Out of the darkness comes light like a flash

This arrived in the mail today. Happy early birthday to me. :D

"Waste forces within him, and a desert all around, this man stood still on his way across a silent terrace, and saw for a moment, lying in the wilderness before him, a mirage of honourable ambition, self-denial, and perseverance. In the fair city of this vision, there were airy galleries from which the loves and graces looked upon him, gardens in which the fruits of life hung ripening, waters of Hope that sparkled in his sight. A moment, and it was gone. Climbing to a high chamber in a well of houses, he threw himself down in his clothes on a neglected bed, and its pillow was wet with wasted tears."

Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

girlwithalessonplan:

bettyinthebush:

Because they want to avoid teaching about “race, oppression, and ethicity.”

OH AND THEY BANNED “THE TEMPEST,” TOO.

It’s ON, Arizona! 

(UCWIDT?  ”Lost” is heavy on “Tempest” metaphors.  And I feel like slapping people.  Heeeheehee….)

What. The. Fuck. Arizona.

This makes me angry. How dare a state deprive a large population of children the opportunity to explore their culture through literature. My students, who say they hate reading, are reading The House on Mango Street right now, and are excited to volunteer to read aloud every day. When I say, “I’d really love a Spanish-speaker to read this one since there are bits of Spanish and even though I know what it means, you say it so much prettier than me,” their eyes light up because it’s so rare a white person compliments their native tongue.

I’m appalled by Arizona’s recent choices about immigrants and diversity. It’s about time all Americans are honored and appreciated, especially through literature. It’s not common for me to not have words to describe how I feel, but that is certainly the case right now. So. Angry.

(Source: naklengwiinga)

"You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who had ever been alive."

James Baldwin (via misswallflower)

This shows the mentality behind the YA Saves campaign. Love it.

(via youreyeslooklikeblueberries)

The problem with a great book that I don’t want to put down is

the fact that I have a mountain of papers to grade.

I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to start reading The Giver, but I find that new books and music, even when they’re actually several years old, find me at the perfect times. The times I appreciate them the most and realize if I had found them any earlier, I probably wouldn’t appreciate them as much.