I really enjoyed The Friday Night Knitting Club and right now, I’m reading her second book, Comfort Food and that’s shaping up to be great as well. I’m on the library’s hold list for Knit Two, but I might just go out and get it. My favorite yarn shop got an advance copy that I flipped through on Saturday…lucky! Don’t forget to support your local book store!
Parent/Teacher conferences were last night. Ruby is having some trouble with her letter spacing, so her teacher suggested an activity that she could do at home. She was giving us some related materials and before she handed them to me, she asked if Ruby had any books to read at home. W.T.F does that mean? I was so stunned, it didn’t even occur to me at the time to ask her what she meant. It could’ve been an innocent question: there is a reading log for pizza points program which we don’t participate in b/c I think it’s ridiculous to reward children for something as simple as reading…and with food no less. Can we say “future food issues”? So, maybe she thought we didn’t participate b/c we have no books (but damn, the public library is two blocks from the school!) But it could’ve also been a race related question.
Yes, I always have to take it there. I’m a black woman, and that’s how it goes. The school my children now attend is less diverse in every way than their last one. It’s one of the best rated schools in a well rated district. At our last school, I would make small gifts for the holidays and special days for their teachers b/c I wanted to. At the new school, I got a letter informing me of the teacher’s birth date and her likes (which included Nordstrom) and dislikes. I was also asked in the letter if I’d like to contribute to a Nordstrom’s gift card for the teacher. Um, no, but if Ruby wants, she can make a card! Maybe I should send a letter with my likes and dislikes to the room moms…hey, I like Nordie’s, too!
At our last school, we saw faces of all colors and had families from different socio-economic backgrounds. At our current school, the parking lot is filled with luxury cars and the occassional brown face peeks out in the halls among a sea of white ones. I know there are plenty of parents who would love for their children to attend such a “good” school, but that doesn’t make it perfect. The classes are large IMO, which means children like Ruby (who is quite meek in public) tend to not get noticed as much. A classmate bothered her for some time without the teacher noticing Ruby putting her hand up to complain. I finally spoke to the teacher in person and emailed her and Ruby was moved. Her teacher knows few personal details about Ruby and was in fact, surprised to learn that Ruby has an older brother who attends the school. How messed up is that?
If I don’t like it…why don’t I pull them out? Homeschool or private school? I can afford neither one of those options at present as I actually have to work now. In any event, doing either one of those things would not fix public schools for all the other optionless families.
It makes me a bit sad that so far her experience isn’t shaping up to be that great. Part of it is that she really misses our little neighborhood school: she had her best friend since age two across the hall, and teachers who knew her long before she ever entered their classrooms. I don’t think any place will ever come close to her beloved and now idealized Texas Elementary.
I’m still miffed about the books thing though. I mean, what was she thinking when she asked if we had books in our home. Wait, maybe she wasn’t thinking. That makes more sense to me. Thankfully, all this “drama” has taken place mostly in my head, with a little told to my mom (who wasn’t angry enough for my liking, she was busy making phonecalls for Obama), and now some on the page. The kids aren’t aware of this at all, and I’m going to be hopeful that Ruby’s teach doesn’t treat her like some type of bookless ragamuffin (though bookless ragamuffins deserve equal education, whatever their parents might decide that is)…and that we make it through the year without other ridiculous comments that cause me to rant on my blog!
So this school thing is actually work! Imagine that! After being thrown off almost a week due to an error made by the school, I am now playing catch up trying to get two weeks worth of work done before next Tuesday. I will probably be up till O Dark 30 Monday night getting it done, but s’ok. I work best under pressure. Some people pace themselves and do a bit at a time but why would I want to do that? That would make sense!
The kids’ school year is winding down and seems to be drama free, so I’m happy about that. It has gotten stupid Texas hot the past few days and so I spend my time indoors between sun-up and well, bedtime. If I must go out, I scurry from air conditioned car to air conditioned building and back. Like I’ve said before, I am a delicate flower, not made for heat. I had heat stroke last year, and even fainted from the heat as a child.
My kids are currently banned from taking out library books due to the whopping fine I recently had to pay for a lost book. It was either that or go to court as not paying fines is considered a misdemeanor here. I’m not kidding. I bet the library ban goes out the window once school lets out…or maybe remembering those fines will keep the ban in check.
Anyway, I have reading to do, so I better get to it!
Cranford is on the spring lineup of Masterpiece Theatre! I read it last year when looking for books by Elizabeth Gaskell after seeing Wives and Daughters (which I still want to read).
I went to a book sale this morning and got my favorite year (1980) and volume (Volume 1, Poems and Rhymes) from the Childcraft series. I am so happy. It’s in perfect condition and I paid maybe 50 cents for it. What makes it even more special is that the inside cover is stamped with the name of a school near here that no longer exists.. When I was four or five, I would go to my great aunt’s house and pour over the entire Childcraft books. I always wanted a set of my own, but I don’t think I told anyone. So now I’ve started to collect them. I have three volumes of my favorite collection, and 6 from a more recent one.
I was flipping through it and found my very favorite poem as a girl:
I had a little tea party,
This afternoon at three;
‘Twas very small,
Three guests in all,
Just I, myself, and me.
Myself ate up the sandwiches,
While I drank up the tea,
‘Twas also I
Who ate the pie
And passed the cake to me.
Girlie is having a tea party this afternoon and I’ll be sure to read the poem when I attend. 
Updated my book-log! Now I’m off to curl up with a new one.
Click over to flickr for notes. The library is having a book sale next weekend, can’t wait!