The Card

         

          What would you do for a library card?  I grew up in Arcadia which had a beautiful library that I imagined looked like the White House.  Growing up with three brothers, I soon discovered that I was the only one who actually liked going to the library.  My family did not buy books.  We went to the library.  Now, we “went” to the library, but I was usually the only one looking for books.  While searching for books that held scripts (I loved putting on back yard productions with my brothers and neighborhood kids in the summer) and Laura Ingalls Wilder books, my brothers waited with my mom in the lobby.  For me, a library card was a passport, and I put it to good use every summer.  I was a girl and a nerd, and I carried a library card.  

            Well, my three children have been raised in Claremont.  In Claremont, owning a library card is not just for nerds, because in Claremont, obtaining a library card is a rite of passage.  Claremont is known as the “city of trees and PhD’s.”  Now, while most citizens do not have their PhD, they do have a library card.  This is the same town that has a “What Are You Reading?” feature in the local paper, and promotes an annual reading program called, “On the Same Page” in which citizens all commit to reading the same book (participation is noted by a yard sign featuring the title of that year’s reading selection) every fall.  Only in Claremont will the Friends of the Claremont Library annual used-book sale be one of the must-attend events of the year.   

            Claremont’s library is tucked in the center of the Village, with shops and City Hall on one side, and the Claremont Colleges on the other.  Across the street from the post office and down the street from Some Crust bakery, the library was always on the way to some essential errand.  At my children’s elementary school, the most anticipated field trip in 3rd grade was a three mile walking field trip to the library for a reading presentation.  And for the lucky few who brought their parent-signed application form, library cards were obtained.  Now, this was a field trip with a purpose.  I have chaperoned these trips several times.  A student who was able to flash a new library card was as envied as a teenager with a new driver’s license.  Library cards not only allowed access to a world of books contained within a building, but admission into a city culture that made books a means of connection for its citizens. 

            In a world that provides instant electronic access to books and reading materials through e-Books, Kindles, and EBSCO, my local library is still a destination of choice for my children in the summer.  Home from college, my daughters will either ride a skateboard, bike, or walk to the library.  Yesterday, I found on the kitchen counter the library card for my daughter, Sarah.  It holds her “big girl” signature from the 3^rd grade.  Eleven years later, that signature still speaks to me of the day that she walked a three mile round trip for that card, and the pride that she felt at becoming a card-carrying citizen of Claremont.

Seeing Red

         

         I am not color blind, and I am grateful for that.  The   opportunity to experience color is everywhere:  feelings, food, and politics.  And editing.  But were you aware that one of the greatest perceived threats to students today is the application of a color?  To be specific, it is in the use of the red pen. 

            When used by a teacher, the color red has a force that can always be counted on.  Correcting a spelling test?  A red pen will draw immediate attention to the misspelled word, as well as shouting out the total score and percentage at the top of the paper.  I have never had an issue with the red pen.  As a student, I knew that its role was “professional” and not “personal.”  The red pen conveyed that teacher-voice.  Whether constructive or affirming, a comment written with the red pen demanded attention.  But now some educators believe that attention created by the red pen has been deemed “stressful.”

            Feelings, whether stated or implied, have always been attributed to color.  Red is not the sole defendant.  We have all used colors for both negative and positive situations.  Feeling blue?  Well, maybe not if you just won a blue ribbon.  Are you green with envy?  Probably not if you just got the green light on your latest project.  How about politics?  Is your state red or blue?  Depending on your party affiliation, one of these is good for our country while the other will lead us to despair.  But then, if you are not sure, you just might live in a purple state.  And then there is red.  We have all had the experience of seeing red, but what about the color of passion and love?  No one can ignore the impact of the color red.

            Well, the red pen has become the latest scapegoat for inducing stress in students.  Teachers, principals, and some school districts have banned the use of the red pen in the correction of students’ work.  More “neutral” colors are being employed, such as green and purple.  In fact, manufacturers of pens such as Bic have increased their production of purple pens expressly for use by teachers.  The first time I corrected spelling tests as a volunteer in my children’s classrooms, I was given a green pen and told that it was less stressful for students if work was corrected in green.  It actually reminded me of when I was in 6^th grade and my teacher had us peer correct papers.  We were told to place a “C” next to the correct answers, leaving the incorrect answers unmarked.  We were told that it stressed a more positive tone.  After receiving our papers back, we used simple math to determine how many we got wrong.  So much for tone.

            When my son started his 8^th grade year, his English teacher sent home a list of supplies to bring to class.  They included college ruled paper, pencil with eraser, black pen . . . and a red pen.  This struck a chord in my writer’s heart.  Speaking as a writer, and with a husband who makes his living writing, the red pen has always been an invaluable tool for improving writing.  Over the years, my husband Brad has spoken to 6^th grade classrooms at our children’s elementary school, and he has campaigned for the red pen.  The power that the red pen has in the hands of the young writer can be transforming.  Its use helps the student/writer and teacher/editor deconstruct and re-map a piece of writing.  Marks on a written page can blend together, but the marks of a red pen is a beacon for the writer.  It takes the writer by the shoulders and says, “This is where we get to business.” 

             Physical items do not possess power.  Instead, their  power is assigned by people.  I love the color red.  Red is a color that is in nearly every room of my house.  I see it as welcoming, passionate, and happy.  As an educator, I want my students to feel empowered and confident.  So I will choose the red pen. 

Home is Where Vince Is

           My home has a sound.  Music has always been a big part of our home, and it is evident through the instrumental relics in every room:  piano, electric keyboard, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, violin, clarinet, and drum set.  And a harmonica.  But even with all of these instruments, the sound that can best be associated with our home is actually an artist:  Vince Guaraldi.

           Vince Guaraldi’s presence in my home began about 25 years ago.  I added “A Charlie Brown Christmas” cassette to a Christmas present for one of my brothers back in the mid-80’s as a kind of a joke.  My brother Danny and I shared (and still do) a deep love for all of the Christmas specials that aired each year.  In the years before these specials were available on video tapes, one had to tape the shows themselves or make sure that they did not go out the nights they were shown.  This was especially hard for someone who worked as a bartender during college, like Danny.  I decided one year to tape every Christmas special for his Christmas present.  The fact that all of his friends loved this tape and that it was passed around is another story.  But I added the Vince Guaraldi cassette as that cherry on top.  Nothing more.

            Several years later, with the birth of my first daughter, I began the nightly routine of rocking her to sleep while listening to a lullaby tape.  Nice for a while, but as it grew closer to Christmas, I decided to buy my own “Charlie Brown Christmas” cassette and played that during the holiday season.   Well, it did not take long before I noticed my daughter’s reaction to the music:  she fell asleep more easily.  Listening to Vince every night became her night-time ritual, and this ritual continued with the birth of her sister and brother.  Listening to Vince also provided a feeling of home whenever we traveled.  Playing the tape in the car or in a hotel room provided a sound of home.

            Over the years my kids have made fun of my love of Vince Guaraldi and all of jazz impressions.  An accomplished jazz musician, I appreciated how accessible he made jazz for me, and I shared this with my children.  His music is often playful, and yet evokes a mood that is hard to pinpoint;  happiness, adventure, a little melancholy, and a yearning.  Not unlike childhood itself.   

            My children are older now.  My daughters are both away to colleges on opposite sides of the country, and my son is in high school.  During their time away from home, it would not be unusual for me to receive a text:  “Listening to Vince.”  Whether a random placement within their playlists or specifically cued to inspire them while studying for finals, they each told me that listening to Vince Guaraldi soothed them and made them feel like they were connected to home. 

            Yesterday, my 15 year old son was within ear-shot of the kitchen where I was playing a jazz playlist.  When “The Great Pumpkin Waltz” started playing, he called out, “This is my favorite song of all time!”  And this was coming from a boy who is spending today at the Van’s Warped Tour.  When I asked him why it was his favorite, he answered that it made him feel peaceful and at home.  Not a bad place to be.

http://youtu.be/IymAMEzEoDo