REFLECTIONS
I made the switch from the classroom to the library because I feel like my sole focus can be literacy. Being at a school where I plan, prep, teach, and grade 7 different classes AND am the school librarian was overwhelming. It provides for no focus or specialization. I know through 17 years of working with students 6-12th grades (and now 5 years with k-5 as well) that my passion is in helping students find themselves, their voice, and their empathy. The best way to do this is through literacy, both traditional print and online. The ability of a librarian to focus and specialize is incredibly appealing to me. And the love of reading that I see blossom in students when they are simply allowed time to read in an environment where the adults are knowledgeable about literature and the shelves are stocked with high interest, high quality, books about a wide array of people and in diverse formats is the key to life-long learners with life-long flourishing.
The librarian is the go-to person in the school community. Don’t know how to access the information you need? Ask the librarian. Don’t know where to start on a project? Ask the librarian. Need a good book to read? Ask the librarian. Not sure how to reach the students in this particular class? Ask the librarian. You want to try something new in your classroom? Ask the librarian. We are the person who knows how to solve problems, where to look for answers. We can assess situations and people and figure out what to recommend. Librarians are the kind of people who are always thirsting for knowledge. Whether that’s on Twitter or hidden behind our favorite book series. Because curiosity is our middle name, we can help anyone with anything OR figure out how. Libraries are critical in a world where we battle over what information is valid. Over whose voice gets to be heard. Where we battle over which “truth” is truth. Librarians not only help you sift through information in order to narrow down your search, but they also help you figure out what information is valid. We live in a world of viral misinformation, and yet, we now are able to raise everyone’s voices in ways we have never seen before. This is another way that libraries help-- we are the place where those unheard voices can get their start. Access to the internet, poetry readings, special programming, mock elections, book award selections, and so much more allow our students to have a voice in their own school communities as well as the world. Libraries are meant to provide equal access to all-- a perfect extension of the educational philosophy. I do not think that it is possible for me to overstate how passionate I am about students having equitable access to books, knowledge, and information. Surrounding students with books that are “mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors” (Dr. Rudine Simms Bishop) is hugely important to me. Especially in my present rural community, helping my students see into the lives of people not like them is incredibly important. They are surrounded by mirrors. They need the windows and sliding glass doors. It is so hard to understand what someone else’s life is like when you do not encounter people whose lives are different. So they have to pay attention and books are how we can make that happen. |
“A child sitting in a quiet room with a good book isn’t a flashy or marketable teaching method. It just happens to be the only way anyone became a reader.” ~ Nancie Atwell