Time for another link round-up! Here are some interesting things I read this week:
Zetta Elliot has a comprehensive list of 2016 MG & YA titles by African-Americans.
“If you haven’t experienced poverty, you can’t imagine it,” she said. “It’s so close, so tight. It’s fraught with so much deprivation that it just explodes.” She added, “Homosexuals, the transgender community, women, blacks—they’re mistreated. With poor people, it’s not mistreatment. You’re not even there. You don’t exist. It seeps into your brain.” — Viola Davis’s Call to Adventure
I was looking for a way to motivate myself to write next year, and Kim’s don’t break the chain board has inspired me.
I am endlessly amused that Elisabeth put so many books on hold that her library CUT HER OFF from requesting more.
“It took me a long time to let go of the guilt and the fear associated with knowing about the world’s injustice. I thought I had to do everything all the time to combat oppression.
But burnout is real. I’ve seen it in countless community organizers. I’ve felt it, too.
But if burnout is real, so is healing.” — 5 Self-Care Tips for Activists (The url for this is actually “self care for woke folks,” which amuses me to no end.) (Also, this struggle is so real.)
She added: “I want to tell the world – do not see us in a weak light and see that even we can go out and do things.” — 17 Badass Women You Probably Didn’t Hear about in 2016
“What is the relationship between the average TV situation comedy to reality? What about the cop shows? Cars are continually swerving out of control, crashing, and catching fire. The police are always good and they always win. Do not ignore that point: The police always win. What a lesson that is.” — Philip K. Dick on Disneyland, reality, and science fiction
“This depiction — God as a woman despite its gender-less designation in the Bible — has some critics incensed.” — Octavia Spencer is playing God in The Shack and I am here for it. I have also added the book to my TBR.
“My students can’t write a clear sentence to save their lives. It’s my job to help them change that.” — True story: once I stopped bitching about my students’ lack of ability and started actually teaching them, I saw improvements in my classroom. Funny how that works, isn’t it? Anyway, I agree with pretty much everything here.
“George’s story teaches us that there’s no such a thing as a small or meaningless good deed. Despite his frustration at the state of his life, George discovers his small contributions over a few decades of life had an out-sized impact on the world.” — Overthinking It explains why It’s a Wonderful Life is more relevant now than ever.
I’m looking for diagnostic assignments for the beginning of next semester, so I needed this reminder about students and goal-setting. It’s also a good reminder for me to set out my own resolutions for my courses.
I always ask, “What is your favorite book and when did you read it?” and “What was the last book you read cover to cover?” — Since I’m going to force my students to read for fun next semester (yes, that’s a thing), I appreciated this discussion of why reading for fun is necessary for composition students and also how to get them to think about their own reading.
More goal setting! Also, I have done some reflecting on my past term, but I would like to write up a post about it.
Some good tips for differentiating instruction here.
“In essence, traits in a person’s appearance that are tied to their culture but are otherwise changeable are not protected and can be used to deny job offers.” — U.S. Court Rules Dreadlock Ban During Hiring Process Is Legal. This is the very definition of racist, btw. I wonder how these people feel about Afros…
Here are some fun book blogging prompts for December.
The Englishist 
Thanks for the links! I loved the self care article. I’m dreading certain gatherings around the holidays because I’ll see like-minded friends and family, and I just can’t talk about oppression or the election anymore. I wish I could stay home. Those gatherings are too much for me, in part because I’m also involved in those types of conversations for my job, meaning I just never get a break. Ever. Of course, the fact that I want a break from all of it makes me feel guilty. Ugh.
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I was determined to get OFF the Internet this morning, but wow, there is so much here I want to explore! Thank you for sharing (and for including my post!). (Since I checked out something like 50 books from the library this week, I now have room to place more holds. Which I promptly did. Thankfully, most of the books are PBs so chances are good I will actually read them!)
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