Jean Darnell: Awaken Librarian

Today has been brought to you by Thor's hammer! You know when you have those impromptu discussions about pop-culture and it leads to brilliant debates and philosophical discussions by your students??? THAT happened to me today. In my Makerspace, I have a Thor and his hammer. I had it out as a coping mechanism for one of my autistic learners. Some of my male students saw it and began playing with it. Sadly, I didn't have my camera ready to go. I was in the "welcome to class" mode. Nevertheless, the arguement began on who can pick up Thor's hammer, all while they acted out trying to pick up the hammer. After watching them struggle on who could, I chimed in with Vision, as the current winner was Magneto. Being the best diplomat I could, I conceded that Magneto and Ultron could both pick up the hammer! I had to get started with class!!! While they worked, I did some  RESEARCH --after all, I AM A LIBRARIAN--as they walked out the door, I told them that...

Before I begin, I must caution you: This post is for those 12 and up, questioning societal issues!! I overheard some students discussing their rights to protest during their extracurricular events. I didn't reprimand them, because (1) I was eavesdropping and what I heard wasn't dangerous; (2) it's ingrained in my librarian soul for students to exercise their rights to "intellectual freedom," SAFELY; and (3) I was on my way home for the evening. My mind blocked me from educator role; it was focused on leftover, homemade Swedish meatballs! Lol! Nevertheless, I kept tossing and turning that night in bed because I wondered if those students acted on their feelings...and HOW! Before I knew it, I jumped out of my bed looking for resources. I had to teach them how to organize their thoughts and release their emotions in a productive way. In my midnight scurry, I pop outta bed and hurried then obsessively buried my thoughts in Teaching Tolerance's The Soun...