A Poem for the 2020-2021 School Year


 

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Why I Changed My Policy on Gaming in the Library

I am kind of ashamed to admit that I used to be one of those librarians who was a real stickler for the rules. And in some ways, I am still a stickler. But I'm starting to rethink a lot of things. One thing I've done a complete 180 on is my policy on gaming in the library. I used to have a few kids come by after school to hang out and play harmless games like Slitherio on the computer. They weren't playing anything inappropriate, but they were in the library and they were not quietly working or reading. Surely, that could not be allowed. If I let a few kids in, hordes of kids might follow. Why, it could turn into an arcade in no time! What about the kids who wanted to study? How would they learn? I had to put an end to this gaming at once! Then the public library that's a stone's throw away from my school closed for renovations and moved into a temporary location on the other side of town. It was too much of a hike for many of our students to walk to the public ...
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The Honeymoon Is Over

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Photo by Davide Ragusa on Unsplash The leaves are falling, the pumpkin-themed products have established their dominance over all, and despite an unseasonably warm month, it's officially fall. The shiny new school supplies aren't so shiny anymore, the newness of the school year is wearing off, and the marking period is half over. May I be so bold as to say that the honeymoon is over? What I mean is that the students, the teachers, and the parents are fully into the swing of things. We all know what that means. We are all just a little bit exhausted. Homework has been forgotten, assignments have been lost, and students may be getting just a little chatty or a little unfocused. They're kids after all, not robots programmed for optimal learning performance. So now is when the real work begins. That book I recommended? The student didn't like it. I have to dig a little deeper and think about something else to recommend. That vow I made to keep my desk neater ...
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How I'm Like Ebenezer Scrooge

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Don't worry. I'm not a curmudgeon exclaiming "Bah Humbug" at every checkout. I'm like Ebenezer Scrooge because I've seen the error of my ways, and it's time to make amends. A few years ago, I chased kids who wanted to play games like Slitherio and Mope.io out of the library. Literally.  Then, like Ebenezer Scrooge, I woke up and realized I was doing it all wrong. Photo by James Vaughan on Flicker Here's what happened. A few months ago,  I  wrote about why I decided to allow gaming in the library. This decision represented a change of heart for me. I wasn't  completely sure if I was making the right decision, but I thought a little experiment couldn't hurt. I promised readers an update on my gaming policy, so here it is. I never advertised the fact that I had lifted the ban on playing games, but somehow word spread. Now that the weather is getting colder, more kids want to play games instead of going outside for recess. Had I turned a ...
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