And Now for Another Kind of Class

Finished my "class" in indexing elementary math textbooks. Long project, somewhat tedious, but good money. And yesterday I wrapped up the index for the book on Tom Lea, WWII combat artist. A riveting story with adventures from England to China to Peleliu Island in the South Pacific. War is definitely hell. Please strive to avoid it whenever possible.

And now, for social class. In America, class is often considered a dirty word because we have quite a bit of potential economic mobility here, but class still exists and is a major factor in how well people do in our society. Starting from the bottom is still really difficult even when the barriers to progress are not official. They are still formidable. This social science book from the Russell Sage Foundation should shed some light on how class currently impacts people's lives here. I'll pass on more when I get into the details.

Visions of a World at War

This week, although I still have a number of chapters of elementary math terms to index, the real interest is in a coffee table book on the work of painter/illustrator/writer Tom Lea. Texas A&M Press is doing up this book that pulls together the El Paso native's artistic work and writing from his WWII adventures as a Life magazine correspondent. Life actually believed in the value of combat art in addition to its addiction to fine photography to capture an experience. And Tom Lea was the perfect agent for that attitude. He bonded with the men on board ships in the North Atlantic and South Pacific, and with troops in North Africa and Europe, portraying their triumphs and tragedies, and more importantly, their daily lives, both in his paintings and his diary and other writings. His paintings are strikingly realistic in a time when abstraction was the artistic rule. The impact is very "in your face." He does not spare us the horror of war by any stretch, nor does he forget the nobility of the warrior.

As you can tell, I'm really enjoying this material. Just gotta make sure I index it, too!

Still Swamped with....First Grade Math?!!

Sorry about the delay, folks, but juggling multiple projects seven days a week makes it hard to get back here and let you all know how the biz is going. Since the week of 3/24, I've finished indexing a college textbook on how to work in/for nonprofit organizations. I also finished an index for AutoCAD For Dummies (600+ pages), which was fun just 'cause it's very discrete subjects, although there are lots and lots of complex features for computer aided design.

And then, I started first grade. Really! Indexing a first grade math textbook, both student and teacher versions, which is a little weird. All the regular stuff is in the student version (addition, subtraction, counting on number lines, reading stories that illustrate math concepts), but the teacher edition has miniatures of the student pages with all sorts of pedagogical terms and instructions around the borders of the student page. It's the repetition of all the teacher jargon that's getting to my brain right now, but I've learned to feel great compassion for elementary public school teachers who have to keep up with all the state and local curricular requirements while still making the learning fun for the students.

Now I really need to get back to it so I can meet my Tuesday deadline for all these first grade textbook chapters. I'll let you all know about my cool book project on Tom Lea, Life photographer during WWII, next week. Stay tuned.