From: Cassandra Whetstone <casscraig>
Date: Thu, 14 Oct 2004 09:27:56 -0700

On Oct 14, 2004, at 8:41 AM, Caroline Parr wrote:


When I taught second and third grades, we had a field trip budget that covered the cost of one bus trip, and we couldn't ask the families for money. So, once a year our kids would get to take a bus trip to the free day at a museum or aquarium. The left the fire station,
(Kindergarten claimed that one,) the grocery store (first grade snatched that one,) and only thing else we could do was walk to our local library.

I would get the library card forms ahead of time get them signed and returned to the library so that when we arrived for our scheduled visit the kids would get their new cards, (the ones that already had cards would bring them.) The biggest problem that I ran into was that every year many of my students who already had cards, or had had cards in the past, would have accrued fines for missing a late materials, and their families couldn't afford the fees. Every year I would bring my own checkbook to clear their fines so they could check out a new book. I also ran into parents who did not want their kids to have cards. I let those kids check out books on my card and crossed my fingers that they would bring them back to class so I could return them. Those wonderful kids always got their books back to me on time. They would have done beautifully with their own cards, had they only been given a chance.

The bittersweet thing is, our local library is going to be rebuilt,
(which will be lovely,) but in the meantime our library will be closed for a year or two, and we are to use the services of a branch much farther away. Too far for the kids to walk...


Cassandra Reigel Whetstone
Received on Thu 14 Oct 2004 11:27:56 AM CDT