The Utter Importance of Teens, Part 2

Something’s been nagging at me ever since I wrote The Utter Importance of Teens before here. I cited some pretty great things done by people who either are or were teens in our library.
But not every teen who walks through our doors ends up being a superachiever and that doesn’t mean we love having them [...]

Should She Sail?

  The first person ever to sail the world alone  was Joshua Slocum, in 1895.  Joshua was 51 at the time, Laura is 13.   Dutch teen Laura Dekker wants to set the world record for the youngest person ever to sail the world alone.  The current world record is held by 17 year old Zac [...]

Good News about Dystopias

 

Dys + (u)topia.  According to www.dictionary.com  (Based on The American Heritage Dictionary, 2009), a dystopia is “an imaginary place…where life is extremely bad, as from deprivation, oppression, or terror.” So why would anyone want to read about them? What makes them – actually – fascinating? 
If they’re  like the books on the list put together by [...]

Murder, Thievery and Other Dastardly Deeds

Every day when I open the newspaper (or the newspaper’s website, as the case may be) I’m assaulted by stories of crime — abuse, murder, burglary.  After my car was broken into a couple of months ago, those stories really began to hit home, and I now read the newspaper more often and with greater [...]

Question of the Day: Do You Like Your Parents?

It can be tough. They want you to do your chores, get good grades, participate in after school activities, watch your little brother or sister, stay out of trouble, keep up with all your checked out library materials, and appreciate them for making you do these things “for your own good”.
How do you feel [...]

Free Speech on the Internet – Do Teens Have It?

     In 2007,  Avery Doninger  began planning a battle of the bands called Jamfest for her high school in Burlington, Vermont.  At one point during the planning stage, Doninger was informed that the program would be cancelled.  She then wrote in her livejournal blog: “Jamfest is cancelled due to the douche bags in central office.”  She also suggested that [...]

1,2,3…COOK!

“Why did the student eat his homework?
The teacher told him it was a piece of cake.”
Something about spring makes me want to eat lighter, healthier, fresher. Maybe it’s the fear of putting on a bathing suit in a couple months? Well, even though it snowed yesterday, I’m still saying good bye to pot roasts and [...]

Sex Ed

The Pittsburgh Public Schools recently made a proposal to change from “abstinence-only” sex education to “comprehensive” sex education. Check out this article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:  http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09048/949664-298.stm
Abstinence-only sex education does exactly what its name suggests: it promotes not having sex as the only safe way to not get pregnant and/or contract STDs. Comprehensive sex education [...]

Classic Films With Teen Appeal

I just had a lovely conversation with some teen regulars about great movies, growing up, feeling out of place, etc.  It made me quite happy to be working where I work, encountering wonderful people and sharing ideas.
They told me about how much they love movies from the 70s and 80s, and were excited about the recommendations [...]

CLP Quick Flix – Contest Deadline Extended!

Did you totally mean to enter the CLP Quick Flix Teen Video Contest but time got away from you?  Did you film some stuff, but not get around to editing it?  Well, I have good news for you: we extended the deadline!  The new deadline is Friday, August 8th…but if you get it in by [...]