Skinny Dip with Terri Evans

bk_EleanorParkWhat keeps you up at night?

Just about everything – I am a worrier and haven’t had eight straight hours of sleep in almost two years.

What is your proudest career moment?

There are two, both of which occurred in the past couple of years. The first began two years ago (as did my inability to sleep well) when the parents of a child involved in a summer reading program, on which my Library Media Specialists colleagues and I were collaborating, challenged the book we had chosen on the grounds that it contained graphic language and sex. The Parents Action League (one of eight groups in Minnesota that the Southern Poverty Law Center has deemed a hate group) got behind the challenge and made several demands—that the book be removed from all schools in the district, that the author not be allowed to visit our schools, and that the Library Media Specialists who chose the book be disciplined. The story went national. One of my proudest moments was when I spoke in front of our school board, along with two of my colleagues, in order to defend the book (the award-winning Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell). I am passionate about the freedom to read and the freedom of information—and providing my students with books in which they see themselves reflected, even if their lives aren’t pretty. This freedom also allows these students to look into the lives of others and develop empathy. Having the opportunity to express this passion, and eventually winning this battle (the committee charged with deciding the fate of the book voted unanimously to keep the book on the shelves in our schools), changed me forever. The following fall I was awarded the Lars Steltzner Intellectual Freedom Award. In addition, that year I was named a finalist for Minnesota Teacher of the Year. One of the most challenging times in my life was also one of the most rewarding.

In what Olympic sport would you like to win a gold medal?

Gymnastics or figure skating. In fifth grade my teacher told me I was clumsy. It would be a great “so there” moment!

What’s the first book you remember reading?

bk_Little-Women-book-cover-2As a child, my parents could not afford to buy me or my four siblings books, nor did we ever go to the library. I was not a reader. The summer between fourth and fifth grade, my family and I moved back to Minnesota from Michigan.  As a going-away gift, my friends gave me a copy of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. It was the first book that I ever owned and the first book I remember reading cover to cover. That was the beginning of my journey to becoming a reader. I treasure that memory and that book (which I keep in a safe spot and look at frequently).

What TV show can’t you turn off?

So You Think You Can Dance – reality competition shows, especially those that involve something artistic, are my guilty pleasure (Survivor, Dancing with the Stars, American Idol, America’s Next Top Model, Project Runway – I LOVE them all!)

 

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Janet Muscala
Janet Muscala
8 years ago

Con­grat­u­la­tions, Ter­ri on your retire­ment and your awards! Looks like you are on the road to new adven­tures in your life. I will always feel priv­i­leged to have had the oppor­tu­ni­ty to work with you dur­ing my intern­ship. I learned so much from you! Thank you.

Terri Evans
Terri Evans
Reply to  Janet Muscala
8 years ago

Thank-you, Janet. That is very kind of you. You were a most excel­lent “stu­dent!”

David LaRochelle
8 years ago

Thank you, Ter­ri, for being a cham­pi­on of free speech and for being brave enough to take a stand when a group tries to lim­it what oth­er peo­ple can read.

Terri Evans
Terri Evans
Reply to  David LaRochelle
8 years ago

Last week­end my daugh­ter-in-law was on an air­plane, and the woman sit­ting next to her was read­ing “Eleanor and Park.” This sparked a con­ver­sa­tion between the two of them in which the woman said how much she liked the book, and my daugh­ter-in-law pro­ceed­ed to tell her the sto­ry of the book being chal­lenged in our school dis­trict. In the process, she con­tin­ued the bat­tle against cen­sor­ship! One stone. Lots of ripples!