Happy 85th Birthday, Maurice Sendak!

Happy 85th Birthday, Maurice Sendak!

Just more than a year after Maurice Sendak’s death, and an even half-century after the publication of his most famous book, his wild things spring eternal-Washington Post

Check out the full Washington Post article.

What is your favorite Maurice Sendak book?  Let us know!  Ours is Where the Wild Things Are.

James Gandolfini Reads Maurice Sendak's Most Controversial Book

Two creative icons on the precipice of mortality.

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Hard to Believe: Harper Lee Sues to 'Re-secure' Mockingbird Copyright

Harper Lee Sues to 'Re-secure' Mockingbird Copyright

For someone who shuns publicity, here is an upsetting article connected to many reader's favorite classic, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee...read on...

Harper Lee filed a lawsuit Friday in federal court in Manhattan to re-secure the copyright for To Kill a Mockingbird, the Associated Press reported. The suit, which seeks unspecified damages from Samuel Pinkus, the son-in-law of Lee's former literary agent, and companies he allegedly created, claims that he "failed to properly protect the copyright of the book after his father-in-law, Eugene Winick--who had represented Lee as a literary agent since the book was published in 1960 through the firm McIntosh and Otis--became ill a decade ago."-Shelf Awareness

To read more about this developing story, check out the Washington Post Article entitled: To Kill a Mockingbird author Harper Lee’s new courtroom drama

Additional Related Articles:
NPR
Slate
Word & Film

What are your thoughts on this story?  Let us know here at The Things You Can Read.

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The Things You Can Read

Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books!

A Warning to College Profs from a High School Teacher

A Warning to College Profs from a High School Teacher

Here is an excerpt from a Washington Post article entitled "A Warning to College Profs from a High School Teacher".  The article is filled with memorable quotes to help those who are not in the classroom understand the realities of teaching in our public schools today.  

Please do not blame those of us in public schools for how unprepared for higher education the students arriving at your institutions are. We have very little say in what is happening to public education. Even the most distinguished and honored among us have trouble getting our voices heard in the discussion about educational policy. The National Teacher of the Year is supposed to be the representative of America’s teachers—if he or she cannot get teachers’ voices included, imagine how difficult it is for the rest of us. That is why, if you have not seen it, I strongly urge you to read 2009 National Teacher of the Year Anthony Mullen’s famous blog post, “Teachers Should Be Seen and Not Heard.” After listening to noneducators bloviate about schools and teaching without once asking for his opinion, he was finally asked what he thought. He offered the following:

Where do I begin? I spent the last thirty minutes listening to a group of arrogant and condescending noneducators disrespect my colleagues and profession. I listened to a group of disingenuous people whose own self-interests guide their policies rather than the interests of children. I listened to a cabal of people who sit on national education committees that will have a profound impact on classroom teaching practices. And I heard nothing of value. “I’m thinking about the current health-care debate,” I said. “And I am wondering if I will be asked to sit on a national committee charged with the task of creating a core curriculum of medical procedures to be used in hospital emergency rooms.”
The strange little man cocks his head and, suddenly, the fly on the wall has everyone’s attention.
“I realize that most people would think I am unqualified to sit on such a committee because I am not a doctor, I have never worked in an emergency room, and I have never treated a single patient. So what? Today I have listened to people who are not teachers, have never worked in a classroom, and have never taught a single student tell me how to teach.”

What are your thoughts on how public schools are doing educating our children?  Are you concerned?  Why or why not?  Let us know your thoughts, here at The Things You Can Read.

Happy Reading!
The Things You Can Read

Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books!