Teacher Librarians at the Heart of Student Learning

Leave Me to My Own Devices

My daughter is usually annoyed with me and her husband.  She claims that we can't have a conversation without consulting our phones several times. She is right.  I am addicted to my gadgets. 

This morning I was looking at my night stand and took stock of all the devices I had there.  This is ridiculous, I thought.  Then I began silently enumerating the advantages of each device.  Yes, I need each of them.

My favorite device is my HP Pavilion dv7 laptop with 17" display.  I love this laptop.  For one thing, it is big but portable.  I can see the screen.  The color contrast and battery life are good, and it has Beats audio.  The HDMI port allows me to project whatever I want on an HDMI TV.  I can display anything I want by only using one cable.  No projector, screen or smartboard necessary.

This laptop is not without a few drawbacks.  For some reason, I have needed the OS reinstalled twice and a hard drive replaced once.  The reinstallations were most likely necessitated by user error on my part.  No doubt one of the apps I downloaded caused conflict.  Nonetheless, being without my laptop for even a short period of time is inconvenient to say the least.

Another issue with the laptop is its size.  Yes, I love the 17" display, but the size does not lend itself to the easiest portability.  The format does not easily fit into any backpack or laptop case I own. When you're carrying this baby around town, you know it.

The second device on the night stand is a an HP 3125 notebook.  It sports lots of the advantages of its larger counterpart: Beats Audio and HDMI portability.  It is only weighs 3.5 lbs, three pounds less than dv7.  The drawbacks are that the tiny keyboard takes time to get used to, as does the .  11 inch display.  However, I am only vaguely aware of it's presence in my purse as I walk to and from a meeting.

Left:  HP 3125 is portable but not easy to see  Right: HP Pavilion dv7

The next device is my Kindle Fire HD.  I love it.   I love the predictive text.  Yes, I said it.  Normally I hate predictive text, but this text is smart.  If I type "I want to go" the predictive text autofills "to the."  It really gets me.  I like that the Kindle reader syncs with the Audible app.  

The display is gorgeous!  I don't normally see a huge difference between HD and regular displays, but this is an exception.  I downloaded an insect video in HD and connected it to my HDTV after a faculty meeting.  The teachers who saw the video were blown away by the vivid colors.  It was really gratifying to know that paying the extra for HD actually made a difference.

Another feature of the Fire that I love is the Kindle Free Time app.  This app allows me to set content for my granddaughter and other small people who might use my app. My 20 month-old granddaughter can turn on the Kindle and navigate to her videos.  I don't have to worry about her downloading apps or inappropriate content.

The fourth device is a Nexus tablet.  Why would I need a Nexus tablet when I have a Fire?  Well, the Nexus can run the MyOn books that my Kindle cannot. It is also thinner and lighter.  There are more apps available for this tablet than for my Fire.  But, this tablet is not HD and does not have Beats.  The audio is acceptable, but not outstanding.

I like using the tablets to play games and check Facebook and mail, but I am not much a fan of composing on it.  Fat little fingers with limited manual dexterity do not do well with little AMOLED keyboards.

The final device on the nightstand is my Samsung Aviator. I hate it.  I loved my first Samsung phones, but this one just doesn't have the RAM necessary to run all my apps.  It locks up and doesn't dial.  Then, after I have tried five times to complete a call, it launches five copies of the call.  I really want to chuck it.  However, I don't have to tolerate it much longer.  Today I am getting a new phone.  I can't wait to have a new toy!

I do love my devices.  What were you saying?

Do You Believe in Your Profession?

I am spending my Sunday afternoon checking out Web 2.0 accounts I had forgotten.  Trying to remember what email account I registered each under is a challenge in and of itself.  Thank goodness these tools can email me password resets so I don't have to remember those too!

One of the accounts I am revisiting is Evernote.  I plan to do a lot of reading and writing this summer, and I thought Evernote, with it's Chrome and Android apps, would be a good repository for my notes.  Once I logged in, I began going through my old notes to see if they are still relevant.  The first note, which I had labelled 'advocacy' caught my eye.  

The Four Myths of Self-Promotion by Kelly Watson was published in June 2010 by Forbes.  Aimed at the small businesswoman, the article encourages women to become their own advocates by negating the four top reasons not to self-promote.  Here is my Evernote synopsis from the article:

The Bitch Myth--"Self promotion will make me look arrogant."  There is a difference  in braggadocio and marketing strategy.  

The Princess Myth--"If I'm good enough, people will hear about it." Most people are too busy doing their own work to notice that of others.  This definitely includes those whose financial decisions could impact your future work. " Survival depends upon taking action to get noticed."

The Friends and Family Myth--"Others should talk about my accomplishments, not me." No can speak as knowledgeably about your work and your qualifications as you. "By delegating promotion to others, you're taking away your best opportunity to demonstrate your value."

The Martyr Myth--"You can't control what people think anyway." It's true that you only have one chance to make a good first impression, but you can build upon that reputation each day;  Let people see what you want them to see, and leave the rest of the stuff at home.

Bottom line: "The myths you believe often mask a deeper insecurity about the value you place on what you have to offer." If you don't fully believe in yourself, who will?

I believe these myths deserve great scrutiny by library media specialists.  Stereotypically, we are portrayed as shy, introverted and retiring.  This fits very few library media specialists I know, yet this is the perception that persists. So, against this handicap, I invite my media specialist friends to evaluate the degree to which they are defined by these myths.  I'll go first:

The Bitch Myth:  I don't find myself worrying much about being perceived as a bitch.  I think I am only touchy when on the defensive, a position I don't find myself in often.  I think by trying to be proactive with most projects, I am viewed as helpful, if not nice.  If people do perceive me a bitch, I would like to know why.  I may not change, but it would be helpful to understand the rationale.

The Princess Myth:   Cinderella, I am not.  If I were Cinderella, I would have been out of there the first time the evil stepsisters suggested I be their servant.  Still, I do hope that people think positively about my work.  The bottom line here, however, is that no one really knows what my work is.  The public only sees part of what I do.  This blog post, a small part of my attempt at library advocacy, is seen by very few and probably would not be viewed as an integral part of my professional responsibilities, although anything I can do for the profession is exceptionally important to me and hopefully, if my words have any influence,  will help ensure a library media presence in more places for many  years.  I cannot wait for folks to notice my impact when other agencies with more money are screaming for attention.

The Friends and Family Myth:  Okay, I buy into this just a little, because I know how much my friends and family support me.  Recently my daughter became offended when someone asked her if "her mother worked the same schedule teachers did."  Lora, bless her heart, righteously informed the person that her mother was a teacher, a National Board Certified Teacher at that!  I can't help but admit I was pleased.  Similarly when I was nominated for selection in our newspaper's 100 Most Influential one year, I honestly believe I got as far up as I did on the list because of my work with one of the editors children.

I do value the opinion of my family and friends, and my school families as well.  But again, most people do not know my job.  I need to market what I do so as not to be marginalized in any specific category.  When a parent asks, "Do you need to go to college to do your job, I am happy to tell them how much college I have had to do this job.  I explain to anyone who asks that you have to be a teacher first, and that librarianship is specialized training on top of that.  I don't mind letting people know other things I do to remain fresh.  As soon as I finish with this blog, I will use social media to tout its existence!

The Martyr Myth:  Please. Having gone through (and survived) as many RIF and transfer hearings as I have, I know better than to be silent.  I try to always be aware of my impact and to make everyone I work with understand that impact as well.  My work is too important to my students and teachers to be taken for granted or to be minimalized.  Remember that squeaky wheel that keeps getting the grease.  I am that squeaky wheel!

In conclusion, I advise all school library media specialists to keep themselves front and center in the conversation of our school communities.  What we do is important and with the implementation of Common Core State Standards, vitally important to our children and our schools.  Don't allow our profession to be minimalized.  Stand up and speak out!

What I Want To Do on My Summer Vacation.

I am very thankful to work in a wonderful job with wonderful coworkers, children and their families. Just like the kids, however, I can't wait for the official start of out summer vacation. I have many goals to accomplish.
First, of course, I want to spend some time at the farm.  Not only do I relax there, but the farm is where I do my best writing. Mostly I want to write really good lesson plans for all levels. I also want to keep up my blogs and wikis, writing about my summer reading. I want to blast Facebook and Twitter with relevant information about libraries, technology and summer reading.
And so, of course, I will be reading. My Kindle is full of fiction and nonfiction for children and adults.  In have RSS feeds on Common Core and school libraries. I follow many leading library professionals whose works I follow on Twitterbs
BF I want to learn from these people and pass my learning on.
In between all this, I will need to work on library decorations for the upcoming school year.
And above all, I want to spend time with Eowyn, Carter and Nolan.
I think I needs bigger summer!
GH :-)

Why I've Changed My Mind about "Library Skills" Instruction

Back in the day, I had vociferously argued that library skills instruction is child abuse, that being part of a "specials" or "planning period" rotation was a waste of my time.  Now I am begging my principal to "let" me be in the specials rotation for fourth grade everyday next year.

What's changed?

Lots of things.

Shift from Worksheet-Based Instruction to Project-Based Learning

One of the most exciting changes in education is the continuing emphasis on project-based, active learning where students will work on a project in which they will create real meaning.  This is immeasurably preferable to worksheets where students would perfect skills on using the library without actually using it.  How boring are guide words and alphabetizing to the third letter!  But how easily acquired are these skills when they are being used as a means to a learning goal! Students take their work much more seriously when they know their work will reach a public audience, and a public audience is a key component of project-based learning.

Emphasis on Higher Level Thinking Skills and Critical Meaning

Hand in hand with the shift to project-based learning is the emphasis on higher level thinking skills, collaborative learning and critical thinking skills.  Life skills such as planning time, public speaking and targeting an audience are also emphasized.   When a child utilizes these skills to achieve a learning goal, he not only conquers content but also becomes better prepared for life beyond school.

Availability of Resources

In the old days of "library skills" taught in isolation, children were asked to use print sources such as the Reader's Guide to direct them to resources that were more than often not available in the library.  A student wanting to find information on a topic of personal interest was often disappointed to learn that his favorite athlete did not have an article in the 20 year-old encyclopedia.  Hitting dead ends left students (and this teacher) hopelessly discouraged about the value of library skills.  

Compare the previous scenario with our present day situation.  Musty,       misfiled catalog cards that searched an outdated collection have been replaced by automated systems that permits federated searches of all available resources.   The availability of so many sources in full text, online resources is much more gratifying for students searching for  - and actually finding -information.  The increasing availability of laptops and other mobile devices has made information even more accessible.  Children are encouraged to seek information outside their school walls.  Librarians across the county are willing to share resources with children they do not know.


Need for Resource Evaluation and Ethical Use of Information

With the increased publication, interlibrary loan capabilities, and access to electronic media comes a new problem:  too much information.  Yes, students can find -readily- information on any topic, but not all information is equal in terms of quality. Children must learn to be critical users of information.  They need more and more assistance reading for a purpose and paraphrasing information.  They need help synthesizing information from all kinds of different media (transliteracy) into one cohesive package of understanding.

And finally, kids need to be ethical users of information.  They need to understand copyright use and limitations to avoid snafus in their personal and professional lives. Students will see their own works published online.  They will need to learn how to protect their own work as well as respect the rights of others.

I may regret this decision to push to be included in the skills rotation, but ultimately, I think it is important.  I want a balance of fixed vs. flexible scheduling, with the majority of time flexible.  But I need to step up my game.

Revisiting Deer Hunting with Jesus

Joe Bageant's Deer Hunting with Jesus remains one of the most influential books I have read.  A recent conversation with a colleague to whom I recommended this book has led me to revisit it again. When I first read this book, I wrote the following in this blog:

Deer Hunting with Jesus: Dispatches from America’s Class War – This was by far my favorite read of the summer. It is not, necessarily, about deer hunting or religion but is about the ironic circumstances that bring members of the downtrodden working poor to believe that they are middle class. Author Joe Bageant returns to his hometown of Winchester, VA to find that his neighbors have lost ground economically since he grew up in the late 60s. He documents how the working poor tend to tirelessly support the government and economic institutions that have in fact kept them poor. He decries the predatory lending practices of mobile and modular home financing that makes it difficult, if not impossible, for anyone to gain real wealth through home ownership. The writing is humorous as well as insightful.

 The truths Bageant revealed in this book were unveiled after the stock market bubble of the early 2000s but before the terrible impact of the housing bubble, and now, the student loan crisis.  If Bageant thought we were in the middle of a class war then, he should see it now!  The problem is, most of us don't realize we are fighting on the wrong side of this chasm and vote to maintain the status quo that created the problems in the first place.

Of all the ideas in Bageant's book, I am most concerned with the impact that the predatory lending practices have on our younger generation.  Those who preach personal responsibility will say that young people should have known better than to take out loans to put themselves through college.  They should have known, not to finance extras with credit cards.  I disagree with these points for a number of reasons.

First and foremost, the idea that every student should acquire a college education has been drilled into us more deeply than the Ten Commandments.  Educators, business leaders, government officials have told students and their parents that higher education is the only way to get ahead, and fortunately, there is money available to help in the acquisition of that goal.  Students must attain that goal at all costs if they hope to have a secure future. What no one predicted or disclosed is that we do not have a job market to accomodate all these highly educated individuals,  who thus graduate with costly degrees only to find work in the local mall as a sales associate.  Being a sales associate does not pay those higher education loans.

Next, high school graduates lack the real-life experience to comprehend the significance of the financial decisions they are making.  In their innocence they have no way of knowing that they have been fed a string of lies about what it will be like to pay off these loans in the face of real-world job prospects.  No one honestly believes that they will not succeed and get a job with decent pay.  No one has told them that a JC Penney sales clerk with a college degree is paid on the same scale as a high school graduate.  Now tell me, who comes out ahead in terms in real wealth in that scenario?

Finally, I, as a seasoned consumer and citizen who has been around the debt-trap block a few times, have fallen prey to the lure of easy money and buying on credit.  All is well until those terms of credit change.  Fortunately I have had the knowledge to work out my debt responsibilities in a way that I can live with,  I am meeting my responsibilities, but if I were not able to, I could bow my head in shame and declare bankruptcy.

Students or former students with student loan debts do not have this luxury.  Student loan debt is cannot be discharged through bankruptcy, no matter the situation.  Wages can be garnished, tax refunds seized.  There is no way out for too many of our college grads.  They have no light at the end of this tunnel. "Taking responsibility" for their actions is a hopeless endeavor.

So back to Deer Hunting with Jesus.

Bageant proclaims that the Scotch-Irish tradition of our upbringing has kept us Appalachians from looking for government assistance.  We spurn handouts and look down on those who have made a career of accepting and expecting them.  We do have a true stubborn pride that allows us, as much as possible, to be self-sufficient.  We help our neighbors and look after our own, but we don't look at this practice as assistance so much as we call it "the right thing to do."  We take personal responsibility to ourselves in our everyday lives and help our neighbors in a crisis.

But this idea of taking responsibility prohibits us from lending helping hands from those we feel refuse to help themselves.  I am as guilty of this as any.  I roll my eyes in disgust when I see the condition of a neighbor's house down the street or when I see one of his immediate neighbors mowing his overgrown lawn.  I am wrong to do this.  There is a problem that I can't see, and personal responsibility has nothing to do with it.   The same is true for many of us who blanch at the idea of forgiveness for those with student loan debts. But if we want our economy to survive it is necessary.

When the student loan crisis comes to a head, we must insist not on bailouts to banks as was the response to the mortgage crisis, but actual forgiveness of student debt.  The government may have to pay the banks as it did in the mortgage crisis, but this time the actual debt must be forgiven.  This will allow the debt-ridden young adults to actually begin contributing to the economy, as they will have some spendable income.  The CEOS of the banks that invented the crisis should not again be compensated with tax money for their Pied Piper roles. Yes, the taxpayers will be paying for someone else's debts, but consider it an investment if you can't consider it "the right thing to do."

My apologies to my friends who came to Open Library after 6 last night. The hours were from 4-6. I apologize for the confusion.