Books for children and teens have been the one bright spot in publishing over the last 7-8 years, particularly young adult novels, which have enjoyed a tremendous increase in sales. The range and quality of books published for teens and children has increased, and some of the best writers and illustrators now work in the field of children’s books. Authors and illustrators enjoy the flexibility and passion of children as readers, which allows for more innovation, resulting in trends such as graphic novels, novels in verse, unusual book formats, and multigenre books, along with all kinds of digital interfaces. On the other hand, challenges remain, particularly in the continuing under representation of books reflecting global and cultural diversity. The focus of this presentation is sharing examples of current trends in children’s literature, both for those interested in this field as a business and those who care deeply about the literacy of children. All children need the opportunity to connect with books that reflect their experiences and identities, and engage them as readers in exploring their lives and world. Young children especially benefit from read aloud experiences as the number one factor associated with school success. 

 

 

We began the meeting as usual, with CLEM LESLIE leading us in devotion and DALE BERG leading us in the song accompanied by GARY HIRSCH on piano. GARY, I think I speak for all of RCOT when I say thanks  for your many days leading us with music!

 

We opened the meeting by taking a vote on the amendment to the Bylaws posted in the 11 May Tucsotarian. The amendment passed with more than a 2/3 majority oral vote.

 

We offer HAPPY BIRTHDAY wishes to IRENE DECKER, JOE NEVIN, JAN GREEN and SCOTT VAUGHAN. Not only is SCOTT celebrating his birthday, but also his first full year of retirement AND his 50^th wedding anniversary!

 

CHARLOTTE HARRIS introduced us to two additional Paul Harris Fellows. Ann Pickering received a Paul Harris compliments of her husband STEVE PICKERING. Likewise Kathy Sawyer received her Paul Harris compliments of her husband CHUCK SAWYER. Congratulations to you all!

 

We also had HUGH THOMPSON introduce Dr. Bill Neubauer who shared a 10-minute presentation regarding all the truly wonderful accomplishments of the ARSOBO project. This organization is doing great things to assist disabled people living in Mexico.

 

For our program, CLEM LESLIE again hit the stage to introduce DARREN STRATTON, who introduced us to the Salvation Army Rehab Facility. Before I present my points, I’d like to offer good luck and best wishes to CLEM LESLIE and his wife who are moving to CA in a few weeks. Now on to the program. For those who may not know, SA was founded in London 151 years ago, and today operates in 127 countries. SA operates the largest privately funded rehab program in the US, and has the highest recovery rate of any similar program offered in the US. It is a 6-month live-in program and costs the beneficiary absolutely nothing, however those involved in the program must “work” during their stay as part of their recovery plan.

 

I’d like to close with a quote from our meeting. “Bigamy is having one too many wives (or husbands)... Well, sometimes so is monogamy!”  

 

Freedom of choice is inextricably tied to personal responsibility. You make your choices, but you cannot then blame everyone and everything, other than that choice, for the consequences you don’t like. How about a helping hand when you suffer a setback? Should you expect, even demand, charity if you took on greater risk than necessary? How much is too much?

 

Rotary, like other non-governmental charitable providers, decides whom to help. With resources never sufficient to address every need, criteria are established to narrow the field to a few, deserving beneficiaries. Is avoidance of personal responsibility a fair filter to apply?

 

Consider your composite neighbor Neide, who:

You should be getting the idea that, in sum, Neide chooses to live a life most of society would assess as taking little responsibility for self-care or the care of dependents. And most of those same members of society believe a person should be free to choose how to live, as long as there is negligible risk of a negative impact on others, and as long as some fundamental moral standards are observed.

 

Does Neide deserve, and should Neide expect, help when directly impacted by these behaviors? And is it fair for a provider to consider behavior in deciding whether to help Neide versus helping someone whose life practice is usually the opposite of the list above? Remember, there are insufficient resources to help everyone. Decisions have to be made, and they are being made in the real world.

 

Whatever your belief, the issue is many times more complex in considering help for Neide’s minor children. They may well be powerless to take risk-avoidance measures and yet become victims nonetheless. It makes the discussion even deeper when you admit that help for those children will, in many cases, unavoidably help (enable, some would say) Neide.

 

We weigh many other factors in deciding where to provide service and aide. If only there were a mathematical formula for scoring who should receive help and who shouldn’t. It would be easy, and in a sense it could be considered fair. You have to decide, and each other Rotarian has to decide. At some point, we make a collective choice. By and large, Rotary’s choices are very good ones.