Week Seven Class

This week's field trip to East Middle School gave me a more thorough understanding of how a librarian can prove their worth to their educational community.  When we first started walking through the collection, I was pretty shocked with how out-dated the materials were, but it was soon obvious that this library was not a collection of books-- this library was a librarian.  I loved that neglected students felt safe and important in the library.  I loved that teachers were constantly walking in and out.  I loved that Rachel could go on and on about everything she was involved in.  I don't know how she does it, but I am amazed at the number of opportunities that she has found to serve her school.  You can tell that her motivation isn't to prove that she should have a job; she is seriously concerned with making her school a better place to learn.

Week Seven Reading

This batch of articles was difficult for me to wade through.  Collaborative Teaching in an Age of Accountability basically reviewed everything that we have discussed thus far with regards to issues in School Libraries: standards-based education movement, NCLB, replacement by paraprofessionals, collaboration, etc.  I don't think that I learned anything new from this.

From Todd's article, basically what I got was: people say they are collaborating, but they're not so just do it already.  And again, I'm not sure that these ideas will revolutionize my idea of professional practice.  All the librarians that I have met throughout the year speak in hushed tones when asked of collaboration.  They're like "Welllllll, kind of," but everything else tells us that we should.  How frustrating is this?  Maybe we need to look at the issue from a different angle.  I guess I find it more helpful to think of the problem as one of adult alienation in schools.  Like maybe we just have to be the social butterflies that connect everyone to everyone else, not just be collaborating all the time to feel like what we do is worthwhile.

I think that the Motown Method article did a good job of discussing the different roles in a co-teaching environment.  I had to co-teach while I was in the Philippines, so I have a lot of experience with all of these models.  All I have to say from that experience is that everyone is different and sometimes, it is really difficult for two people to teach together.  I think that collaboration is a great opportunity but it can also seem like a tremendous burden.

Week Six Class

This week in class, we reviewed the current EdTech standards for Ann Arbor Public Schools alongside two staff members from AAPS.  I found the 2007 standards to be very telling of the times in which they were created: pre-recession, pre-tablet, using the internet for alternatives to regular schooling, technology for technology's sake.  It has only been five years and already it seemed so outdated.

A few things that we talked about really stood out to me:
1. The lofty goals of IEPs.  I think that the way that they were imagined to work in 2007 would not make sense in the current educational climate of overworked teachers, but I think that there are definitely ways to create a system that could work in the favor of both teachers and students.  Learning management systems are getting better at student tracking and I like the idea that was brought up about re-imagining this idea as a network instead of a plan.  I like the idea of student contribution and upkeep.  I think that it could provide an adequate educational counterpoint to social networking and would create an environment to discuss issues surrounding digital reputation.
2.  The idea that 1:1 computing is inevitable.  I do not believe that schools will have to provide and iPad for every student.  I think that it is unrealistic and completely irresponsible and it kind of makes me mad when people make these kinds of assumptions about the way education has to be in the 21st century.  If/when 1:1 is implemented, I am interested to see how options like Raspberry Pi will compete with the iPad.
3.  The adoption of technology can't just be a replacement for something analog or human; it has to serve a greater purpose and elevate what is possible in a learning environment.  I keep looking back at that chart that Ann sent us.  It's great.

Lastly, could I be more obsessed with this library design?  I don't think so.

School Library of My Dreams Project

Here is the floor plan for the library of my dreams.

Here are a few collages on Polyvore!

Define "School Librarian"

Here's a special post with my own graphic representation of the definition of School Librarian-- admittedly gaudy and created on my laptop with paint.  I decided to try and imagine how I might spend my time as a Librarian and how to represent what those actions might mean for the rest of my school (which is why you can see the majority of time is spent doing something which accomplishes multiple goals).  With a little more time and maybe some help from virtual sites, I should probably try to pretty this guy up, but for now I hope it is still able to convey its meaning.

Week Six Reading

The week of interior design!  I must admit, I love this stuff-- aside from library/edtech blogs, shelter blogs are what I follow in my spare time.  But I wonder, to what extent does the librarian have a say over these design choices?  Do furniture and organizational materials get factored into budgets, or do you just have to make the best with whatever is provided by the administration?

During last semester in SI 647, we had to give presentations regarding issues of innovative services and an entire group of my peers chose to explore issues of space and place within libraries.  Many students looked at libraries as this necessary "third place"-- not quite work, not quite home-- and I think that this concept can apply to the role of a library in a school.  It has been mentioned during discussions that the library is often a place where administrators and other teachers go to escape within the school.  I think it's the same for many students.  It's not quite the locker/hallway but not quite the classroom, and I think that this also has to play an important role in how we set up our spaces.

For the most part, I think that the Baule article did a good job of highlighting the ways in which school librarians can design their way to being seen as a more important physical presence in the school.  However, I really disagree that one should make sure a space is flexible but not flexible enough to ever be commandeered as a classroom.  I think that we should create the best spaces that will suit the needs of our students.  If the school needs a special ed classroom, seriously fork over the space and make sure what's left of your library is worth keeping around.  This is a critique that I have of a lot of library literature out there-- we seem cautious/reactionary as opposed to adaptable, and it is frankly unbecoming of our profession.

Flexibility was an important point in every reading this week.  Times are changing, and the space has to change for all the different teaching strategies and technologies that are developing as well.  In the 90s, library spaces had to change due to the addition of computers.  How will spaces have to change to anticipate handheld technology or remote classroom environments?  Another 647 presentation last semester asked if a library would still be a library if there weren't any books at all.  Is it?

I see we have a polyvore/pinterest project for this week. Both are awesome sites to find inspiration, but as a future tip for my fellow classmates, floorplanner.com is one of my favorite sites for planning design projects.  Sign up for a free account and you can create basic floorplans to help you decide how to move around furniture or how a new piece will fit into a pre-existing setup.  It's been a major time-saver for me (or maybe not seeing as how I can play around with this site for hours).

Lastly and on an unrelated note, that Holmes quote from Ross Todd's article totally rocked my world: "The main part of intellectual education is not the acquisition of facts but learning how to make facts live"

Week Five Class

This week, our class went on a field trip just down the street to St. Francis, a private Preschool-Grade 8 school.  It was SO adorable, like a little treasure tucked away in a pocket of the school.  The collection was small, yet engaging, and it was obvious that the librarian (our gracious host for the afternoon) and her predecessor were able to do a lot with the little resources available to a small, private school.

Through our discussions, we were able to get a sense of the particular climate of the school, and it made me realize that of course every librarian's job is going to look different, because no two schools are the same.  It made me wonder just how prepared we can ever be to begin a career in education.  I remember my first year teaching in the Philippines, I felt so unprepared-- like someone had told me to make sure I gave reading assessments and used techniques for differentiation and then just dropped me off in a war zone.  One of the biggest challenges to beginning teachers, I believe, is readjusting/socializing yourself to the flip side of the educational atmosphere.  We learn a lot of strategies for working with kids but very few for working alongside other adults in an atmosphere of autonomy and somewhat extreme peer isolation.

Aside from this field trip, I also went on one of my own this week to Forsythe Middle School for my collection development project.  This media center was a lot more like what I grew up with: a spacious, recognizable layout and a very full, comprehensive collection.  Every time I visit a school library, it really confirms my sense of vocation.  I walk into the room and can immediately see myself in this environment everyday.  How exciting.

Week Five Reading

This week, we read a few selections from The Many Faces of School Librarianship. In the section entitled "Librarians as Learning Leaders," I was struck by the emphasis on integrating research and educational theory within the classroom.  The relatively small amount of innovative theory and research within the field of librarianship is something that I find pretty annoying, because I think that this is a really important time for our field to become more alive with thought and discussion (about more than the books vs. e-books debate, please).  I was also excited by the fact that the emphasis on research and theory was balanced with practical applications or "Snapshots" of these ideals in action.  The "Teacher-Librarian as Curriculum Leader" section was a bit more confusing to me.  I don't really understand what makes us think that, because we are the only one of us in a building, that makes us qualified to do administrative tasks such as curriculum planning throughout our schools.  I get that we participate in every grade level and every subject to some extent, but I don't know if I feel like the educational side of my graduate studies are really preparing me for that kind of role in a school.

Aside from that, we read an article by Mary Keeling which looked at Newport News Public Schools adoption of UbD curriculum into elementary school libraries.  Basically, what I took away from this reading is that it takes a LOT of energy and resources to maintain an inquiry-based practice in the classroom-- probably too much for autonomous school librarians to handle all at once.  What I would like to see more of is collaboration across various learning communities or at least more feasible recommendations for future implementation of similar curriculum overhauls.  School reform is beyond necessary, but how do individual schools restructure decades worth of teaching and learning habits?

You shake things up, and Laura Warren-Gross has an interesting plan to do so.  Get the books out of the library and create a limited, core set of books that everyone in the school can read together.  Simple and surprisingly effective.  I think that this is a remarkable story of the success that can be had when school librarians look outside of tradition and listen to research and patron needs.  It's not for every school, but it was for this library, and I salute Warren-Gross for her chutzpah.

I LOVED the Valenza & Johnson article, "What Keeps Us Up At Night".  We are not "migrating our practice" fast enough (to quote a previous reading from... no way!! Valenza again!!) and I found myself nodding in agreement with every statement. yes. yes. and yes.

Week Four Class

During this week's class, we tackled the topic of assessments and tried to create an assessment from a pre-made library lesson plan.  I find these real-world examples of what librarians actually do to be an extremely helpful exercise.  After going over the job description so many times, I'm a bit confused as to what school librarians actually do with their time and how they interact with students.  I can see how people outside the profession might refer to antiquated ideas of librarianship in order to understand what exactly we do, because this stereotype has boundaries.  Glasses, bun, reads stories to kids, and checks out books.  That makes a lot of sense...

Which brings me to the White House Petition for School Libraries which was also discussed in class.  I LOVE that the focus of this petition is finally not devoted to librarians.  Overall, I have the impression that many people in LibraryLand like to talk about how awesomely necessary they are, but in my opinion, that is just not the point.  The White House Petition puts the focus on the students and what they need out of the educational experience provided for them.  It's not about keeping our jobs, it's about making sure that all kids (not just the ones in rich suburbs) are included in systems that provide equitable access for their educational needs.

Anyways, the assessment exercise really highlighted the difficulties in realistically engaging students in using technology while incorporating meaningful learning experiences.  There are pedagogical questions but also complex issues of resource distribution, access, and supervision.  How do you manage 25 first graders all trying to take and upload pictures?  Yikes.