Librarian who rejected gift from Melania Trump: Give books to kids who need it.
First lady Melania Trump called on Dr. Seuss to help her celebrate National Read a Book Day on Sept. 6.
Then things got ... complicated.
Melania Trump reads a book to kids during the Easter Egg Roll at the White House in April 2017. Photo by Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images.
As the White House had previously announced, a school in each state that had "achieved high standards of excellence" would be receiving a box of 10 books by Dr. Seuss. Achieving "excellence" is a vague benchmark, of course — and one the White House doesn't define in detail in its press release — but it seemed as though performing well on standardized testing was a key benchmark.
In Massachusetts, that school selected to receive the donated books was Cambridgeport Elementary. The school librarian there, however, wasn't exactly happy about it.
In a blistering open letter to the first lady published on family reading blog The Horn Book, librarian Liz Phipps Soeiro laid out why she won't be keeping the books.
Although she said was "honored" by the gift and thanked Trump for the gesture, Soeiro pointed out why students in Cambridge — home to Harvard University, and a community with significant resources to offer its schools — certainly shouldn't be the ones accepting donated books from Washington when there are many other schools that need the help.
"My students have access to a school library with over nine thousand volumes and a librarian with a graduate degree in library science," she wrote. "Meanwhile, school libraries around the country are being shuttered."
Detroit teachers protest in May 2016 after significant budget shortfalls cause large setbacks for the district. Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images.
Soeiro noted the Trump administration has exacerbated education inequality by appointing Betsy DeVos — whose policies tend to favor students in wealthier or privileged areas, like Cambridge, over those in impoverished rural and urban districts — to run its education department.
"Why not go out of your way to gift books to underfunded and underprivileged communities that continue to be marginalized and maligned by policies put in place by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos?" she wrote.
Education secretary Betsy DeVos. Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images.
As you can imagine, Soeiro has faced both support and backlash for the letter.
The first lady responded to Soeiro in a statement from her communications team, suggesting the librarian needlessly made the gift political: "To turn the gesture of sending young students some books into something divisive is unfortunate, but the First Lady remains committed to her efforts on behalf of children everywhere."
Many online agreed:
In her letter criticizing Trump, Soeiro also called Dr. Seuss a "bit of a cliché" and noted his work's well-documented racist undertones — points conservative media seized and panned harshly.
But Soerico certainly has a group of supporters in her corner too — notably, it seems, many Cambridge parents.
CBS Boston reported that many moms and dads picking their kids up from school after the controversy unfolded agreed with Soerico's motives: "That’s the librarian’s prerogative and I support her decision," one dad chimed in. "I think the letter is really articulate, constructive in its suggestions," another told the news outlet.
Whether or not you agree with the librarian's decision to reject Trump's gift, one undeniable point in her letter is worth remembering: Public school kids deserve better.
"Cities like Philadelphia, Chicago, and Detroit are suffering through expansion, privatization, and school 'choice' with no interest in outcomes of children, their families, their teachers, and their schools," Soerico wrote. "Are those kids any less deserving of books simply because of circumstances beyond their control?"
Of course not. And our education policies should reflect that.
Beaver in water. Photo by 
An actual beaver dam on the now-thriving Price River
Not just coworkers—family, friends, strangers, kids… 
Imagine having to go so badly but being out of euros. 
Anything hobbit-esque can't be wrong. 
But what if you need pain meds AND mascara?!
Imagine how this would affect childcare.
Honestly…where's the lie? 
A brown buddha statue sits near a green mountain. Photo by 
Urgent dash to the bathroom! 🚪🏃♂️
Ladybug unexpectedly found during colonoscopyPhoto credit: 
Close-up of bottom of ladybug found in colonPhoto credit: 
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."