A'int That the Truth

Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them
- A. A. Milne, Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh

Summer Reading Club

The NC staff have tolerated procreation with butterflies and carnage with praying mantis. Exhibited above is a happy release.

It's Summer!

Summer is in full swing. The branch is decorated for summer reading club, prizes organized, packets stapled, and volunteers organized. LATI is wrapping up with the showcase next week. I have worked on my early literacy project all spring and I hope the display clearly shows how hard I have worked. I put together my portfolio, a display board and a PPT. I'm glad I'm finished with summer reading kicking off on Monday.

Summer is blooming!

A Whole New Mind

Daniel Pink's A Whole New Mind covers many aspects of the physical mind and the workings, along with expectations of our current society. The organ that studies itself is very interesting indeed. I have experienced headaches for many years and I wonder how so many aspects of the brain could be effected. My MRI didn't include any interesting photographs for me to view as Dan Pink experimented with. My father has suffered with depression and it is interesting how medication and therapy as effected his brain. Lastly it is very timely as a friend's teenage son tried to damage his entire frontal lobe. We are all holding our breath as he recovers to find out what personality will be revealed after recovery from this severe trauma. When I went to Pratt I attended the teenage brain basics and found that very interesting. I don't know that I have a specific question but I would like to discuss any of these topics with Daniel Pink.

My mother says we have everything we need and most of the things we want. As our society separates the classes more distinctly we will watch the automation and jobs diversify across the globe and economy. I think we are raising an entitled group of children who have never experienced hardship. I do not truly believe the most conceptual will always be at the top of the heap. I'm not sure the personality of a creative person is indicative of being the most competitively successful. Like Vivian I have a teenage son and an elementary school age son and I would hate to find we are educating them for jobs that will become obsolete or outsourced.

I have not finished the book, just the first three chapters, but I would encourage a reader to check it out and be "open-minded" about the diverse subjects this book covers. I found it be initially be a quick read but plan to revisit the title when I have more time. Empathy, play and meaning are all topics I would appreciate.

On May 1st LATI went to the Enoch Pratt Library. First there was a tour of the library and then a Google and more class. Teen Brain Basics was also very interesting. The slide show starts with a Honore's friendly face on the corner as promised. The main hall is quite grand. I was interested in the children's department and enjoyed the fireplace (Starbucks--eat your heart out) and the fountain. The basement storage is really voluminous! I hope I can return.

SLRC