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.