Chain Link

Gratitude helps recalibrate our brains in a positive way, allowing us to see all the good going on in our classrooms and world. 

-- Owen M. Griffith, Gratitude: A Way of Teaching, p. 20.

During Library Festival on September 18th, 2025, we hosted "Chain Link", an activity that asked patrons upon entering to reflect on one of four prompts. They then wrote their response (anonymously) on a colorful slip of construction paper and looped it to the one before, in no particular order. With student teachers enthusiastically remarking on the fun of creating, just by putting a magic marker to paper, this proved a simple, but effective exercise, one often found in classrooms and holiday decorations.  As it highlighted our gratitude for learning -- from the books and teachers we've loved, to our favorite library or most impactful educational experience -- Chain Link was the perfect opportunity for us to share our connection to the Teachers College community.

All in all, we collected 84 responses: in pink (21 links), yellow (17 links), blue (16 links), red (12 links), green (11 links), and purple (7 links).  Thinking of the best way to display the chain, and with thanks to Kate Scott, Library Associate / Art and Design, we  mounted a large heart on the first floor library wall,  opposite the Services' Desk, overlooking Russell Courtyard.

 We share all the touching messages and sentiments, and truly hope you will be inspired to keep reading, learning, and sharing your gratitude! Thank you, TC!

Favorite Book  

32 responses:

• Charlotte's Web, by E.B. White   ("Always!")
• A Court of Thorns and Roses, by Sarah J. Maas
• David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens
• Demian: The Story of a Youth, by Herman Hess
• A Dream of Red Manions, by Hong lo Meng
• Gossip Girl, Cecily von Ziegsar
• Brooklyn, by Colm Toibin
• Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes
• The Giver, by Lois Lowry
• Harry Potter, by J.K. Rowling
• Hello, Beautiful, by Ann Napolitano
• Human Acts, by Han Kang
• The Housemaid is Watching, by Frieda McFadden
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
• I Am Malala, by Malala Yousafzai
• To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
• Life of Pi, by Yann Martel
• A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara
• The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (2 responses)
• Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
• Marx's Capital, by Ben Fine
• The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri
• Probability Theory
• Resurrection, by Danielle Steel
• Seven  Laws of Highest Prosperity: Making Your Life Count for What Really Counts, by Cecile O. Kemp
• The Stranger, by Albert Camus
• Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neal Hurston
• The Wedding People, by Allison Espach
• The Why Cafe, by John Strelecky  ("When you feel lost you can take a look at it.")
• Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte

Why I Came to Teachers College

20 responses:

• To become a forensic psychologist
• To study special education and help kids in the future
• To study
• To submit my last final of the 1st semester
• To change the course of my life
• To meet the world!
• To work :)  and learn, play, teach 
• To do good work in NYC
• To start a meaningful career in counseling
• To learn more about making an impact in education
• To broaden my persepective on the ever-changing mind
• To be a scientist
• To specialize in bilingual and special ed and be a role model for other students
• To learn to become a mental health counselor
• To pursue Masters degree
• To meet people who care about helping others
• To make an impact on students and the community!
• To learn and develop in my profession
• To explore unanswered questions

Fondest Library Experience

19 responses:

• Kids Club with Mrs. Wolf
• The staff at Gottesman
• I always loved getting books and movies from my local library!
• Librarian is very kind and helpful. She helps when we can't print and finds reserve books for us when it seems challenging.
• Picking out my first book myself -- The Littlest Witch
• Going to the library with my older sister
• Classical music wafting up the Russell staircase
• May 13, 2025: Watching the wind move the leaves from the window
• Puzzles
• Going to see the library everyday after school as a kid
• Working at the front desk
• Working at the library and viewing art exhbiits
• Figuring out PawPrint
• My middle school librarian, Sister Thomas, let me spend recess with her in the library sorting books, reading, and learning (heart)
• Gosh. I love the treadmills!! TC is the place for PhD!
• When I was in high school, our school librarian let me eat lunch in the library with her to avoid being bullied.
• Studying Psychology at the Library!!
• Growing up, libraries were like my second home.
• Spending hours in the kids' section on weekends; my family would all hang out in different sections.

My Favorite Teacher or Most Impactful Learning Experience

13 responses:

• My 4th grade teachers Ms Park who inspired me  to enjoy learning!!
• My educational role model is my mom.
• TC, the best place possible.
• My Favorite educational role model is Brit Hamre!!
• Mr Stern, High School English Teacher who nurtured my love for the modern novel.
• My apcs teacher, Ms. Scimeca.
• Yasemin. She is a really kind and amazing professor, loving to help her students out.
• My 4th grade teacher saying I'd be a great writer.
• My Mom! Elementary eduation - adult education.
• My Mom!! heart, heart, heart.
• My mother who is a HS teacher.
• Workshop with Ava. Heart.
• Dr. Ruth.

Images:

• Installation Photo and Poster, Courtesy of Gottesman Libraries.
• Blue Flower of Hydrangea, Stock Photo.

Also be sure to check out the November-December Everett Cafe book display, With Thanks.