Regular updates and musings on curriculum and technology in the Salisbury Township School District in Allentown, PA.
Once Upon A School
In this video, writer David Eggers asks people “to personally, creatively engage with local public schools. With spellbinding eagerness, he talks about how his 826 Valencia tutoring center inspired others around the world to open their own volunteer-driven, wildly creative writing labs. But you don’t need to go that far, he reminds us—it’s as simple as asking a teacher “How can I help?”
If a volunteer entered your building, your classroom, and asked you “How can I help?”, what would your answer be?
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Comments
This was an excellent video. The willingness of professional adults to share time with children and provide positive role models is outstanding.
Wow! Eggers’ project has certainly evolved since the last time I heard about 826 Valencia. I was aware of his creating a space for kids in his neighborhood where they could encounter some incredibly successful role models, but I was not aware they had expanded out into the schools. I love the tongue-in-cheek line that the key to happiness is homework. We’ll have to start using that quote for motivation. 
In response to Randy’s posed question about how to use volunteers: I already do use them in many traditional ways, but I know we local library media specialists have more than once wished the libraries were open regularly in the summer and after school hours. I can envision these sorts of endeavors in the library as well as the space Eggers’ volunteers used. From what I understand the European libraries are much more full of this creative energy interchange among patrons