CLIMBING MY WAY TO THE TOPWho remembers SRAs? I think that stood for Selected Reading Assessments, and it was a whole color coded reading comprehension program used in classrooms in the 60s and 70s.
Who remembers cheating their way to the top?
C'mon, tell me I'm not the only one that figured out in first grade you could get to the next group "up" by finding the answer key and just copying the whole thing? I mean they put them RIGHT THERE next to the questions! You were supposed to check your own work! That was part of the program's brilliance, no need for a teacher!
I'm not sure if it was the SRAs or my disdain for those damn headphones at the listening center, that made me crack. Remember the tape recorder that never worked, and the kids that wouldn't shut up, and the pages that you couldn't turn until you heard the beep, and the beep you couldn't hear because the kids wouldn't shut up, and so on, and so on, and so on! Utter madness! God, how I hated reading in school!
But now I dream of this: A library in my home, complete with a LADDER. And I know I'm not the only one that shares this dream, all my favorite reader friends want a ladder too. The ladder is where it's at. I've seriously considered turning my detached garage into my writing/reading studio. A bathroom, little kitchenette, maybe even a daybed, all that would be nice, but one thing is for sure, that sucker's getting a LADDER!
So what happened between the SRAs, bad headphones and now?
A Wrinkle in Time
Judy Blume
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Anne of Green Gables
The Thorn Birds
And many, many others that transported me with their words.
Now my happiest days are those spent reading, and writing is what I do for "work."
If I can write a book that transports even one single person, I will be thrilled.
I want to return the favor.
13 comments:
You will.
Honey, you already have. I am here to tell you: the favor has been cashed and the check has cleared.
I love reading and libraries and the SRA (and I did not cheat). Soon you will be able to combine your blog writings into a book. I'll buy it.
I adored SRAs. Wouldn't have cheated for the world--might have missed something, you know.
But darlin'. I'm with Kim. That check cleared quite a while ago.
And the ladder? You couldn't be more right about the ladder.
Sorry it took so long to comment. I was busy lounging/reading in the chair in the photo on your blog. So comfy.....It's all about the ladder btw!
xoLo
I remember SRA, and I hated it, too! We had a math version, too. And I'm pretty sure I cheated on that one!
When I saw that photo, I thought, "Wow, Carrie has one kick butt library!" Then I started salivating because I want one, too! Then I realized it wasn't your house. Then I got sad 'cause really you should have a library like that. And I should have one, too!
I want to read your book already! Haven't I waited long enough? Transport me, please!!!
where did you find that photo?
Did you even know I HAD a ladder? That's right--old Greggy boy got me a ladder in our first house. Then the "office/library" became the nursery and the ladder stayed. I bet they still have that wonderful ladder in that little house in LA.
I'm with ya on the ladder :-)
You already have, again and again. I know your book will do the same, again and again.
I am so with you on the ladder. I need a room just like that in my house, with a ladder. Gotta have the ladder.
I loved the photo. That is exactly what I want. I want to curl up in that chair and get lost in those books. I may never leave that room.
XOXOX
Oh, I would LOVE to have a room like that in my house. Yes.
:)
Love that picture! I want that library too...
And I remember SRA's! How I remember those.
Ooh! Me, too! And "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn."
BTW, I'm with Kim, your writing transports me every damn day.
Love you!
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