litinspired.bsky.social
Lover of literature and literacy. 25 yrs teaching HS English in Fl. A blue dot in a sea of red. My dad (retired carpenter) and I are making neighborhood libraries…using our hearts & hands to spread literacy. www.litinspired.com
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Unbelievable
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Came here to say just this. And relatively coherent. And complete sentences.
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I agree. Felt too performative. She's got it naturally.
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Same. Pete and AOC--dream ticket.
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Yes please and thank you
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Other side of the moat, French public broadcaster has been doing alright. I haven't dug into what they're putting out in writing, but they usually move beyond stenography.
youtu.be/avEtMcELaPU
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She does! In that final thread that’s her painting just last week.❤️😁
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So grandma Ruth, just months after her stroke at 96, painted these so we could test how they do on our libraries. Since then, we've had several painting parties. Inspired by her work, we're planning an artist series where money raised goes to nonprofit of the artist's choice. Stay tuned.💙#art #books
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Grandma had a massive stroke in Aug. We didn't think she'd make it but she's a survivor. It was at her house, as she recovered, where we came up w/the idea of making libraries (she's an avid reader) w/ interchangeable panels so we could have new design and so people could paint their own art.
#art
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I watched this over and over as a kid. Just loved it.
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Thank you for reading about our journey. I hope you will consider putting a library in your neighborhood. If you can't find a local creator, one that shares your values, please look to us. And please share our message. 💙
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I'm on a mission to get them in every park, apartment complex, and neighborhood in our red town. We have more ideas coming: grants for low-income areas. An artist series to support nonprofit art & humanities organizations. Our 1st artist to donate to this cause--my 96 yr old artist grandma, Ruth. 💙
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With the efforts to close libraries, ban books, destroy education, ignore science, we see these libraries no longer as a distracting hobby, but as an act of resistance. It feels important. The billboard feature allows a change of messaging. Your library doesn't have to be political, but it can be.
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Since starting in December we have installed 12 LIBRARIES around our county. 😊 Last week we opened a shared bank account for this little business. We showed our banker the designs and the custom version he just completed. She looked at my dad and said, "wow, you are a true artist." 🥹 He is.
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My dad doesn't think of himself as an artist. But he is. You might not think you're an artist. But artists are more than just their end products, more than what you might think of as a creator. Artists view the world from many perspectives. They "create" empathy. They "build" community.
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I want to share this: if you're a maker, make things.
The value might just be in the process, providing mental relief, or in building community. Sometimes it can be what saves us or sustains us to keep fighting the bigger battles ahead.
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At the fair, tons of like-minded people stopped by our booth. It renewed us, knowing there are so many of us. Dad is in the shop every day now: sketching, measuring, sawing, perfecting. Mom, too. Helping, painting. I'm getting books into the community. Spreading literacy. Making readers where I can.
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In March we had our first craft show in collaboration w/ @helloagainbooks.bsky.social They're an LGBTQ+, woman-owned bookseller & models of positivity. In these tough times, they choose love & support & positivity. They offer a safe space for so many. Please follow and support them!
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We kept going...what if we had blank panels that you could paint? How could we make books, these libraries, even more fun, more personalized? Think Painting with a Twist but with books! Bring a book and paint panels for the library. We did this with friends and at school w/ students. So much FUN. 😁
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We took the idea further & designed our "Novel Idea" library to have interchangeable sides & back panels. So it can act as a mini-billboard, with its changing designs. Think Pride Month, Holidays, Art, Poetry, Science Info, etc. These are just a few. We can even take custom designs & print them!
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So we turned our focus to our hearts & hands; we decided to start making neighborhood libraries. With my love of literature and his carpentry skills it was perfect. We could provide banned books, books of diversity, of science. PLUS my best friend Jen happened to own a printing company BCreative...
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One night we were talking about the neighborhood library he had made for me the previous year. How much I loved it, how it was always attracting people, even in our very red neighborhood. I know many Trump supporters visited it and took books and shared books. Many non-Trumpers loved it being there.
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It's FL so we can go on and on, but all this is to say that when Trump was "elected" the second time, we felt, as many others, DEVASTATED. My dad, 75, was sinking, wavering between sadness & rage. Retired, he was consuming too much media. He was feeling totally hopeless & ashamed for our country. 💔
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Two disturbing messages from the course subtly recurred. They were basically:
1. Yea, we had slavery and it was bad but everyone was doing it & many places were worse.
2. Religion is really what the founders wanted because, well, they quoted scripture a lot. So, it belongs in our institutions! 🤡
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Last year, Florida introduced a new Civics Course. To teach it, you could take the 55 hour certification course. I didn't want to teach it, but I DID want to see what it was all about... 🤔 So I took it.
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A constant attack on "woke" teachers. DEI weaponized. I teach w/ MAGA teachers whose beliefs are not conducive to this work; who cheer the dismantling of DOE. Censorship, religion in school, prejudice, are becoming acceptable. Denial of science is prevalent. Critical thinking is losing. 😔
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Over in my world, teaching high school literature has grown more challenging. My district ordered thousands of books pulled from our shelves until "review". They then proceeded to remove teachers and media specialists from the so-called "review committees" and installed political allies.
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When people saw old, white, male construction guy in a pickup, they "assumed" so he put stickers to his truck, wore printed shirts & hats to show otherwise. He lost friends & family over it. Many of you can relate. Losing local elections was hard on him, but when Hillary lost, he got VERY depressed.
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My dad retired when Trump first ran. He'd never been politically active before but he jumped in completely. Got involved in national & local politics, put his carpentry skills to work, building signs & cleaning up vandalism. He knocked on doors, joined protests, registered voters on streets. 💪
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DeSantis claims FL is where "woke goes to die." We're the first state to ban CRT. We're an unwelcome place for the LGBTQ+ community and women, POC, immigrants. Currently, they're working to change child labor laws so that 14 year-olds can work overnight shifts. ON A SCHOOL NIGHT.
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Our Sheriff, Wayne Ivey, a Trump wannabe, hosts a show: "Wheel of Fugitive" and "Fishing 4 Fugitives" where he makes a game show out of people's lives. Our local school board member AND teacher union Pres. held a joint press conference w/ him IN FRONT OF THE JAIL to talk about school discipline.
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Over the years, MAGA has taken over our county: we had the highest level of Jan 6 insurrectionists, and the co-founder of Moms for Liberty was my school board member. Our neighborhood is inundated with handmade "Let's Go Brandon" banners and "FJB" signs. They put stickers on street signs.🙄
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A tale of blue dots treading water in a sea of red. My immediate family consists of my 2 daughters, my parents, & grandma but THIS story is about me & my dad: Randy is a retired carpenter of 50 yrs; I'm a HS literature teacher of 25 yrs. FL has been our home our whole life. (It used to be better).