A while back, I mentioned something about a speaking engagement I had coming up in June at the American Library Association's Annual Conference, which will be held in Anaheim, California this year.
I'll be on a panel alongside Michael Grant, Daniel Kraus, Daniel Handler, and Jon Scieszka. The event is going to be a Friday evening gathering, and it is usually one of the most well-attended meetings at ALA. I'll post more details on the panel as June approaches.
At that conference, we are set to have Advance Copies of Passenger.
You know.
The sequel to The Marbury Lens.
I have been reading Passenger again this week, for, like, the 200th time.
I think there are only about three or four people on the planet who've read Passenger. Even my son is going to have to wait until the ARCs come out.
I am not entirely certain what this group of guy writers is supposed to talk about.
A natural assumption would be that we will share intimate stories about the burden of shaving and internalizing suppressed emotions.
If it has anything to do with being a guy, writing, and especially reading, then I will be prepared to put on a rock show.
I want to talk about a paper that was presented before the International Reading Association in 2010 about the panic over boys' literacy underachievement relative to girls. It seems that the majority of our most recent media-fueled attention has tilted toward some erroneous conclusions about boys and how they are genetically predisposed to failure.
This is what we've been teaching boys, after all, for the past 20 years or so.
The paper quotes J. Titus' study on the cultural politics of education (2004): "some learned behaviors can be deeply ingrained and difficult to modify."
It makes an interesting point, and you can bet I will be talking about this IRA paper here in the coming weeks and months.
8 comments:
You're going to kill it. I loathe that I have to miss this. You, Daniel, AND Amy? With Kristen? I may have to do some crime to get airfare.
How many women have been presidents? Dictators? CEOs, CFOs and other high-paying acronym titles?
I'd guess that the number of women compared to the number of men would be somewhat low. I know there are various factors involved in that, but what I don't understand is this panic of male underachievement. Where is this even coming from?
Whenever I try and complain about the burden of shaving, a woman undoubtedly counters with, "BUT we have to shave our legs!" To which I counter, "Yes, but I have to put a freaking blade to my throat." They are never phased by that.
So...whose coming with me to ALA this summer??
"some learned behaviors can be deeply ingrained and difficult to modify."
One of these behaviors that adults exhibit is stupidity. Like being mad at your kid for being gay. Or beating up a kid because he would rather be in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy Club instead of on the football team.
I do not know how to modify these behaviors, short of acts of violence that would result in my no longer being able to be the advisor of the Sci-Fi/Fantasy Club, among other things.
That is why what you write and do is so important, Andrew--you and Amy and Sara and Michael and Joe and and and.
I am so excited about ALA.
Matthew. There must be a way short of criminal activity.
Andrew:
If you insist on presenting facts you're going to confuse everyone terribly.
I have no idea what we're supposed to be talking about. I guess I'll have to think about it. I am prepared to set aside as much as 20 or 30 minutes to work on that.
The truth is I'm only going because everyone knows that librarians are the hottest, smartest and most morally upright people on the planet. Especially acquiring librarians.
Also, I may do some pandering.
*in awed tone* Michael Grant really IS the smartest man in the world.
The state of California has cut all funding to libraries. Aack aack kgh kgh. Ben Franklin is really pissed. And me too. Where are these people's priorities? (I know where they are, but, as I've said before, this is not my blog so I won't curse.)
I'm going to eat ice cream until I feel better.
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