A little more than halfway there.

So this is week 6 of my 9-week summer of service; it certainly is going by quickly. I have some really awesome pictures to share with you guys, but first, I thought I'd reflect a little on my summer so far - it seems like an appropriate time to do so.
===========
I set a goal at the beginning of the summer of understanding the reasons why an education gap and illiteracy exist in Marion County. I thought, at first, that this was something to be blamed exclusively on lack of initiative at home (by the parents). However, my experiences on the bookmobile have proven otherwise - many parents are thoroughly excited about checking out books, reading to their children, and taking advantage of the services the bookmobile offers. Perhaps because the bookmobile is a limited resource (in the sense of how many times it can make its routes), only a limited (although significant) number of patrons in Marion County are affected. Surely, the bookmobile alone cannot fix an education problem.
Working with kids in the puppet show has also revealed this blatant gap in reading level. The children I've encountered are sometimes several years behind in the level of reading that they can handle, with others only slightly behind. There are several possible factors I can identify here. The first that comes to mind is motivation - both on the part of the parent, and consequently, the child. Although it is difficult for me to analyze each child individually and decide whether his or her parents are reading to him or her every night and actively showing and interest in his or her life, I am sure that this contributes to the problem. This motivation is not just something that I am attempting to morally condemn parents for not having - I understand that single mothers, low-income families, and a multitude of other home life situations make setting aside time for anything that's not absolutely "life essential" difficult. But this "life essential" argument may be where the discrepancies arise - reading to your child or participating in his or her education should be a "life essential" task. Having involved parents who do this with their children, especially in the crucial 0-4 years, will certainly foster a better-educated community.
Frankly, one of my first perceptions of educational problems in Marion when I arrived at the library was a lack of better facilities. The Marion library, which I have mentioned before, is crowded (both administratively and on the "business side"), with a lack of children's programming areas and a collection that is cramped for space because of the physical limitations of the building. However, five weeks into this internship, I see that while better facilities would certainly help the situation to some extent, the library is rich with resources for all age groups - at least to an extent that no child should ever be hungry for knowledge when visiting.
For example, it offers the Mother Goose on the Loose program, a weekly workshop for babies and their mothers that emphasizes reading and singing. What's so interesting about MGOTL, as phrased by Cathy, is that "even if you don't have time [or literacy skills] to read to your child, every mother can share the pictures from a book or sing a nursery rhyme with him or her." This quote really shows the power of investing time in a child's life - doing whatever you can, when you can, to improve his or her life.
Undoubtedly, the issue of education is an extremely complex problem: one that we can't just "solve" quickly and easily. The last contributing factor that I have perceived both during my internship here and life experience is a striking educational counterculture amongst many economically unprivileged youth. I've perceived it as something emphasizing that it's "cool" to not care about education. What this has sprung out of it another complicated issue in itself, but I felt that this culture was worth mentioning of my analysis of the situation so far.
=============
So what has Summer Reading done to combat the issues of education Marion County is facing? We're putting the "fun" and "cool" back into learning and reading. Whether we're exercising creativity by making LEGO structures, or acting out stories about mischievous pigeons, Summer Reading seeks to get kids excited about both the library and reading in general. We reward them for the hours they rack up on their reading logs and try to emphasize that reading is something you can do whether you're sitting down with a good novel or just reading a comic book. I'm really happy with the moods and activities that the whole program has been pervading.
============
And now, for some cool pictures! The expressions on the kids' faces really make this all worth it.


The kids making "friend finger puppets" with felt and craft supplies.

If you want a running tab on all the pictures and happenings going on during Summer Reading, make sure to check out the Marion County Library Summer Reading Page , as one of my internship responsibilities is updating this page pretty frequently. It has links to all the photo slideshows (being updated almost daily) and other happenings.

I hope you enjoyed this extremely long and reflective post =]

- David

PS: Why do I sign these? I guess it's like I'm writing a letter. Oh well.