The pleasure of being published

I am a has-been. My days of being recognized in the library and educational technology field passed when my day-to-day involvement with schools passed on my retirement five years ago. But as they say, “Better a has-been than a never-was.”

When the Minnesota Star Tribune published one of my submissions for its opinion page, I was tickled. This was not a letter to the editor but a genuine commentary. The piece has since generated a couple letters and references in other editorials. Somebody actually read it.

“Influencers” have increasingly moved to social media platforms to share their thoughts and opinions. I am not one of those. I share links to blog posts on Facebook’s Blue Skunk page and on LinkedIn. But no Twitter (now known as X) or Instagram or TikTok. I write, mostly in complete sentences. I don’t dance, sing, or share selfies of me or any body parts. (Lucky you.)

Not too long ago, those of us who appeared in print may have been called the influencers. While the LM_Net listserve (formed in 1992) foreshadowed today’s unedited, conversational, more spontaneous communications, most librarians and tech directors depended on professional journals and books to stay up-to-date on trends and philosophies.

From approximately 1990 to 2015, I published a lot of edited columns, articles, and books. In a fairly wide range of print journals. As I count them:

• 149 articles
• 246 columns
• 7 books, 2 second editions
• Oh, along with 3200 blog posts

So I was perhaps a bit jaded when that School Library Journal or Kappan came in the mail with my name in the table of contents. But no longer.

My view of publishing reflects my generational values. That column in Library Media Connection didn’t just appear instantaneously. It underwent editorial scrutiny first. At times, quite critical. And I’ve always felt that two (or more) sets of eyes on a piece of writing generally improve it. So not only did I have to feel the piece was worthy of sharing, so did one or more of my colleagues or a professional editor.

I seriously doubt I will ever develop a level of post-retirement expertise in any field that allows me to write with confidence. But it sure is fun to see my occasional diatribe in actual print. I am jaded no more. 

Road tripping

Other worldly view at sunrise from Hidden Lake Trail, Glacier National Park

Bags unpacked. Laundry done. Groceries resupplied. Email answered. It takes a couple days to recover from a trip. Especially one that involved driving over 3800 miles.

Heidi and I set off from the Twin Cities on September 4th and got home last Sunday, September 15. We drove across Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, and Alberta to wind up in Banff, then took a slightly different route home. Below are some observations/advice from some of the road trips I’ve taken.

Bison encounter while hiking the north section of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

• Choose your vehicle wisely. We took Heidi’s hybrid Prius that gets around 55mpg. At 100,000 miles, she had it checked over before the trip - new battery, tire inspection, etc. It served us well. We did get a tire pressure warning off and on and once nearly ran out of gas (inattention by the driver - me), but other than that the car did well. (I do wish the car came with a spare tire instead of just some sealant and a pump.) Worrying about automotive failure is a great way to ruin what should be an enjoyable experience.

North Dakota Badlands

• Pre-plan. We reserved our hotel rooms well in advance. Despite not traveling during “high season”, places were booked, parking lots and trails full, and roads very busy (Canmore was a hot mess.) I’m beginning to think high season should include September despite some attractions shutting down. Oh, we also booked our Road to the Sun Pass early, although it was not needed when we arrived at Glacier NP before 6 each morning.

Crowded trail at Johnston Creek near Banff

• Avoid the crowds by getting an early start. In order to get a parking spot at Logan’s Pass in Glacier NP so we could hike the Hidden Lake Overlook Trail, we found we needed to be there by 6:30 (after arriving at 8:30 the day before). That meant leaving our hotel room in Kalispell by about 5am. But it was worth it - see photo at the beginning of this post.) Whether DisneyWorld or Venice, we early risers have a less crowded experience. And sometimes time for an afternoon nap.

On the way to St Mary Falls in Glacier National Park

• Eat local. While we could not always do so, we tried to find local restaurants for our meals. We especially like small town cafes at lunch time. We also brought a cooler with fruit, crackers, and other munchies to eat in place of a meal when finding a restaurant was difficult. Oh, stay in hotels that offer a complimentary breakfast. Love those waffles you save $30 or so in buying a restaurant breakfast.

Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump World Heritage Site near Medicine Hat Ft Mcleod, Alberta

• Be open to unexpected pleasures. While our primary goal of this trip was to visit Glacier and Banff, the highlights may have been Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota and Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump in Alberta. Loved the bison and great hiking trails in TRNP and the museum and trail at Head-Smashed-In. 

Quick stop on the long drive home

• Be economical but don’t be cheap. I tend to eat cheap, sleep cheap, dress cheap, etc, but I am loosening up a bit. If another $20 gets you a nicer hotel, why not spend it. The $50 I spent for a gondola ride and lunch at Lake Louise made a good experience and nice break from hiking. Good hiking shoes, even if costly, are money well spent.  Oh, and buy yourself dessert now and then.

3800 miles and 11 days - still speaking to each other

• Enjoy the drive itself. Montana is a very, very wide state. From Glendive in the east to Kalispell in the west, it is nearly 600 miles and over a 9 hour drive. Despite long distances, set your GoogleMaps on “Avoid highways” and take secondary roads when possible. A road trip is, after all, about being on the road. Oh, and out west, never let your gas tank get much below half full! Stop often for breaks to stretch the legs. 

I hope I can continue to take a good road trip now and then. Whether the destination is Acadia or Arches or Anaheim, I’ve enjoyed this form of travel since I was a kid. And I am still learning how to make it even better.

All photos from the trip

Student cell phone bans: never make a rule you can’t enforce

Almost no one could do their jobs or get an education today without the brain extenders that we use on an all-day, every-day basis—smartphones that can access almost all human knowledge or harness huge computational power with a single tap. It is therefore not an exaggeration to say that our devices have become parts of us. Ray Kurzweil, The Singularity is Nearer

The news lately has been filled with stories about schools banning student-owned smartphones in the classroom. Or attempting to, anyway. A new state law here in Minnesota requires schools to have a student phone “policy” in place by March. 

I am once again glad to be retired from education.

School boards and administrators should be very careful about the content of such policies. One lesson that has held true all during my 43-year career in education is something I learned as a student teacher from my supervisor. She advised, “Never make a rule you can’t enforce.” Not only are such rules worthless, but they give the sense that the authority who made such a rule cannot enforce any rules.

Schools and teachers have been trying to enforce the no-phone rule for some time. Students are asked to place their phones in a basket on the teacher’s desk. They may be required to leave them in their lockers. Lately, a bag (pouch) with a lock only a teacher or administrator can unlock is being supplied to students so they are no longer able to use their phones. Not all bags, however, block the signals to phones so I am guessing they still will make noises if called. 

As one of those sneaky kids who hid comic books behind his textbook and doodled instead of taking notes, I automatically started thinking about ways I could somehow skirt the requirement to give up my electronic buddy were I a student today. Maybe I’d get a dummy phone and put it in the pouch or basket and leave the real one in my pants. Would a small enough phone be able to be hidden in my bookbag? Might my smartwatch allow me to do most of the things I like to do with my phone? When are those glasses coming out that allow me to see a virtual screen? Could I hide my phone behind a book like I hid comic books back in the day?

Banning student phone use during the school day feels like an exercise in futility, much like getting adults to stop looking at their phones when driving. And while restricting phone use may be initially a poor disciplinary move, in the long run it may well be a poor educational choice as well.

As the quote that leads this piece states, our cell phones have become “brain extenders.” I know that my phone gives me access to information that makes me a more informed thinker. I think. Shouldn’t educators with the help of AI now figure out how to make these beloved devices tutors and tools to improve student learning? A long sought but elusive goal of many in education has been the individualization of the learning process, customizing activities to each ability level and learning style. And as far as I could tell, we’ve never really gotten there.

I’ve long asked teachers to reflect on the relevance and engagement of their curriculum and activities. Maybe it is impossible to compete with these evil little bots for kids’ attention. But we have to try.

Even if we cannot figure out how to use phones as instructional tools, I believe we have the obligation to teach their appropriate use during the school day. What constitutes polite cellphone use? When is staring at the screen productive and when is it destructive? How does excessive cellphone use impact human relationships? Another lesson I learned about rules is that they are more accepted when there is constructive rationale behind them. Policy makers, are we paying attention to the “why” of banning phones and clearly communicating the reasons - and letting parents and students know we are doing so in their best interest?

Enough for now - I gotta go look at Facebook.

(Published in the Minnesota Star Tribune opinion section, 9/6/24)