How Poor Customer Service Led to an Invigorating Conversation About Literacy | From Behind the Pen

Image Credit: Yan Krukau

Remember the incident I told you about last week in my post regarding good customer service, Yo, Customer Service, Where You Be At? Well, I mentioned in that post about the customer who had two baskets filled with items from the children’s department, containing little stuffed toys, other little tchotchkes, and lots and lots of books.

Well, you know I had to be nosy. As I walked by, she said, I am so sorry about holding up the line, but I told her that was okay, especially after looking at the stuff she had in her basket. Here’s the deal. She was a high school teacher who took the day off and went shopping for books (paid for them out of her own money mind you) so that her students in her Future Leaders of America class would give them to children after reading the book to them, which is designed to encourage these children to pick up a physical book and read it.

We discussed the alarming illiteracy levels around the country where many kids entering middle school cannot read beyond a third or fourth-grade reading level. Tragic and so sad. This teacher said she didn’t want to continue talking about the problem but is trying to do something about it, by tithing her time, energy, and money for a very worthy cause. What a blessing she is.

We also talked about our opposition to book bans because the premise of these book bans does not have legal merit. We discussed the danger of these book bans. If we are already having alarming illiteracy rates among children and adults, why not read the book first before you leap into a nationwide book ban that would be more harmful than advantageous. Most of these “book banners” haven’t even read the books they are advocating a ban on, and neither are 99.99% of the books on these ban lists in elementary or middle school libraries. Sadly, the false narratives in these situations are highly destructive and divisive. In addition to that, if children want to read something they are restricted from reading, trust me there are other avenues of getting a hold of a copy of any book they want.

National March Into Literacy Month is held annually in March. Good reading and writing skills are essential for everyone, not only children. Even with visually impaired individuals, there are books and other devices available to help you take a deep dive into the wonderful world of reading and learning. There are so many organizations and book drives out here that donate free books to kids and adults for reading, learning, and growing in knowledge. I applaud them.

So I tip my hat to all of the educators out here who have the best interest of the children they teach in mind. But teachers cannot do it all by themselves. They need support and participation from parents and guardians to help these school-age children learn to succeed and compete in this ever-growing world of language and change.

Image Credit: Andrea Piacquadio…

Source: How Poor Customer Service Led to an Invigorating Conversation About Literacy | From Behind the Pen

उत्प्रेरक / Catalyst  – Kaushal Kishore

 

चाय अच्छा बहाना है कुछ समय 

किसी के साथ बिताने का, 

और बिस्कुट करता है काम उत्प्रेरक का

उस अनुभव को बढ़ाने के लिए,

चाय फीकी लगती है इसलिए

बिस्कुट के बिना…

☕☕☕☕☕☕

Tea serves as pretext to spend 

quality time with someone, 

and biscuits act as a catalyst 

to enhance that experience, 

making tea without biscuits 

lack the real taste…

*

–Kaushal Kishore 

Source: उत्प्रेरक / Catalyst  – Kaushal Kishore

What’s behind California’s high gas prices? Consumers should know the truth – Los Angeles Times

If you live in California you’ve probably run across ads blaming high gasoline prices on state laws and policies. They’re online, on television, in mailers, on highway billboards and even on gas pumps themselves. One of them asks in big, bold letters “why is our gas expensive” and directs you to a “facts per gallon” website that complains about government gas taxes and fees.

It’s all part of a multimillion-dollar ad campaign by the oil industry to deflect attention from its greed and shift blame for the nation’s highest gas prices onto California’s environmental policies. Oil companies want you to believe that what you pay at the pump has nothing to do with the record-high profits they’ve been raking in, but rather, is the fault of California’s leaders for trying to protect consumers, public health and the climate.

It’s just more misdirection from fossil fuel interests that want to keep profiting from a product that’s polluting our air and overheating the planet.

Source: What’s behind California’s high gas prices? Consumers should know the truth – Los Angeles Times