Dr. Bird

By Susan Fisher, MPL PR Supervisor and Dottie Kreps, MPL Community Engagement Specialist— MUNCIE, IN — Muncie Public Library invites the community to celebrate a year of reading, creativity, culture, and connection during the NEA Big Read Wrap-Up Celebration, taking place during the upcoming First Thursday in partnership with MadJax Maker Force. The free community event will be held on Thursday, June 4, from 5–8 p.m., in the first-floor Public Hall at MadJax and marks the culmination of Muncie Public Library’s 2025–2026 NEA Big Read themed year, Food, Family, and Tradition. Made possible through a grant from the National Endowment…

By: John Carlson— The other day I saw a national news story about a school system down South that is initiating an innovative method of controlling unruly students’ classroom behavior. It’s called “swatting them on the butt with a paddle.” That’s right, it’s good old corporal punishment, something that used to be fairly common in schools back in my day. I know this from personal experience, having been swatted a couple times during my own stellar public-school career. Maybe it’s my imagination, but I doubt our schools back then engendered the sort of disciplinary problems that seem fairly routine today….