there are speed bumps on the road to education. even when you're 6.

a mother comes to my desk with a worksheet, obviously stock from a purchased curriculum, and asks for the book that is on it.

i look it up.
we don't have it.

but this is his homework, she insists. and look right here.
she points to the sheet, where it says to find said book "at your local library."

well...

i check the catalogs for the other public libraries in this county. nothing.
i try to find the best way to explain that the worksheet doesn't know what's at her local library. as i type this, i'm waiting for amazon.com to load because i'm wondering if the book is even still in print.

teachers, i know your job is hard. i know that these premade things make it easier. but if you're going to use them... please go that one extra step & make sure that your students will have access to the resources they need to complete the work you've assigned. i don't mind helping & problem-solving; that is my job, and i relish these things. but it isn't fair to send kids (and their incredibly frustrated parents) out into the wilderness with a bad map.

the book (c. 1995) is still in print. there are 8 copies circulating in the nashville public library system (all of which are checked out, & 5 of those have at least 1 hold on them-- this tells me that there is at least one teacher in davidson county using that same purchased curriculum) but if you don't live in davidson county (kids going to school here do not) then a metro library card is $50.

the mom said, maybe they have it at the school library.
maybe they do. with all the children who will be asked to read it, i certainly hope so.