“Only Thing More Expensive Than Education Is Ignorance”

Tomorrow I head to Ohio for the Virginia Hamilton Conference, so today is filled with much rushing about and checking off of to-do lists.

Thing the first: post this video.

Here’s a short video of me explaining why every school must have a library and a qualified librarian to students at my local high school.

 

Here are the pull quotes:

"School libraries are not luxuries, they are the foundations of our culture."

On the fact that math scores are up across the country, but reading scores are not: "We haven’t asked parents to volunteer to teach our algebra classes… we haven’t fired math teachers and let kids to figure it out on the Internet, but we’ve closed libraries and fired librarians, who are the central figure of literacy in any school."

I quoted Ben Franklin: "The only thing that is more expensive than education is ignorance."

My dream: "Let’s fight to make sure that every school in American has an amazing library staffed with an incredible librarian."

Thank you very much to everyone who made my morning at Mexico High School possible; especially Principal Donald Root, Librarian Nancy Nicholson, and teacher Mike Charbonneau, who did such a fantastic job with the video production. Go Tigers!

8 Replies to ““Only Thing More Expensive Than Education Is Ignorance””

  1. I love this-

    “A school library that doesn’t have a trained professional, qualified, full-time, well-paid librarian in it is just a room with a bunch of books in it.”

    I’m an education major working on a project about what I think schools in America need to change. One of my major points is that all students have a right to a fully staffed, technologically up-to-date library. Do you mind if I use this quotation?

  2. Hi Mrs. Anderson! For a school assignment, I had to read Fever 1793. It was a great book! I really enjoyed it. After reading it, I was stuck with a one question……..
    *How do you come up with the characters, and make them seem so real?
    I really hope you can answer this!!! Thanks

  3. Cheers!

    Laurie,

    Thanks!

    Also, FYI, vvvvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeerrrrrrrryyyyyyyyy slow loading today–you must be writing up a storm

    or your server is very busy.

    Ed (who will be in NY on May 14, 15, and 16 to pick up Penni)

  4. For a shy person, you’re making a great spokesperson.

    Here’s some favorite library quotes.

    I ransack public libraries, and find them full of sunk treasure.
    – Virginia Woolf

    I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.
    – Jorge Luis Borges

    A circulating library in a town is as an evergreen tree of diabolical knowledge! It blossoms through the year! And depend on it, that they who are so fond of handling the leaves, will long for the fruit at last.
    – Richard Brinsley Sheridan

    Interviewer: You grew up in poverty. What helped you move up?

    Michael Caine: Books. For me, it was the public library. The greatest thing I ever learned to do was read.

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