et ceteras
Welcome to et ceteras, a blog featuring posts about Joann, animals, childhood, The Mollys B. (her latest book!), and writing in general. An insight to her writing, Joann shares thoughts on topics regarding her inspiration, ethics, companionship with animals, and imagination. Check back often, or subscribe to receive the latest updates by email!
LET’S CELEBRATE OUR FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHT - in particular, our BOOK READING FREEDOM!
Librarians report that efforts to ban books has been a persistent theme in American history, but the surge to challenge books and eventually get them removed from public and school library bookshelves has increased dramatically in recent years. Who is being affected by these bans?
CENSORSHIP, BOOK CHALLENGES, AND BANNING
Book banning in school libraries is unconstitutional and violates students' First Amendment rights. What drives the movement? And as parents, isn't the encouragement to become critical thinkers the greatest gift we can give our children?
Book Banning by Any Other Name Would Still Be Censorship
“Banned Books Week” sounds like it’s a celebration of book banning—when actually it is a week-long event celebrating the freedom to read by spotlighting current and historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools.
Monkey See, Monkey Do
Research shows that the love of reading starts early for children who have books in their lives and adults to share them with. It also shows that those children often grow into more successful adults themselves. Beyond supporting language, cognitive, and emotional development in young learners, the skill of reading fosters creativity and imagination and exposes children to diverse cultures, traditions, and perspectives.
Keeping Hope Alive in the Face of Disappointment Part 3
Are hope and optimism related? I believe they are. I think optimists find their way to feeling hopeful quicker than pessimists. There’s a springiness to their thinking that helps them more readily bounce back from disappointments, whether by virtue of natural disposition or nurtured encouragement. That blend of nature and nurture exists for pessimists, too – they just have to work harder at it.
Keeping Hope Alive in the Face of Disappointment Part 2
If animals are capable of feeling negative emotions like fear and aggression and positive emotions like trust and love, isn’t it also possible that they can feel hope? Not in a “planning for the future” kind-of-way, but in a “positive outlook” kind-of-way. We’ve all seen the dog who brings his leash to his owner – isn’t he hoping to go for a walk?
Keeping Hope Alive in the Face of Disappointment Part 1
The balance between disappointment and hope: An individual who lived two hundred years ago and was consistently challenged to renew his relationship with hope was poet and short story writer, Edgar Allan Poe. He suffered devastating disappointments during his lifetime, yet he remained inherently hopeful that aspects of his life would improve. How did he keep hope alive? And is the ability to feel hope an emotion relegated only to humans?