660, Yossel, and Persepolis. We’ve also just received graphic novel adaptations of two classics; Fahrenheit 451 and Darwin’s Origin of Species.

• Stay current with social issues: The 300′s in the Dewey Decimal system is among my favorites. Where else can you find a collection that reflects the ever changing dynamics of society? Here, you’ll find evidence of us working to get along. Each generation faces new controversial topics, and we try to keep quality titles for research based papers. Among our new books are titles that deal with the U.S. economy, the world economy, fair trade, capitalism, conserving the environment, immigration, online social networking, factory farming, drug legalization, vaccinations and more. BONUS: ProCon.org is a site I am still exploring, but that looks promising as an online resource. It has 42 “issues” divided into 11 categories including education, politics and sports.

• Promote non-fiction and pro-science reading: I fell in love with reading primarily through fiction but by the time I was in high school, I was reading much more non-fiction. I still love a good novel, but if I can choose a book about the history of pencils or rats or heartburn or the color peach instead, I do. Fortunately, there are many capable and entertaining writers telling all kinds of fascinating stories about the world. Recent arrivals include The Edible History of Humanity by Tom Standage, Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin, Language and the Internet by David Crystal and Snake Oil Science by Barker Bausell.

• Support AP students and courses: One thing that was lacking when I first started working here were study materials for students to check out. Our collection did not have any test prep material for students taking AP courses or preparing for the PSAT, SAT or ACT. With competition for college entrance getting tougher every year, we felt it necessary to develop a collection of these books. We try to order 4 or 5 test review books in the various AP subjects, keep one for the library and pass the rest along to the classroom teachers.

• Continue sharing TED Talks: This isn’t at all about the book orders, but about great free online videos. I’ve known about this site for at least a couple of years, and I am always amazed that I can still find some new fascinating talk, told in a different way, in under twenty minutes. This time, I found an animated talk titled, “A Darwinian Theory of Beauty”.

That’s all for now. Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you found something interesting.

* There is a formal selection process outlined in the LMC information and policy handbook.

Copyright © henry toromoreno, 2011. All rights reserved.

• Technology is here to stay and yet, we’re not really sure why we’re using it sometimes. I’ve seen teachers bring their classes down to use the computers, but they are being employed in vastly different ways. Some teachers bring their students to use the internet for research, guiding them with recommended sites, while others allow their students to simply Google anything they want, and/or use wikipedia as a source. Still others only visit to have students type their essays, never using the internet or online databases.
• It is interesting to watch students working on asynchronous, distributed learning like Virtual High School courses and the NovaNet program. Some packages include video and audio segments to go along with the standard online reading and writing. What is clearly missing is the classroom interaction, the back and forth of discussions and questions. I’m left wondering if this model works for all learners, and if the “assessments” (usually multiple choice questions) really demonstrate learning or simple recall of information.
• I am amazed by how many students still see the computer as basically a typewriter and/or an entertainment system. When they are not typing a paper, they are trying to access music or games online because, according to them, “I’m finished with all of my work”. Besides the occasional Power Point presentation, I hardly ever see students using computers to actually “compute” anything. That is, I hardly ever see anyone using a spreadsheet to plot information or create graphs. I have never seen students creating a database, learning what fields are or how to run a query. I haven’t witnessed students independently watching educational videos from PBS, Yale Open Access, TED Talks, Khan Academy or any number of valuable information sources available online. Instead, I find them looking at Nike sneakers, cars few will ever be able to afford or the latest video from Nikki Minaj or Lil’ Wayne.
• Finally, I posted a picture of Steve Jobs, along with a quote attributed to him, on my office window the day after he died. There is no mention of who he was, only the dates 1955 – 2011. Not surprisingly, more than a few students had no idea who he was, even though they carried versions of his ipod in their pockets and had little white ear buds hanging from their collars. One writer I read, mentioned that perhaps Jobs’ greatest contribution to our culture was his ability to make technology fun and beautiful. I leave that for others to decide. 

               There it is. Some observations from where I sit. Like I said, I am not sure what all this means, but I know that I am watching a radical departure from what school was like when I was a student. I love technology, and I am thankful for the incredible power it puts at our fingertips. I’ve learned though, that whenever something is gained, something is inevitably also lost. Many people have started taking sides on what we’re gaining and losing with the advent of always being connected. I recommend for your consideration the following books, which we have in our collection:

•  Fool’s Gold: why the internet is no substitute for a library by Mark Herring: We just got this title in, but obviously it would strike a chord with me, being a librarian. I’ll give a more informed review when I’m done reading it.
• The Shallows: what the internet is doing to our brains by Nicholas Carr: I’ve mentioned this book on this blog before, but I think it’s worth repeating. Carr’s thesis is essentially that our brains are “sculpted” by the thinking and learning technologies they encounter. Everything from pictographs, the phonetic alphabet and maps have all informed our minds about the state and shape of the real world around us. Now neuroscience is discovering that our latest and greatest invention, the internet, is changing how we think.
• The Future of the Internet: and how to stop it by Jonathan Zittrain: Another new arrival to our shelves, I can’t say anything except that it promises to be interesting. According to the blurbs and reviews I’ve read, the author posits that commercial interests have already started taking control of what was once an open, democratic and often, chaotic new form of communication. The real danger for users lies in the ubiquity of the internet and the incredible power it has for gathering information about all of us.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you found something interesting and useful.

Copyright © henry toromoreno, 2011. All rights reserved.

               There are many celebrations worth noting in October. October 2^nd was the birthday of Mohandas Gandhi. International World Teachers’ Day is October 5^th. October 9^th is Leif Erikson Day and the second Monday is Columbus Day; each claiming European discovery of the Americas. October 12^th is a new-found favorite of mine, Freethought Day which marks the end of the Salem Witch Trials. October 16^th is World Food Day, sponsored by the United Nations which has its own celebration on October 24^th (it was first organized in 1947, in case you forgot). Then, of course there’s All Hallows Eve or Halloween as we know it on the last day of October. Dress up and collect candy, not a bad interpretation of what started out as a pretty scary festival.

               This Columbus Day weekend, I recommend you read one of my favorite essays, Barry Lopez’s “The Rediscovery North America”. It seems to me, to be pertinent to the present state of affairs, considering the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations that have crept up over the past several weeks. How we measure wealth, status, well-being, abundance, and our relationship to the earth itself are all considered by Lopez.

               On a different matter, we’ve started getting some of our orders. Many thanks to The Library Video Company who delivered our order in about a week’s time. Among the twenty six new DVDs we’ve added, a handful of titles that look really interesting to me are:

• College, Inc.: This hour long program takes a look at the current state of higher education in the United States. Produced in 2010, the program focuses on the for-profit and online sector’s rise and influence.
• Growing Up Online: Google just turned 13 years old. That means that every freshman we meet thinks it’s always been around. My own eleven year old son has ventured into virtual vistas I’ve never visited (that’s alliteration, folks). Another Frontline program, but I stand by my curiosity.
• America, The Story of Us: This 3 disc offering from the History Channel will hopefully not include any conspiracy theories or UFOs in the telling of how we came to be who we are. It seems to me that the more we learn about all the people who populated the past, the less certain we sometimes become about who we really are. This is the History Channel’s nine hour attempt to talk about the man in the mirror. (Good luck, ese).
• Killer at Large: It seems like every year the news gets worse about our weight. Morgan Spurlock’s “Super Size Me” was just the first of many documentaries and reports that have chronicled our nation’s ever growing waistline.
• Human Footprint: Anyone who has ever been responsible for taking out the garbage or handling the recycling of the house has stopped and wondered, “how much stuff do we throw out in a lifetime?” It’s staggering when you stop to think about how much material goods you need to get by in an average day. This film is from National Geographic and was released in 2008; it also has online resources intended for classroom discussions. 

               I want to thank Ms. Hart and Ms. Donnelly for bringing their freshman classes for the LMC orientations. From their behavior, questions and overall general demeanor, I can tell that we have an excellent group of students for the class of 2015. I expect to hear great things from them in the coming months and years.

 Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you find something useful.

 Copyright © henry toromoreno, 2011. All rights reserved.

            It’s not surprising then, when people assume little to nothing about what it is you do. To most, the librarian is mainly a keeper of books; a person in charge of an inventory of material things, arranged on the shelves in a secret order known only to the librarian. In some ways, that’s true. No one knows what we have (and don’t have) on our shelves as deeply as we do. But we are also here to provide a variety of services to our students and faculty. In case you’re not sure (or have forgotten) about what services the LMC can provide, here’s a refresher list for you:

• Computer time: There are many computer labs now throughout Haverhill High School and you can sign up for those labs via the new X2 schedule prepared by the wonderful Ms. Gauthier. To sign up for the LMC, you’ll have to come to the desk and ask for our calendar. Teachers can sign up for the computers around the pit (1) or the library lab (2). We ask that teachers test any websites they plan to use for class lessons on the actual library computers their students will be using to make sure there will be no unforeseen problems with filters, unloaded apps or other tech glitches that can ruin 40 minutes of learning.
• Prepare a book cart for your class: Suppose you’ve planned a unit on Shakespeare or the Great Depression or the Salem Witch Trials or Famous Scientists, and you want books related to that topic. Maybe you want your class to select books for outside reading, but aren’t sure what titles are appropriate or even interesting. Give us at least a day’s notice and we can gather together those valuable print resources for your classes. Even if you don’t want us to pull all the books from the shelves, we can print you a list of all the titles that apply that we have in our collection, so that you will know ahead of time what kind of text resources are available to your students.
• Help research and plan a lesson/ unit/ project: Print materials are of course, just one of the resources available to today’s teachers and students. The number and variety of available on-line “learning objects” staggers the mind when we consider how relatively new the internet still is. We can help you discover and integrate these educational resources into your curriculum. Whenever possible, we will work with teachers to gather and organize their materials for their lesson plans.
• Media lab presentation: Teachers can schedule time in the library lab, where there is a video projector and six foot screen available for presentations. This is especially useful if you are trying to guide your students through a website activity, such as signing up for a SchoolNotes.com account. (NOTE: Teachers please print out a class list of student log-in accounts from X2 prior to visiting the lab, as it will save you valuable class time). Remember that I am available to assist or lead presentations in the library lab.
• Librarian presentation: I am available to lead presentations on a variety of topics and am willing to work with teachers to develop new lessons. Some of the lessons I have taught (using many titles) in the past are: Using Subscription Databases, Using the Internet as a Research Tool, Using the Internet as a Learning Tool, Introduction to Big Chalk’s E-Library, How to use Microsoft Powerpoint, How to use Microsoft Publisher/ Word, and more.
• If you’re not sure about how to use or integrate technology in your classroom, stop by and talk with us to see if we can help. Of course, we do other things around here (like dusting, shelving, weeding, ordering, stacking, storing) helping however we can. So keep us in mind as a resource when you’re planning your school day.

Thank you for stopping by, hope you found something useful, and our extension is 1143, in case you need us.

 Copyright © henry toromoreno, 2011. All rights reserved.

               Before I go on, I must give a great big “thank you” to Ms. Gauthier and Bart for getting our computers connected and running. Thank you also to Ms. Cripps for timely delivery of the VHS student list and to Ms. Shaffer downtown who taught me how to extract information from X2 we needed to update our circulation database. It’s easy to forget how much harder our jobs can be without a little help from those around you.

               The rest of this post is just what the title suggests, an unrelated (but hopefully interesting) quick list of ideas for your pleasure: 

• Hispanic Heritage “Month”: September 15^th through October 15^th. Thank you to Ms. Esparza for reminding me of Hispanic Heritage Month which kicks off in in the middle of September. Why, you may ask? According to Wikipedia, “September 15 was chosen as the starting point for the celebration because it is the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. They all declared independence in 1821. In addition, Mexico, Chile and Belize celebrate their independence days on September 16, September 18, and September 21, respectively.” (Don’t worry, I checked their source … they lifted that quote from usa.gov). If you’re not sure what to do to commemorate this event, you can get some ideas and resources at:
• Scholastic
• Biography Channel  
• Smithsonian Institute

• Banned Books Week: I was reminded by a new English teacher that the last week of this month celebrates “Banned Books”; from September 24^th until October 1^st. Hard to believe that anyone would try to keep books out of kids’ hands, but there is actually a long and colorful history around “dangerous” books. JD Salinger, Mark Twain, Joseph Heller, even JK Rowling (Harry Potter) and Stefanie Meyers (Twilight) have faced the wrath of parents and communities afraid that what’s on the printed page could be more offensive than censorship. Find more information about this at the American Library Assocation site. They also have a great list of Frequently Challenged Books, along with a brief description on why the book was banned.   
• A while back I found what I thought was this fascinating little video online called the Story of Stuff. I liked it because its simple line drawing animation made the complicated topic more manageable. Granted, there is what some would consider a left wing political lean to the videos, but there is much else to be considered. Media literacy is today just as important as print literacy, and even if you don’t agree with everything the producers of these videos from Allegheny College have to say, they do a good job of using video & animation to explain difficult ideas. 
• I have this fascination with time and I love playing with calculators that tell me how much time has passed since or how long it will be until. I was wondering just how many days I’d actually been alive, so I found a fun little calculator on line to help me do the math. I was reminded that I was born on a Monday, and that at 5:30 on Friday, September 16, 2011 I was 534 months old or 2,325 weeks old or 16,279 days old or 390,713 hours old or 23,442,809 minutes old or 1,406,568,592 seconds old. P.S. My next birthday celebration happens in less than 156 days 6 hrs 30 mins 9 secs.

That’s all for now. Thank you for stopping by and I hope you have a great Sunday.

Copyright © henry toromoreno, 2011. All rights reserved.