She caused me to have to speak in short, succinct sentences because I was afraid her brain would explode otherwise, so when I talk about her or write about her, my words come out that way again.
She was a teacher. I know because she mentioned it in the conversation about eight times.
Her library card had expired. Ten years ago.
She wanted to know where our paperback section was. When I explained that we don’t separate books by hardcover and paperback, she was horrified. Why not? However do we organize things if not by the density of its cover?
She didn’t know the difference between fiction and nonfiction. Even after I described it twice.
She refused to use the computer to look up her books. She claimed to have never touched a computer in her life and wasn’t about to start now.
Fortunately, she did know how to write. Very badly, but I could make out her words. She wrote down two titles she wanted me to look up. She wrote them down because she didn’t think I could remember them if she just said them aloud. Perhaps I’d never heard of them.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
The Color Purple
I might have been insulted that she thought I’d never heard of them except for the fact that she seemed to be retarded. I’ve made a point of trying to be more gracious to people who are retarded and don’t know it.
The only thing that impressed me was that she spelled the words right. That surprised me. She had one skill. I wasn’t going to test it because I felt better about the local public school system thinking that she could at least spell.
She insisted I locate copies of these books in paperback and not hardcover. She said that they were for her niece, not herself, and her niece prefers paperbacks because they are more portable. We had copies on the shelf, thankfully.
I wrote the call numbers down and tried to explain that the fiction is arranged alphabetically by the author’s last name.
She stared blankly at me.
This book, The Color Purple, was written by Alice WALKER.
Walker is her last name.
The books are alphabetized by the author’s last name.
Walker is going to be in the W area.
That’s near the end of the alphabet.
You’ll have to look for the “WAL” on the call number.
The call number is on the spine of the book.
She nodded like she understood. She studied the scrap of paper I handed to her with the author’s names next to the titles she wrote down. If I hadn’t been alone at the desk with two patrons waiting, I’d have walked her to each book and plucked them from the shelf, but I had to trust that those keen spelling skills would kick in and she’d find the books herself.
She walked off looking disheartened.
I helped the next two patrons and when I finished, she was walking past my desk to leave.
I asked if she found the books. She said she had, after much searching, but decided not to get them.
She reminded me that she had never touched a computer before and would soon be retiring from teaching. She wondered if she should learn now or just finish out her life without ever having touched a computer.
I gave her that look of false contemplation I give to everyone who asks a question I haven’t the nerve to answer truthfully.
She asked if it’s always this crowded in the evenings. I explained that, yes, it’s always this crowded or more so.
She mused that she had no idea the young people were so studious.
Without wanting to completely pop the bubble she was living in, I said that they are mostly computer-users.
She said that she tells her students to NEVER EVER go to the library for personal needs. ONLY use the library for assignments and research. It’s not there for fun. She hoped that they were all working on projects while they were on the computer.
I looked around to see if she had antennae coming out of her head. If she did, they were well hidden. Perhaps the mother ship will be taking her back shortly.
I clarified that the library is not just for research, and it is widely used for recreation, which we encourage. Even if the children were using the computers for fun, they were still strengthening computer skills, which they will need for the rest of their lives if they want to function in the world.
(Unlike her.)
She said she understood that computers could be helpful and she was glad they were learning. She nodded her approval and left.
I’m guessing that her students learn more screwing around on our computers after school than they do in her classroom on any day of the week.
I’ve never been a proponent of home schooling, but I can understand it when I have conversations with people like this woman.
She was a teacher. I know because she mentioned it in the conversation about eight times.
Her library card had expired. Ten years ago.
She wanted to know where our paperback section was. When I explained that we don’t separate books by hardcover and paperback, she was horrified. Why not? However do we organize things if not by the density of its cover?
She didn’t know the difference between fiction and nonfiction. Even after I described it twice.
She refused to use the computer to look up her books. She claimed to have never touched a computer in her life and wasn’t about to start now.
Fortunately, she did know how to write. Very badly, but I could make out her words. She wrote down two titles she wanted me to look up. She wrote them down because she didn’t think I could remember them if she just said them aloud. Perhaps I’d never heard of them.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
The Color Purple
I might have been insulted that she thought I’d never heard of them except for the fact that she seemed to be retarded. I’ve made a point of trying to be more gracious to people who are retarded and don’t know it.
The only thing that impressed me was that she spelled the words right. That surprised me. She had one skill. I wasn’t going to test it because I felt better about the local public school system thinking that she could at least spell.
She insisted I locate copies of these books in paperback and not hardcover. She said that they were for her niece, not herself, and her niece prefers paperbacks because they are more portable. We had copies on the shelf, thankfully.
I wrote the call numbers down and tried to explain that the fiction is arranged alphabetically by the author’s last name.
She stared blankly at me.
This book, The Color Purple, was written by Alice WALKER.
Walker is her last name.
The books are alphabetized by the author’s last name.
Walker is going to be in the W area.
That’s near the end of the alphabet.
You’ll have to look for the “WAL” on the call number.
The call number is on the spine of the book.
She nodded like she understood. She studied the scrap of paper I handed to her with the author’s names next to the titles she wrote down. If I hadn’t been alone at the desk with two patrons waiting, I’d have walked her to each book and plucked them from the shelf, but I had to trust that those keen spelling skills would kick in and she’d find the books herself.
She walked off looking disheartened.
I helped the next two patrons and when I finished, she was walking past my desk to leave.
I asked if she found the books. She said she had, after much searching, but decided not to get them.
She reminded me that she had never touched a computer before and would soon be retiring from teaching. She wondered if she should learn now or just finish out her life without ever having touched a computer.
I gave her that look of false contemplation I give to everyone who asks a question I haven’t the nerve to answer truthfully.
She asked if it’s always this crowded in the evenings. I explained that, yes, it’s always this crowded or more so.
She mused that she had no idea the young people were so studious.
Without wanting to completely pop the bubble she was living in, I said that they are mostly computer-users.
She said that she tells her students to NEVER EVER go to the library for personal needs. ONLY use the library for assignments and research. It’s not there for fun. She hoped that they were all working on projects while they were on the computer.
I looked around to see if she had antennae coming out of her head. If she did, they were well hidden. Perhaps the mother ship will be taking her back shortly.
I clarified that the library is not just for research, and it is widely used for recreation, which we encourage. Even if the children were using the computers for fun, they were still strengthening computer skills, which they will need for the rest of their lives if they want to function in the world.
(Unlike her.)
She said she understood that computers could be helpful and she was glad they were learning. She nodded her approval and left.
I’m guessing that her students learn more screwing around on our computers after school than they do in her classroom on any day of the week.
I’ve never been a proponent of home schooling, but I can understand it when I have conversations with people like this woman.
2 comments:
I don't mean to malign the teaching profession, which is a noble one, but I always know that I'm in for trouble when patrons identify themselves as a teacher right off the bat. Either they want some outrageous accomodation they feel entitled to out of professional courtesy or they're just plain thick. It always amazes and depresses me.
>Either they want some outrageous accomodation they feel entitled to out of professional courtesy
Exactly. rives me nuts (and I'm a former teacher, too).
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