Yesterday morning an 11th Grade girl came up to my desk and said, "Do you have one of those things that looks kind of like a safety pin? It keeps papers together?"
I said, "You mean a paper clip?"
"Yeah! That's it!" she said. "I couldn't remember the word!"
Dear God. I fear for the future.
And then later in the day, a fifth-grade boy put this book on hold:
Normally, a book like this would cause no concern at all. It's just biology, right?
But this book is written in a rather cheeky style, likening insect behavior to various human activities including orgies, bondage, rape, prostitution, wearing chastity belts and whatnot. Despite a Goodreads reviewer who says "it could be read by a middle school or high school student with no trouble at all," I had qualms about giving it to a fifth-grader. I could just imagine the questions it might prompt at the family dinner table. I showed it to the middle school librarian and she's going to follow up with the student to determine why he wants it -- is it because of the sex, or the bugs?
Ah, life in a school library.
This morning I have to be in extra-early (7:30 a.m.) because my boss is away and I have to open the library for some classes we have coming.
I mailed Dave's ballot yesterday, so now we have both cast our votes. I snapped the top picture on my walk to the post office, on that same dog-legged street I photographed when I mailed my own ballot.
Finally, last night as we were going to bed, we let Olga out for a final walk around the garden. When we let her back in, we neglected to give her a treat. When she didn't come in the bedroom I wondered why, and I looked out the door and got this:
"Ummmmm...excuse me but WHERE'S MY TREAT?!"
Working hard on one hand.. but Olga thinks you're a slacker on the other!! That look...
ReplyDeleteOlga, clever in her quiet way, gets everything she wants. My heart is filled with love for her. She always makes me long for the dog I had.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad she can be a "community dog" here in blogland!
DeleteYou got up and gave her a treat, right?? I like the rainbow flags, they brighten up the area.
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, we gave her a treat. She'd never have let us go to sleep otherwise!
DeleteMore like "I am so disappointed the humans forgot my treat"
ReplyDeleteI hope she got one. Not sure what happened to my comment about the car stickers.
It's there! It's on the Sept. 28 post, the one that mentions Maggie Smith. (I'm just seeing I never answered those comments -- argh!)
DeleteWe had a elliptic cat who would not eat his breakfast until he had his small lump of cheese (with a tablet inside), they just know!!!
ReplyDeleteAnimals like their routines a lot. When something happens every day they expect and even require it.
DeleteThat shot of Olga is hilarious!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it? Dave and I got such a laugh out of that look.
DeleteCome clean Steve! You know you just wanted "Six-Legged Sex" for yourself. By the way how do woodlice mate and what's their foreplay like?
ReplyDeleteLol at Olga. I don't know English grades. How old was the lad who wanted the book? 15+ would be ok in my mind.
ReplyDeleteA fifth grader would be ten or eleven years old.
DeleteThat Olga picture is a keeper!
ReplyDeleteI love it too!
DeleteI've been skewered about this before but I'm someone who feels that grade school libraries should have their books censored or at least some of them restricted. But by fifth grade, kids are starting to get curious about things and I'm more receptive to them being able to check out books probably like the one you pictured above. Public libraries however, should be able to put whatever books they want on the shelves.
ReplyDeleteP.S. In case you missed it due to your busy schedule, I did an in-between normally scheduled blog post on the identify of the dwarf major. You were correct that he wasn't a mayor!
I don't think it's a matter of censoring or restricting, but I do think librarians should use professional judgement in what they make available to kids. And I think nearly all of them do that. The protests focusing on certain books tend to overstate the level of access to those books, and the librarian's role in guiding students to the right material for them.
DeleteI'm in complete agreement! I used the terms censored or restricted but meant them in the sense of using judgement versus burning them.
DeleteI love that photo of Olga! I think working in a library in these times of banning books would stress me out to the next level.
ReplyDeleteIt does make one super-cautious, but honestly, I'd question this book's appropriateness even in less controversial times! It's not the bugs, it's the fact that "bug sex" is described in human sexual terms.
DeleteOur Molly is the same if we forget to give her a treat after she's been outside.
ReplyDeleteThey know when they've earned a treat!
DeleteOlga will not be ignored.
ReplyDeleteBug sex? And a book about it???
I know, weird, right? And no one has checked this book out in the 22 years we've had it. I wonder why?! LOL
DeleteI love Olga! That book makes me blush and I haven't even read it (it's fine for OTHER people, but I can be a bit of a prude - ha!).
ReplyDeleteYou should see the inside!
DeleteOur dogs come and stare at us until they get their nighttime biscuits. Don't mess with their treats.
ReplyDeleteHa! Olga does that at dinner time -- which is 6:30 p.m., sharp!
DeleteOur animals certainly do know when it's their treat times and they train us to be prompt about it.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious- would it make a difference if the fifth grader wanted to read the Bug Sex book because of sex rather than bugs? Or vice versa? That's so funny. Now I want to read the book.
I suppose if he wanted to read about bugs we'd find him another book. If he wanted to read about sex, likewise, we'd find him something age-appropriate!
Deleteoh yeah, that look.
ReplyDeleteYou know it well, I'm sure!
DeleteSex is weird.
ReplyDeleteOlga is perfect. Ohhh that little face...She can have whatever she wants, clearly.
She is very persuasive, isn't she?
DeleteDogs can communicate far more than we think.
ReplyDeleteWith just a look!
DeleteAre you sure Olga said "excuse me"? It looks to me like there might have been an expletive in there. ;-) I got a text message from the county recorder, my ballot will be arrive late next week. It's going to be a long one with many propositions so it will take some work to get it done but I intend to do it right away.
ReplyDeleteHa! Yeah, she might be saying, "Excuse me DAMMIT"! Glad your ballot is on its way!
DeleteGlad to hear that you did get up to give your sweet Olga her treat! How could you forget?!
ReplyDeleteOnce you mentioned that the book is 22 years old, I would say sure, let him check it out. I bet he will just flip through to look at the pictures and never read the whole thing...
Weirdly, some books from the '70s and '80s are even more explicit than what we might be comfortable with now -- or perhaps simply explicit in different ways. Our ideas about consent and sexual violence, for example, were quite different in the past. (I'm not saying this applies to the Bug Sex book but just that the fact that it's 22 years old is no guarantee of palatability.) You're probably right that he wouldn't read it, though.
DeleteAwww, that is such a sweet photo of Olga. I would love to read some excerpts of that book. I may look it up on Amazon. :) Do Dave and you have mostly the same political opinions? I always wonder about couples since another blog friend is a Harris supporter whereas her husband and most of his family are MAGA. John and I are on the same page politically although he's not as pro-union as I am. Strangely, for a retiree from Boeing. I remind him that he used to pay $10 a month for his health insurance when I was paying $700.
ReplyDeleteYes, fortunately, Dave and I are on exactly the same page politically. I can't imagine being married to someone MAGA. That would be a challenge.
DeleteThat'll teach you not to give Olga a nighttime treat, that was quite a look!
ReplyDeleteYou can really tell what she's thinking, can't you?! LOL
DeleteOlga does the look of reproach better than anyone.
ReplyDeleteShe really does.
DeleteWhat a post! The paperclip incident is mildly disturbing for several reasons. As for the book, I'm really curious about it! (I hope any illustrations are drawings rather than photographs.) But the best part is that photo of Olga. I'm glad she made it clear you'd been derelict in your duty.
ReplyDeleteYes, the illustrations are drawings. I wonder if the artist ever imagined she'd be asked to draw a dragonfly penis?
DeleteDo you know Two Men and a Little Farm blog and their black cat, Hobart? There's another "not spoiled" family pet! LOL Olga's picture is priceless! Not spoiled at all?
ReplyDeletePerhaps the boy needs a little chat with a male teacher or librarian about the facts of life! Rather then focusing on the book, perhaps, the focus should be on the boy!
No, I've never read that blog! Hobart is a great name for a cat, though. Yes, when students ask for an unusual book, we often think about how to let an advisor know -- but there's also an expectation that their book choices are confidential, so we use that tactic sparingly.
DeleteClearly Olga has her treat schedule and it must not be deviated. That look tells it all.
ReplyDeleteA book on bug sex and reproduction sounds like a good exploration. What throws me is relating it all to human sex.
You might find this student is really looking for a sex ed class.
Yeah, exactly -- if it were just about bugs it would be fine, but it's really about relating insects to the HUMAN sexual experience.
DeletePoor Olga...Training the humans is a never ending job!
ReplyDeleteHa! She definitely feels that way!
Delete