I spent 15 years teaching at North Hollywood High School, and 12 of those in room A162 in the Agriculture Area, so it makes sense that I have a bunch of pix. I used to make displays in front of the main office about the Ag Area, the Naturalist Academy, and other stuff. Lots of harvesting, various events (food, firings, etc.), and many guest speakers are herein depicted. More than one Rustic Canyon hike happened with many repeat customers. This batch also has colleague Billy Sheets’s band, Mary Lynn’s choir, and the homeless shelter we would donate to…

Random family pix (all five at 1375), camping, and ML’s delicious cooking up of our Ag Area produce…

Thanks to Zoo Magnet science teacher Barry Shapiro, in early 2000 I had the opportunity to go on an Earthwatch expedition to Brazil. The Fazenda Rio Negro, formerly a cattle ranch, had been turned into an ecotourism destination to research and learn about the ecology of the Pantanal.

Not all the water that drains off the eastern slopes of the Andes mountains goes into the Amazon River basin. Some of it drains into the south central of South America – the Pantanal (related: the novel, the TV series).

With a group of fellow teachers from around the USA, we assisted in the research interests of a couple of professors, Donald Eaton & Alexine Keuroghlian – he: fresh water invertebrates & fish, she: peccaries! (both from the University of Nevada at Reno).

In addition to amazing sunsets and deep jungles, you just saw swimming in pirhana infested waters, building an observation staton, bushwhackin’ with the Pantañeros, and researching critters. Some included here: many type of fish and aquatic creepycrawlies, jacari, tapir, tooyouyou, capyberrae, emus, and a toad. (Lurking nearby: jaguar, ocelot, anaconda, and the elusive peccary…

If you don’t already know, ask Mary Lynn why we went to China – and why we have not returned. In any case, we did in November 2001, right after the events of 9/11. We went for three weeks with a tour company, China Focus, and saw quite a bit of the country (at least in terms of tourist destinations).

Generally speaking: Beijing & the Forbidden City, a fraction of the Great Wall, the Farewell to the Three Gorges cruise up the Yangtze (now flooded by the world’s biggest dam), the terracotta warriors of Xian, silk, pearls, pagodas, calligraphy, pearls, the Li River Valley, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Shanghai, buddhas & babies…

For this last batch: some random foolery, a mélange of miscellany: Nancy & Jered’s wedding extravaganza, a trip to Canada with my pregnant wife (to test out our new VW Eurovan, Dad’s second heart surgery (25 years after the first), some school stuff (including a visit to hear and meet Supreme Court justice Anthony Kennedy, and Marya’s baby shower at the Villa Maria for Mary Lynn, and some other items…

So, Mom, dear family, loyal friends, and curious strangers (!?), this concludes the first half of my life, I hope (presuming I can make it at least into the mid-80’s). The last episode of Archival Pix (Part 5) will feature the kids and a change in technology.

Around the time they were in elementary school, smartphones changed my relationship with cameras and photography). I’d also point out for archivists that there was a phase where I shot more video than stills. I have collections of various generations of videotape attesting to this (many were eventually burned on to DVDs [if you can find that collection]). {Still looking for video cameras to play stuff back on…!}

Charlie & Veronica (and perhaps our dog Sugar Pie) will feature prominently in Part 5, but once that batch is over I stopped making collections of pix in photo albums (which is good ’cause schleppin’ & storin’ those crates is, nyuk. {There’s a curious gap between the time RandomVail.com begins in 2015 and 6-7 years earlier…?}

While parts 1 & 2 featured the ’70’s & ’80’s, this post is mostly ’90’s. Again, random selections from many albums. So, this first batch might seem like a lot of photos, but it represents six albums in one crate, and spans years. In fact, you can kinda tell by how much Laleyna grows.

Harry Perry was my paternal grandmother’s dad, who in fact was a member of the Pennsylvania State Legislature – the picture was taken when Nancy & I drove across the country to a family reunion. Steven Whalen snorkeling in Hawaii, and Dan & I lurking to the farmers’ market in Santa Monica. Then, two trips to Tahoe to see Anthony growing up. Swinging in Rustic Canyon. Europe trips with students. And a whole bunch of Laleyna – the first of her generation – and various family members, even including Uncle Byrns. (More fishin’.) So, Montana, North Hollywood High, and my Global Exchange Reality Tour to Cuba, summer 1996. A stunning Miss Walters, and some graduates…

In fact, that previous batch only alludes, with only a couple of pix, to the four educational summer trips with students to Europe I took in the early ’90’s, thanks to Phyllis Spadafora. Lots of pix, great times, very educational for me (made a bunch of videos in a box somewhere).

Related, this next batch starts off with a Yosemite trip (I took five in the last ’90’s, all Highly Gifted Magnet Senior Trips, after the Advanced Placement exams. Then, it looks like one or two of several road trips up to Oregon where Ron did his residency this resided for a bit. One time we climbed Mt. McLoughlin.

This next collection features North Hollywood High (my Ecology Club, ML’s Choir, and later some classes of kids), a Caribbean cruise (thanks to Louanne), visits to Florida, Catalina, March Air Force Base, etc. Service projects: tree planting in NoHo and a Habitat for Humanity house in Watts. It ends with some singular events: Aunt Mildred in Riverside, matching jammies, tea time at the Huntington with Aunt Lourene, a Naturalist Academy banquet, speaking with Alice Waters about school gardens at Ecofarm (a big event in our family for other reasons).

Yeah, I took five senior trips to Yosemite, five international trips with students, but ELEVEN Rustic Canyon hikes (an annual event for over a decade). Over the years, there’ve been a lot of pix of that strange place. Check it out.

Then, Louanne & ML at the Getty overlooking the 405, Homer & Steve sitting with Aunt Lourene at one of ML’s gigs. In addition to all those other adventures, we also took camping trips with Naturalist students to Catalina and Santa Cruz Islands, of the Channel Islands, California’s own archipelago. (See this book by my former Ecology prof.)

The rest of this batch is our ecotour in Costa Rica with Naturalist Academy scholars of excellence..

Here’s another Yosemite trip, the last one I took in ’99 when the cables were finally up on Half Dome. (Scroll Down.) Then, me shaking hands with Scott Wilson, former teacher in the NHHS Agriculture Area, graduation, and then…

We got married! (With students & friends.) Then, two of our three honeymoons (Alaskan cruise & Southeast Asia). Then, more family time, school events, the gum wall in SLO town, and much miscellany…

This last batch starts off with the beautiful Mary Lynn. Then Choir & Naturalist stuff. Then Mom & Dad’s 50th Wedding Anniversary party in Sun Valley, Idaho. Then and little more everything all over again…

Thank you!

During my senior year at UC Irvine (1981-82), I volunteered to teach English to students from overseas (having just been overseas myself on the Education Abroad Program during my junior year). I became friends with Satoshi Miyake and Takeshi Tajima who were in that program, and eventually helped them become students at Riverside City College. Some four years later, after two teaching at Hamilton High, I thought I would embark on an extended world tour and wanted to start in Japan. (As it turned out, after six months I came home, reprioritized, got a Masters at UCLA, and eventually got back into teaching.)

Nonetheless, Satoshi and Takeshi were a great help as I explored, then lived and worked in Japan. First, I traveled the country, as far north as Hokkaido and as far south as Hiroshima. I stayed in youth hostels, met a lot of kind people, and saw several sites in that amazing country. Satoshi provided me access to his company’s apartment in Tokyo, near the Tsukiji fish market, not far from the Ginza. I eventually became pretty good friends with the guy who ran the Riverside Restaurant across the street, Akira and his crew of friends.

Eventually, I got a job starting up the Utsunomiya American Club, more of a conversation lounge than a school, but a gig. I had a little apartment there in Utsunomiya (Tochigi-ken) and made friends with the little expatriate community. I even wrote a couple of articles in “The Gaijin Rag,” an informal expat periodical. It was there that I met Mark Votier, a Brit who liked the comedy jazz music I’d picked up from a motorcyclist at a hostel in Hokkaido – Hana Hajime and Ueki Hitoshi. It was a nice community, but I often went back to Tokyo to explore that city – Shibuya, Shinjuku, Akihabara, Ginza, etc. With various friends I explored other areas, like Mount Fuji, Nikko, etc.

After spending a cold and lonely Christmas there, and perhaps intimidated by the prospect of perpetual globetrotting, I decided to come home and start life again. Before that however, I had a great ending to my stay in Japan and a wonderful visit to the Philippines on the way back to California…

Mark Votier had auditioned for the Gaijin Karaoke contest with one of those funny songs, but they wanted a group, so myself and another American accompanied him on primetime TV Tokyo. It was a great experience rehearsing and taping the show, meeting people from all over the work, and amazingly, winning the Friendship Prize (probably based on being nice & having fun, certainly not musical talent)! Aaaand, the famous Kent Derricott came on stage with us for part of our performance (probably to cover for our lousy dancing).

Around the same time, Akira Gunji, owner of the Riverside Restaurant and a big Sumo fan, invited me to a Sumo tournament. Not only did we get great seats because he was also friends with Fuji Hikari, an up & coming Sumo wrestler, but we got to go to his “stable” which was also that of Chiyonofuji, the Grand Champion of all Japan at the time. Not only did I get to eat “chankonabe” with actual Sumo wresters, the great Chiyonofuji aknowledged my presence – if only for a second. (Perhaps a more rare opportunity than appearing on Japanese TV for gaijin like me).

Earlier, back in LA, I had rented the house of Jim Casey who had been the sculptor on the set of Apocalypse Now. He had done the sculptures reminiscent of Angkor Wat and had eventually married his model, Neri. Through her, I had a connection in the Philippines, serendipitously close to the Aquino family. A year before, Ferdinand Marcos had nefariously usurped the election featuring Corazon Aquino, the widow of Benigno Aquino and leader of the Laban Party. Subsequently, a bloodless coup had overthrown Marcos, and the people had occupied Malacañang Palace. One of my purposes in going to the Philippines was to witness the plebiscite election of Cory Aquino, which I did.

Earlier, back in Tokyo, when I had to renew my tourist visa, I happenstancedly met a guy named Rhandy Yasis. Not only did we have the same name, we were the same age, and had a few other things in common. Later, when I showed up at his door in Quezon City, it took him awhile to recognize me, but once he did I was embraced like a long lost relative (not the random stranger I’d been in the immigration office). Not only did we hang out singing songs with a few San Miguels more than once, he took me up to Bataan & Pampanga for a family visit. We had a traditional Philippine feast and went to the cockfights. (More on the Death March of Bataan and my would-be-Uncle Ed another time.)

As usual, each batch is a mélange. Maps & me, Takeshi & Satoshi, the Great Buddha of Kamakura & a Shinto shrine, my Japan Rail Pass, etc., the guy in blue turned me on to Ueki Hitosi & Hana Hajime, shots at the Peace Museum in Hiroshima, good times on Manabe island & with Satoshi’s family, shop windows, ads, and other miscellany…

Much randomness: Video, Kyoto, Tokyo, photo album pages. Ultraman, business cards, Tsukiji fish market, etc…

Sumo! Akira & friends from the Riverside Restaurant. The Utsunomiya American Club crew. The “ghost house” and some art. The Gaijin Karaoke (Foreigners Singing) Contest, primetime Sunday night, TV Tokyo channel 10. Mo sumo! Featuring Fuji Hikari, George my boss, and some randomness…

A painting by my artistic friend Rosemary from Canada, Satoshi & Takeshi, a visit to Nikko, Neuromancer in paperback, winter in Tokyo, and a farewell party at the Utsunomiya American Club.

Many rich experiences in the Philippines: Rhandy Yasis’s home in Quezon City, then up in Pampanga & Bataan. Old town Manila and the plebiscite election of Corazon Aquino. Jeepneys & carts! Buffalo, basketball & bananas! Nursing school sculpture, family dinner, and cock fights…

I had moved to Japan in the summer of 1986, but by January I was in the Philippines, and by February I was back in California. Many fond memories – everything counts!

“Point & click” is photography, no? Is that enough for “art”? My yes & no answer explains why I haven’t done much with lens or developing or photoshop, or maybe I’m just lazy? Perhaps a more interesting topic is how photography changed society’s (societies’?) ideas about – and manifestations of – art?

In any case, over the years I’ve taken a lot of pix and I’ve tried to artful about it. In fact, I’ve been hauling around crates of photo albums full of what I thought were cool shots. At the same time, when I find someone’s precious photo album orphaned in a thrift store, I question the practice. Then last year, we had the fires…

So now, perhaps in an anticipation of another evacuation, perhaps in anticipation of future estate sales, perhaps as an excuse to take another nostalgia tour, I’m digitizing some of them in a series of archival posts starting here. BTW, digitizing is a fancy word for taking a picture of a picture, most of the time without even removing the plastic cover (which is why some have glare, waves, or shadowy images superimposed on the original).

As I run through these crates, these albums, I’m neglecting many pix that had a certain aesthetic appeal to me. Sadly, many pix of nature, flowers, buildings, cars, old scraggily stuff, odd juxtapositions, pieces of wood, metal, glass, history, culture, etc. are not making the cut. Some are better, nicely arranged I may say, in my albums, analog. The pix I’ve picked (pict?) are of people, usually ones I know and love, still aspiring to a smidgin of artistickiness!

As ever, I’ll comment ahead of time, caption the batch as it were. Thank you in advance for your patience & persistence. First up, Europe 1973. Of course, Dad did the soundtracked slideshow (which Jered lovingly digitized a few years back!), but here are some of my pix taken with a little Kodak (the kind with “flashcubes”). Highlights include Nancy in her little red riding hood, Dacres, my mates from Priory Lower, Dad mugging, Versailles, etc…

This next batch has miscellaneous family fun at various locations, Neil Charkow astrally projecting, Nancy becoming a prominent theme, some skiing at Mammoth, Ron & Dad riffing, and one of my favorite pix with Grandma G…

This next delightful collection is all Joanne Vail (aka Mom) frolicking in her backyard, dancing around, and showing off her lovely flowers…

Here, we start off with Elton John at Dodger Stadium (note sequined uniform), one shot of Joe Jackson in Bordeaux, and the Circle Jerks. Then, a very few from my cross-country trip with Ron E. in ’82. (The weirder water shot is in Strawberry Creek in Idyllwild.) Then, a bunch from various trips to Montana (lots wood choppin’ & fishin’). Ron & I lived in Venice for part of summer ’84. Some of my first students at Hamilton High. Nancy & I did another cross-country trip in (the late ’80’s?), and there are more family pix. Noteworthy inclusions: Livonia Clark, the Saab, Grandma G groovin’, and way back to when we first moved into 1375 Tareyton Drive in 1970. Remember, this is “randomvail” so it can get very hodgy-podgy around here…

Another assemblage of miscellany, mostly family stuff. (Came back from Japan by now – that’ll be documented later.) Heather & Ron did something fun on my birthday one year! More Montana action (and a bit of Santa Monica). Note Takeshi Tajima, and more pix of the XC trip with Nancy…

This last batch (for this post) is even more Random! The art of water on the badminton court and the Royal Pines dump truck. My first outing as best man when John Thomason married Marie-Françoise. And a pic of Todd Miller, a neighborhood kid who died in the Junior Superbowl of Motocross. After cliff diving in La Jolla, you can find the Olympic teams of Greece & Togo (I hosted their welcoming parties), then some protest in LA. More of Hami, Samo, and my buddy Dan Leanse. (One shot has our friend Adam who tragically committed suicide.) There’s more, but the last one is of our grandfather Harold Vail with his sisters (I think?)…

I know, that seems like a lot, and it is an extended post. However, as mentioned, if you (my precious family or random strangers) go through the actual crated albums, there’s way more. Which pix have I NOT commented on…?

The 22nd Anniversary Nostalgia Tour – SoCal, 2021

“Puttin’ the fun in dysfunctional since 1999!” A lot of that fun happened in Santa Monica, the first stop on our lil’ vacation to SoCal. Not only were we able to use the Georgian Hotel‘s beach cruisers to peddle down to Venice, but we were able to see three of my ol’ buddies. First up, just a taste of Santa Monica, our old apartment on 4th St., and Dan’s bike collection, etc…

How ’bout a coupla clips from the beach? Still down, not back…

From Santa Monica we went to see Uncle Jimmy at the Village Green, then to North Hollywood (the Ag Area is looking good, and Ian Garrett’s mural is still on the wall! [I painted that bathroom once myself, but it looks much better now])…

From North Hollywood to Riverside and the Mission Inn Hotel. Take your time…

A walk around downtown, Tio’s Tacos, etc…

1375 Tareyton Drive! And a nice chat with Richard De Atley, a kind neighbor.

Riverside to Oceanside! Cousin Steve, Christina, & Freya! (a stop on the way, at Mission San Luis Rey)…

RandomVail… The 1st Congregational Church, statue of Booker T. Washington, more Mission Inn, the Municipal Auditorium, and Dan Leanse before & after…

…it must be the shirt…

Artistic Investigations in San Francisco!

One day in late June, I happened to have an appointment in San Francisco. Afterwards, I did some exploring – it was a beautifully clear day – could see very far! Here are some pix around Lands End & the Legion of Honor museum…

One day in early July, Mary Lynn had gotten tickets to the “Immersive Van Gogh” show. So, we parked under City Hall (had to take some pix), then walked. Afterwards, we walked back to the nearby Asian Art museum. Voila, a collection from that day…

And, some videos from Immersive Van Gogh…

One of the most exciting events of 2021 is Charlie’s hike on the Appalachian Trail. After two quarters of UCSC on Zoom, he’d had enough. So in mid-April, he & ML flew to visit Papaw, then to the trailhead in Georgia. At this writing three months later, he is way past half way and hoping to complete the entire trail (almost 2200 miles) by early September. Thank goodness for cellphones and especially Facetime…

• Here’s some info about the AT…
• The Appalachian Trail Conservancy
• National Park Service about Appalachian Trail
• Appalachian Trail on ArcGIS
• Appalachian Trail Wikipedia page
• Charlie’s Instagram page (Hikin’ Chuck)
• The AT Museum

Now, here’s a fun batch of miscellany: Nancy & Jered’s family tree, a beautiful water color by Rosa, sunset mists on the mountains, paw print, a fallen fir in the CLHG Playbowl, and Veronica strumming at home in her room…

Two clips of that strumming…

Two trips around towns: the Union Cemetery in Redwood City and around the Old Schoolhouse in Portola Valley…

Alan & I have taken some hikes – here’s a madrone forest, Bob’s antlers, and, more miscellaneous nature…

Last year, due to Covid, the 4th of July picnic was canceled. This year, thanks to Kathleen Moazad stepping up to be the committee chairperson, the event happened (albeit without the BBQ lunch, albeit I made some bratwurst croissant sammies)! Lotsa folks showed up, music happened, kids played games, and a good time was had by all…

Thanks for visiting! Remind me what I’m missing…

One piece of great news was receiving an Outride Bicycle grant from Specialized. Thanks to Carlene Foldenauer, the Safe Routes to School Coordinator for the coastside (whom I knew when she & I were STRS coordinators for CUSD & LHPUSD respectively). She guided us through the whole process, we built a great team led by Greg Virgallito, and we are expecting up to 30 Specialized hardtail mountain bikes sometime in the upcoming school year.

Please check out the slideshow which accompanied the grant proposal. (One could choose a 3 minute video or a power point, so I embedded 8 clips totaling more than 3 minutes – but still quite short – into two of the only seven slides.) Please take the time to watch them, including Mauricio’s beautiful statement and Greg’s amazing bike stunts. There are also a couple cool maps of bike routes on campus and around the area: Riding for Focus.

Another big event was the retiring of Wayne Johnson and Anne Ingraham. It’s gonna take a lot to fill their shoes (but I hope to try in the case of Annie). There was a nice retirement party at the Harley Farms barn…

Certainly, I could elaborate on the actual school year of teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic. Lots to say about Zooming and Google Classrooms (email me if you’re interested). But one huge and tragic event was the death by accidental drug overdose of Sequoyah Klingele. He was in both my Geography and World History classes, and even though he was eventually taken out of Schoolwise (our SIS), I kept him in my Google Classrooms. His death has had a profound impact on La Honda, but it was particularly tragic because his older half-brother, Dakota Foureyes (whom I also had as a student years ago), also overdosed several months earlier. He went my the nickname “Kodak” and you can see his carving work on this piece of wood from the bench at the bus stop which I salvaged from a junk heap to become the frame of my largest assemblage artworks. May they both rest in peace…

Hopefully, I’ll have more posts in the future about the 2021-22 school year and how great it’s gonna be…

As one who loves libraries, I was appalled at what happened to the library at Pescadero High School last year. Without consulting other teachers, two in the middle school and the “Friends of the Social Justice Library” completely eliminated the existing library. In an act of extreme censorship, ALL the books were boxed by aides paid to write the titles on a piece of paper to add to the box (with no semblance of organization). The boxes were first piled in a classroom, then eventually in the hallway – waiting for the dumpsters?

The wooden bookshelves were trashed, replaced with Chinese pressboard of dubious dimensions. The new paint job is nice, but the charming fireplace heater was ripped out. On the too-deep shelves were placed “social justice” books donated (grant?) by the HMB Library. Teachers who attempted to add books to the shelves were told they could not. Such additions needed to be approved by the “Friends of the Social Justice Library.”

What about math & science, history & literature, art & picture books, periodicals & reference books, anthologies & technical manuals? In any case, here are the former shelves that could/should have been repurposed…

Perhaps I myself am more disappointed by these actions because I donated hundreds of books to this library not long after moving here. In fact, a large part of one whole wall in the library had books I brought from SoCal, many about ecology and environmental studies, nature, horticulture and climate change.

However, I recognize that the library needed sorting, organization, and more than a little culling. Disruption can be good, and reset buttons can be wonderful.

Jumping to the current situation as I write here in July 2021, Jennifer Freeman & I, with the help of five students, sorted through all the books you will see below – when the books were taken back out of their boxes and displayed in the hallway. There is a big pile of re-boxed books for donation or elimination in the Multi, a large collection of books is in my Social Studies room 8, and Jennifer has some in her room. Here are just some of the original huge number the boxes piled up (in what used to be part of the library, repurposed as a career center)…

Officially, I have held my tongue. I’ve made some comments here and there, and spoken at length with colleagues, but I’ve held off on a formal complaint. I’m hoping my proposal to build shelves in the space opposite (former library area, then college/career center) and populate them with the rest of what should be in most school libraries. Nonetheless, as this situation played outside my classroom door, I speculated. This from months ago…

• Were teachers consulted? Was the school community consulted? While improvement of the facility and an inventorying of the books are appreciated, common courtesy, not to mention a collaborative exploration of educational goals, would seem to necessitate a process that respects the ideas of our faculty, students, and others?
• What is a “Social Justice Library,” and does it preclude other topics? What goes in the math & science sections? What goes in the arts & humanities sections? What reference materials are – and are not – there? What about social injustice? If doctors study disease (and educators should study stupidity), shouldn’t students learn some hard history?
• What is to become of the boxed books? Is this censorship? Fahrenheit 451? All those classic titles and reference books, are they trash? All those books about ecology & environmentalism (along with others I donated), garbage? All those National Geographics (great for multiculturalism!), adios? Was there nothing socially justicey already there at all?
• Speaking of which, did the grant – which is funding this new library – pay our employees to fill those boxes? Where did the grant come from? What book titles is it providing? Where do these titles fit in the standards-based curriculum which we are supposed to deliver? What metrics will determine the success of this initiative? We should all be curious!
• I’m sorry if I sound like a complainer. However, Martin Luther and Martin Luther King, Jr. were complainers, and thus do a post my theses from the Birmingham jail of not having a seat at the table. Where is the suffrage, the respect? Where is the consensus building? Where is the collaboration and common purpose? Where is the justice? 

Eventually, the boxes of books were piled in the hallway. Then, tables were brought out, and students unpacked the books. Please note some of the titles…

Perhaps I’m being a bit too comprehensive, but this little drama has unfolded over some months and the ironic injustice of the whole thing compels my attention. Jennifer has spoken eloquently in meetings and in writing concurring with my sentiments. In an email chain between her, our Principal, and myself, I added these comments…

• I’m trying to be solution oriented. “Disruptions” can be good. An overhaul was needed. If my suggestions can be implemented, then we can crawl from the wreckage of this egregious fiasco into a brand system for our students. 
• It is wrong – a lie – to say that the books were not being used! Every year I taught English, I’d take the kids in there to pick a book for SSR or book reports. Did anyone ask? Teachers were not consulted. The ENTIRE library was removed – with no system other than to make random lists (at the cost of how many paid hours)? 
• Except for the fire, this was censorship straight outta Fahrenheit 451. I’m reminded, not of Kristallnacht, but of the Chinese Cultural Revolution and the destruction of the “four olds.” And then I hear teachers cannot add to this “Social Justice” library without approval from the Friends of Communism Party? Shady!
• What was saved from the flames, the dumpster? Books about Native Americans and indigenous people, about slavery and famous African Americans, books about Mexico, Mexican Americans, and Latino American history, about the struggles for equality, rights, and empowerment for many different peoples, and many books about ecology and the environment, etc.
• There was no void. Power structures? Please. Catering to the lowest common denominator, to student whim, to “high interest” at the expense of academic rigor – this will only disempower our students. They will be armed only with their indignation, and they will not know how or why we got here – nor how to take themselves somewhere else, somewhere higher.
• Further, serviceable bookshelves made of real wood were added to the landfill. Chinese pressboard (of awkward dimensions) took their place. Was any consideration given to how we vote with our wallets? The Chinese got over their Cultural Revolution, but what about their current take on “social justice”? Smells like mindlessness or hypocrisy, either way it stinks.
• I agree with Jennifer and the several other teachers who look with disdain on these actions, and others should know of this injustice, but again, like everyday, I’m trying to make the world a better place. To do that we need another place to put books. I’ll build the shelves if I may. I’ll organize the books according to the UDC (and teach the implicit bias of the DDC).
• I propose consolidation – making all the “keepers” also “sellers.” If I can implement my “Applied Economics” course, we can start to put this other library on the market. Not only will the system get systematized, the students will learn the value of books in more than one way. The funds raised will subsidize Outdoor Ed., Senior Trips, and other student activities…

Perhaps I’ll update this post (or make another) when/if the idea of adding some shelves to the library becomes a reality. In the meantime – and at this time – the books I wanted to save from elimination are here, stored in my classroom, awaiting reorganization using UDC…

I should update this post with pictures of the new “Social Justice Library,” it does look nice. In fact, I don’t want to mess up what’s been done or impose my version of that vision. All I want to do is build another shelf in the adjacent space and provide students for years to come with a more complete school library. Hopefully, there will be more to “check out” in the months to come. Thanks for sharing your thoughts…