I was honored to present to the New Mexico IRA this weekend. I always learn from audiences, and I so enjoyed listening to the teachers who were spending their Saturday thinking about how to be more effective. I was saddened to hear how discouraged many are that they and their creativity and autonomy are no longer valued. In-service, maybe around the country, is about improving test scores. Talented educators leave classrooms that are too regimented to allow these dedicated teachers to foster inquiry and learning, to share bookjoy.

On the way home, I stopped at the grocery store, foolishly forgetting that it was the night before the Super Bowl. Aisles were crammed, baskets piled high with frozen pizzas. Cheering for talented athletes is a long human tradition, and getting together with friends and family can be relaxing fun, BUT pro-sports are an extremely lucrative business. Know what a one-minute ad on the game cost? $10 million, $10 million a minute to lure us to buy something.

How can those of us who care about kids, who know how vulnerable and valuable each child is and how essential it is to their future that they experience the pleasure and power of books, how do we come together so that we see carts and bags and boxes full of books for our children?