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captain_slinkyDear Mrs. Moore,
You probably don't remember me, but I wanted to let you know that my promise to you has been fulfilled.
My senior year in High School, I was in dire straights. At the end of my Junior year I had been told by the Counselor and the Principal that there was just NO WAY that I could ever get enough credits to graduate on time with the rest of the class. After much bargaining and number-crunching, we *did* find a way but it was near impossible!
I was told that the last item on the list was the most difficult to get, because the Librarian's Aid job was one of the most coveted positions in the entire school. You got free Kool-Aid and Donuts! Also, you had to actually *interview* for this position... this wasn't your standard "We fill this like a classroom on a first-come-first-serve basis", Mrs. Moore hand picked each kid for this. It was like a REAL JOB, and the kids who got to be Librarian's Aids always seemed to be just a bit more adult than the rest of us. And so at the end of my Junior Year after having been told that I NEEDED this position in order to graduate, I went to the interview with Mrs. Moore.
She was NOT impressed with me.
She had known me from my on-again-off-again involvement with the Knowledge Bowl Team (where I technically "Lettered" and could have gotten myself a Letterman's Jacket), but beyond that I had a pretty bad reputation as a slacker. After I told her my entire tale of needing so many credits, she looked at me disbelievingly and said "Tell you what... come to me after this Summer, after you've completed all your Summer School courses and Work Experience... we'll talk about it then, okay?"
She had said it in a way that spoke volumes. Her tone said that she'd seen kids in my position before, and they rarely ever came back for their Senior Year. She wasn't about to trust her Library to some slacker kid who was about to become another High School Drop-Out.
And so I left the Library that day, distraught over the thought that even IF I passed all my Summer School classes... IF I could work enough hours ant McDonalds over the course of the Summer and my Senior Year of high school, IF I could pass all my classes, IF I could get a job in the cafeteria... even if I could do all this, I still wouldn't graduate with the rest of my class unless Mrs. Moore decided to let me in to her Library as an Aid.
I really didn't think I could do it and I started looking at the possibility of dropping out. If not for my Mother, I probably would have dropped out, too... but she made sure i went to every Summer School class and every night of work on time.
On a side not here, I also owe a lot to the custodial and lunch room staff of the High School a lot, and I didn't even realize it till many years later; the Summer School Science Class I needed to take had to have a minimum of 6 people in it in order to take place, otherwise the whole class would have been cancelled. There were only three kids who needed to take the class :( But then The Lucnh Lady who I worked with all through my Sophomore and Junior year joined the class, as did Bill The Bus Driver and the Head Custodian... I wish I could remember their names... they took the class right along with us! And even when the other two kids dropped out, it was me and the custodial crew taking that science class to it's completion :)
The Summer came and went, I passed all my Summer classes and worked the maximum amount of hours at McDonalds for Work Credits. It was the week before School started, time to go see Mrs. Moore about that Librarian's Aid position.
In retrospect, I think that my friends from the custodial crew had spoken with Mrs. Moore before I got there, because he was expecting me. I showed her my completion forms and told her about how hard I had worked all Summer and she didn't seem too impressed... or maybe she was just overly impressed and unable to process it? I'm not sure... but she sat me down and gave me a speech. I don't remember it word for word, but it went something like this...
I told her that yeah, I thought I knew what she was saying. I told her about my passion for comic books and how that passion related to her idea of Libraries and Librarians, how each issue was like a time capsule not only of artwork and story, but also of attitudes and motivations.
We connected over that. With a resigned look on her face, she agreed to let me do a half-period Library Aid class to be split with my duties in the cafeteria. She then made me promise to remember everything she had told me.
"I promise, Mrs. Moore... I promise I'll always do whatever I can to keep the Library going. In one way or another, I'll be a Librarian for the rest of my life".
I graduated on time with the rest of my class in 1991. Shortly after graduation, I opened a comic book store. After leaving there, I walked away from the whole Keeper Of Civilization gig for a while... but now I'm back.
I volunteer at our grade school Library 2 days a week, and I don't think that the Librarian there knows just how honored I am te be helping her :)
You probably don't remember me, but I wanted to let you know that my promise to you has been fulfilled.
My senior year in High School, I was in dire straights. At the end of my Junior year I had been told by the Counselor and the Principal that there was just NO WAY that I could ever get enough credits to graduate on time with the rest of the class. After much bargaining and number-crunching, we *did* find a way but it was near impossible!
- Pass all my classes with a C+ or better
- Three different Summer School courses including Science, English and History
- A full semester night class at the Community College on Creative Writing
- Work Credit for my after school job at McDonalds
- Work Credit for my job in the High School cafeteria
- Work Credit *and* Class Credit as a Librarian's Aid
I was told that the last item on the list was the most difficult to get, because the Librarian's Aid job was one of the most coveted positions in the entire school. You got free Kool-Aid and Donuts! Also, you had to actually *interview* for this position... this wasn't your standard "We fill this like a classroom on a first-come-first-serve basis", Mrs. Moore hand picked each kid for this. It was like a REAL JOB, and the kids who got to be Librarian's Aids always seemed to be just a bit more adult than the rest of us. And so at the end of my Junior Year after having been told that I NEEDED this position in order to graduate, I went to the interview with Mrs. Moore.
She was NOT impressed with me.
She had known me from my on-again-off-again involvement with the Knowledge Bowl Team (where I technically "Lettered" and could have gotten myself a Letterman's Jacket), but beyond that I had a pretty bad reputation as a slacker. After I told her my entire tale of needing so many credits, she looked at me disbelievingly and said "Tell you what... come to me after this Summer, after you've completed all your Summer School courses and Work Experience... we'll talk about it then, okay?"
She had said it in a way that spoke volumes. Her tone said that she'd seen kids in my position before, and they rarely ever came back for their Senior Year. She wasn't about to trust her Library to some slacker kid who was about to become another High School Drop-Out.
And so I left the Library that day, distraught over the thought that even IF I passed all my Summer School classes... IF I could work enough hours ant McDonalds over the course of the Summer and my Senior Year of high school, IF I could pass all my classes, IF I could get a job in the cafeteria... even if I could do all this, I still wouldn't graduate with the rest of my class unless Mrs. Moore decided to let me in to her Library as an Aid.
I really didn't think I could do it and I started looking at the possibility of dropping out. If not for my Mother, I probably would have dropped out, too... but she made sure i went to every Summer School class and every night of work on time.
On a side not here, I also owe a lot to the custodial and lunch room staff of the High School a lot, and I didn't even realize it till many years later; the Summer School Science Class I needed to take had to have a minimum of 6 people in it in order to take place, otherwise the whole class would have been cancelled. There were only three kids who needed to take the class :( But then The Lucnh Lady who I worked with all through my Sophomore and Junior year joined the class, as did Bill The Bus Driver and the Head Custodian... I wish I could remember their names... they took the class right along with us! And even when the other two kids dropped out, it was me and the custodial crew taking that science class to it's completion :)
The Summer came and went, I passed all my Summer classes and worked the maximum amount of hours at McDonalds for Work Credits. It was the week before School started, time to go see Mrs. Moore about that Librarian's Aid position.
In retrospect, I think that my friends from the custodial crew had spoken with Mrs. Moore before I got there, because he was expecting me. I showed her my completion forms and told her about how hard I had worked all Summer and she didn't seem too impressed... or maybe she was just overly impressed and unable to process it? I'm not sure... but she sat me down and gave me a speech. I don't remember it word for word, but it went something like this...
Do you know the importance of The Library? The importance of being a Librarian? Of all the non-essential roles in society, the Librarian is the most important. Without us, the historians have no History. The actors have no plays. The singers have no songs. We keep it all and know where it all is. We keep the record of all humanity, all our facts and our dreams and everything that makes us more than just animals. We are the keepers of CIVILIZATION. Do you understand that?
I told her that yeah, I thought I knew what she was saying. I told her about my passion for comic books and how that passion related to her idea of Libraries and Librarians, how each issue was like a time capsule not only of artwork and story, but also of attitudes and motivations.
We connected over that. With a resigned look on her face, she agreed to let me do a half-period Library Aid class to be split with my duties in the cafeteria. She then made me promise to remember everything she had told me.
"I promise, Mrs. Moore... I promise I'll always do whatever I can to keep the Library going. In one way or another, I'll be a Librarian for the rest of my life".
I graduated on time with the rest of my class in 1991. Shortly after graduation, I opened a comic book store. After leaving there, I walked away from the whole Keeper Of Civilization gig for a while... but now I'm back.
I volunteer at our grade school Library 2 days a week, and I don't think that the Librarian there knows just how honored I am te be helping her :)
no subject
Date: 2011-09-14 07:09 pm (UTC)Libraries are one of my Happy Places.
no subject
Date: 2011-09-14 07:16 pm (UTC)