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By: sketched out,
on 10/23/2010
Blog: sketched out
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By: Joe Sottile,
on 9/4/2010
Blog: Joe Silly Sottile's Blog
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Jacquie is all of the above and more! In my book of “Best People” she issimply a wonderful lady. She could also be called a “humorist” which she labeledme when awarding her gold star of the month at…
Yes, she has a tremendous sense of humor, and she is a gifted writer andspeaker. I will let her tell you why this former First Grade Teacher offorty-one years spends so much time speaking and writing. What follows is apartial list of the places and states that she visits to speak, copied from herwebsite:
Jacquie's Itinerary
I'm often asked why I spend so much time speaking and writing, andmy answer is always the same. I want to make a difference. And besides that, Ilove what I do. I get to meet new people (some in person and some online), seenew places, taste new foods, and learn new things. And that, my friends, iswhat I believe retirement should be — making a difference and doing what youenjoy. I plan to ride this merry-go-round for a few more years, and perhaps oneday I'll look out in the audience and see you. I hope so.
0 Comments on Jacquie McTaggart: Dynamic Speaker, Writer, Teacher, and Friend as of 1/1/1900
My picture book, "Ruthie and the Hippo's Fat Behind," is all about BIG CHANGES. G.A.P. Publisher With delightful illustrations by K.C. Snider, and told in rhymes that are kid friendly, Ruthie is a fun read that will make kids giggle. Yet the topic of BIG CHANGE allows children who are experiencing change in their lives to identify with Ruthie and root for her. Chang can make children angry, confused and sad. Today, Many children's lives are full of BIG changes they find hard to deal with. Perhaps A move to another place, parents getting a divorce, or the death of a much loved grandparent. . . My picture book, "Ruthie and the Hippo's Fat Behind," includes a parent-teacher guide that addresses how a BIG CHANGE can really affect your child.
The Q & A included, encourages children to think about CHANGE, and put themselves in Ruthe's place + links to more professional advice.
* Did they think Ruthie acted badly? * Would their parents put up with bratty behavior from them? * Would Ruthie have felt less angry
2 Comments on FREE GIFT when you BUY "Ruthie" from MY WEBSITE, last added: 7/29/2010
Teaching in U.S. public schools isn't a job or just a career; it's a lifestyle. Those unfamiliar with the work envy teachers their summers off and Xmas holidays. But what comes with the job are 10-12 hrs./day and weekends and holidays spent preparing lesson plans, grading papers and filling out forms. Plus, summer hours preparing for the coming year. For a starting teacher in Denver this works out to be $15/hr. With a master's it goes up to $16.50. Excluded from this is what can easily be $3k out-of-pocket that doesn't get reimbursed. We're not in it for the money; we even pay to be a teacher.
In this Great Recession, having any job is good. I know because I'm presently out of work and seeking a new position with such ridiculously low pay. Like Joe Navarro below, teaching is my passion and calling.
Navarro's letter is a great overall treatment of what's wrong with how the country educates our children. Given the direction of the education discourse nationwide, what he writes about California is significant in that it will likely spread to encompass the remainder of the country. That's his letter's importance.
I won't summarize here my last three years working in one Denver inner city school; maybe I'll write a novel about it one day. I'll just tell you about one student who wasn't one of my bilingual students.
Let's call him Pacifico, because his name is antithetical to his school life and role in it. Pacifico's small for his age, white as a snowflake, unassuming, and worse, sports the thick coke-bottle glasses that should have been outlawed decades ago. I never witnessed any of Pacifico's disruptive behavior, but staff would tell me about various incidents. I've no reason to doubt so many testaments.
I'd often see Pacifico sitting waiting in the office for the principal--in trouble again for hitting, cussing, throwing something, somewhere. I'd talked to him a couple of times in passing, but when I saw him repeatedly eating alone in the cafeteria one week, I went over to him. I assumed he'd been separated from others because of his lunchroom behavior.
"Why are you sitting alone? You being punished?" "No, I don't like being with the other kids; they pick on me." "You don't want to sit with your friends?" "I don't have any."
After that I'd occasionally talk with him, advising him that he at least needed to learn how to stay out of trouble. Sometimes I'd just wish him a good morning--this to a six/seven-year-old who seldom seemed to have few good mornings in his school life. He always acknowledged me, sometimes even breaking out with a crack of a smile, but not often.
My final week of school, having joined the ranks of the not-coming-back-next-year, I tended to avoid staff gatherings and talking with anyone, but on the final day I had to go through the office to hang up my room keys for the last time.
Pacifico was there, possibly not in trouble. He came up close, looked me in the face. "I'm going to miss you." He hugged me like we'd always been the best of buddies, now parting, the message being that he too was leaving.
I don't know that Pacifico hugged everyone that day. Or only me. It doesn't matter. Nor do I know where he's going. Like Navarro below, I don't even know where I'm going.
I do know that should Pacifico grow up to be a sociopathic Columbiner and enter my school, his aim will at least hesitate when it turns on me. On the other hand, he may carry the memory of our moments as something positive that eventually contributes to his not entering a school in such a fashion.
Joe Navarro will tell you now about his torment of retiring as a teacher. I won't, and not because I'm nowhere near retirement. It will be because $15-16 an hour is worth it when it comes with the benefits of Pacifico moments. I
Julia Gorton is the illustrator and designer of many books for children, including Abrams’ Score! 50 Poems to Motivate and Inspire and Harpercollins's I See Myself by Vicki Cobb, the MathStart book Super Sandcastle Saturday by Stuart J. Murphy, and Ten Rosy Roses, by Eve Merriam. She teaches design at Parsons the New School for Design. Julia Gorton lives in Glen Ridge, New Jersey with her husband, author-illustrator Daniel Kirk, and their three children.
Julia Gorton with Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth
CW: How would you recommend to other illustrators to get there work published?
Get out of the studio and make an effort to meet people. Be friendly and send lovely mailers that will be memorable and useful. Follow up and don’t give up. Volunteer to do work for your friends, their bands and any local spots that need updated graphics and images. Think of making small editions that use a narrative theme to show someone how you might work on developing a story across many pages. Do something different, but not so different that there is not a place for it in the market.
CW: Who are your influences.
0 Comments on Interview Adventure series—Julia Gorton • 5 as of 1/1/1900
SCBWI Regional Adviser (and my critique pal) Erin Dealey has created a rocking amazing rap on why you should read a book. And if you look closely you'll notice one of my books.
http://ow.ly/14CEN
Librarians and teachers will especially love this as a fun short rap to share with kids.
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Moira, I love your comic style.
Check out how we have 3 "comic" styles in a row - yours and JonB's and John S's - all so different but all wonderful and effective. Wow.
Ellen