Wow, gathering all the information I need for this first assignment is making my head swim. In a good way though. Learning is exciting and challenging!
I'm learning that the role of the TL I had is the role that many of the teachers I know have also. That there is a lack in education for teachers when it comes to TL's and information literacy.
That the TL is to be an advocate for change, a leader, a mover and shaker!
Its a big task, I'm sorry that I so underestimated the role of the TL before (although having not worked in a school with one, maybe I can be forgiven??? please?).
Friday, July 30, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
National Year of Reading
2012 is the National Year of Reading!! The year I graduate from this course! So exciting.
http://www.love2read.org.au/
http://www.love2read.org.au/
A little saddened...
I feel a little sad and crushed after speaking to a TL of another campus connected to the school I work at.
She said her role is basically to provide resources and to provide the class teacher with non-contact time. So the teacher dumps the children off for 45 mins and the TL takes the class. There seems to be little interaction between the TL and the teachers or appreciation for what the TL can bring to the school.
I know our campus is run a little different and because we only have an SSO in the library its not really anything but a borrowing place. I would hope that my Principal will be open to my ideas and views and passions to make our school library DIFFERENT to the other campuses, be the leader in the change!!
Wish me luck :)
She said her role is basically to provide resources and to provide the class teacher with non-contact time. So the teacher dumps the children off for 45 mins and the TL takes the class. There seems to be little interaction between the TL and the teachers or appreciation for what the TL can bring to the school.
I know our campus is run a little different and because we only have an SSO in the library its not really anything but a borrowing place. I would hope that my Principal will be open to my ideas and views and passions to make our school library DIFFERENT to the other campuses, be the leader in the change!!
Wish me luck :)
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Role of the TL etc etc
I've been doing alot of reading on the role of the TL, the information literate school community (ILSC) in preparation for the assignment, and as part of the topic this week.
My reading was fromCOMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA I. Henri, & M. Asselin, (Eds). The information literate school community 2: Issues of leadership.
I was interested to read in the Henri (2005) article that the main role, the key role for a TL is to support the teachers. Educating the teachers on the importance of being IL, encouraging training and development, supplying the teachers with the information they need is the primary role and where most of our time should be spent. The secondary role, service for the students comes after that, and sort of flows on naturally anyway. By working with teachers, supplying them with info, the students are then helped along in their learning.
I read too about how we used to do school, and actually how some still do, the teacher being the teacher and the student being the learner. But how now there is a shift, or should be a shift, that we are ALL learners, and the students can teach us about things too. Its a bit different to how my old principal ran things, I tried my best to go against that, but I've realised some of her old ways has rubbed off on all of the staff.
My reading was from
I was interested to read in the Henri (2005) article that the main role, the key role for a TL is to support the teachers. Educating the teachers on the importance of being IL, encouraging training and development, supplying the teachers with the information they need is the primary role and where most of our time should be spent. The secondary role, service for the students comes after that, and sort of flows on naturally anyway. By working with teachers, supplying them with info, the students are then helped along in their learning.
I read too about how we used to do school, and actually how some still do, the teacher being the teacher and the student being the learner. But how now there is a shift, or should be a shift, that we are ALL learners, and the students can teach us about things too. Its a bit different to how my old principal ran things, I tried my best to go against that, but I've realised some of her old ways has rubbed off on all of the staff.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Week 3
Aside from feeling slightly overwhelmed, these are my thoughts about the readings etc this week. WOW what a HUGE topic too. So much was covered and so much to read. I couldnt read all of it but did my best.
The question was asked in our module : Consider how the modern role portrayed in the literature compares/contrasts with the role played by teacher librarians in your experience. Can you account for any differences?
The role we are reading about differs greatly to the one I have seen in my experience. My experiences are dated though, so that could account for some of the differences. Living in a country town has also shown some differences (not many schools have a trained TL in them that I am aware of). I think things like technology has also made a BIG difference. Something I read in an article was talking about the "google generation" and how everyone wants the information RIGHT NOW! They don't want to have to wade through things to get the correct answer. We're becoming a lazy and impatient society in all factors of life really. So I think that has a big impact, why schools perhaps don't see the need for a TL like we are reading about, because the teacher can find the info at home, or a quick google search before school starts can give the child an answer for a project.
The reading for this week was from Henri, J. (2005). Chapter 2: Understanding the information literate school community. In Henri, J. & Asselin, M. (Eds). The information literate school community 2: Issues of leadership.
I also read from Skrzeczynski, C. (1999). Breaking the barriers: Sculpturing an information literate school community. In Henri, J. & Bonanno, K. (Eds). The information literate school community: Best practice, pp. 241-258. This was great to read about a real school "doing it right". As someone who works in a school where the library is only for borrowing books, this gave me great hope of what it could be like!
Oberg, D. (2006). Developing the respect and support of school administrators. Teacher Librarian, 33(3), 13-18. I found something in here really interesting where Oberg says that TL's tend to be invisible because of their low profile in educational literature. I would totally agree with that! I don't remember learning a THING about the role a TL can do for you in uni, or how valuable one can be. In all the subjects we did, even in all the prac's, not ONCE did anyone mention the benefit of having a TL and how they can assist in what my goal is as a teacher.
As a teacher in SA it was interesting to read about this research by Sue Spence on the state of our school libraries here. It was found that 60% of schools do not have school libraries run by qualified TLs. SSOs are doing the job of the TL, expoliting the SSO and taking positions away from would be TLs.
The question was asked in our module : Consider how the modern role portrayed in the literature compares/contrasts with the role played by teacher librarians in your experience. Can you account for any differences?
The role we are reading about differs greatly to the one I have seen in my experience. My experiences are dated though, so that could account for some of the differences. Living in a country town has also shown some differences (not many schools have a trained TL in them that I am aware of). I think things like technology has also made a BIG difference. Something I read in an article was talking about the "google generation" and how everyone wants the information RIGHT NOW! They don't want to have to wade through things to get the correct answer. We're becoming a lazy and impatient society in all factors of life really. So I think that has a big impact, why schools perhaps don't see the need for a TL like we are reading about, because the teacher can find the info at home, or a quick google search before school starts can give the child an answer for a project.
The reading for this week was from Henri, J. (2005). Chapter 2: Understanding the information literate school community. In Henri, J. & Asselin, M. (Eds). The information literate school community 2: Issues of leadership.
I also read from Skrzeczynski, C. (1999). Breaking the barriers: Sculpturing an information literate school community. In Henri, J. & Bonanno, K. (Eds). The information literate school community: Best practice, pp. 241-258. This was great to read about a real school "doing it right". As someone who works in a school where the library is only for borrowing books, this gave me great hope of what it could be like!
Oberg, D. (2006). Developing the respect and support of school administrators. Teacher Librarian, 33(3), 13-18. I found something in here really interesting where Oberg says that TL's tend to be invisible because of their low profile in educational literature. I would totally agree with that! I don't remember learning a THING about the role a TL can do for you in uni, or how valuable one can be. In all the subjects we did, even in all the prac's, not ONCE did anyone mention the benefit of having a TL and how they can assist in what my goal is as a teacher.
As a teacher in SA it was interesting to read about this research by Sue Spence on the state of our school libraries here. It was found that 60% of schools do not have school libraries run by qualified TLs. SSOs are doing the job of the TL, expoliting the SSO and taking positions away from would be TLs.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Week 1
The first week of my new course, Teacher Librarianship!
Topic 1: School libraries in Australia
The readings for this week come from
Hazell, A. (1990). School library and information services in Australia. In M. Nimon & A. Hazell (Eds.), Promoting learning : challenges in teacher librarianship (pp. 17-22). Adelaide : Auslib Press.
As I was reading about the history of the school library I thought back to the days I was in primary school (80s) and high school (90s) and what I recalled about them. In primary school I remember sitting in the library and the librarian reading us a story, showing us the new books that were out. I remember learning about fiction and non-fiction. In high school all I remember was library staff that would supervise us borrowing books and giving this occoasional hand when we couldn't find a book on the shelf. These memories are what the article talks about as being "a place where books are kept" and not as she describes "a dynamic, integrated resource service offering library and information services to all members of the school community.
I also see the current library at the school where I have worked since graduating the last 8 years as this type of library.
From what Hazell has addressed as concerns I would still see some of them as relevant today. Things like staffing, budget, teacher and principal perceptions, teaching styles (resource based learning vs resource based teaching), and cooperation and collaboration with teaching staff. Hazell does address standards in the article but from brief readings from ALIA and other library websites its clear that there are clear standards of what a TL and a school library should be. Whether that is followed through in practice is another story.
Another reading was from
Haycock, K. (2003). The crisis in Canada’s school libraries: The case for reform and re-investment.
As I was reading about the current context in Canada I could see some things that are similar to Australia. Training courses for teacher librarians are very low. Schools are functioning without a teacher librarian or only with a part time one. A number of schools have limited resources and funding.
I would agree with their summation that while there may be brilliant policy documents and statements about the importance of a school library and teacher-librarians, they have not translated into practice Australia-wide.
As someone who was relatively newly trained in teaching I don't recall anything being spoken about or taught about the importance of a school library or teacher librarian. There was no instruction or suggestion on how to work collaboratively with them in planning the curriculum.
Where we differ it seems is that in Australia to be a "teacher librarian" you need to have a teaching degree plus a teacher librarianship degree added to it.
Topic 1: School libraries in Australia
The readings for this week come from
Hazell, A. (1990). School library and information services in Australia. In M. Nimon & A. Hazell (Eds.), Promoting learning : challenges in teacher librarianship (pp. 17-22). Adelaide : Auslib Press.
As I was reading about the history of the school library I thought back to the days I was in primary school (80s) and high school (90s) and what I recalled about them. In primary school I remember sitting in the library and the librarian reading us a story, showing us the new books that were out. I remember learning about fiction and non-fiction. In high school all I remember was library staff that would supervise us borrowing books and giving this occoasional hand when we couldn't find a book on the shelf. These memories are what the article talks about as being "a place where books are kept" and not as she describes "a dynamic, integrated resource service offering library and information services to all members of the school community.
I also see the current library at the school where I have worked since graduating the last 8 years as this type of library.
From what Hazell has addressed as concerns I would still see some of them as relevant today. Things like staffing, budget, teacher and principal perceptions, teaching styles (resource based learning vs resource based teaching), and cooperation and collaboration with teaching staff. Hazell does address standards in the article but from brief readings from ALIA and other library websites its clear that there are clear standards of what a TL and a school library should be. Whether that is followed through in practice is another story.
Another reading was from
Haycock, K. (2003). The crisis in Canada’s school libraries: The case for reform and re-investment.
As I was reading about the current context in Canada I could see some things that are similar to Australia. Training courses for teacher librarians are very low. Schools are functioning without a teacher librarian or only with a part time one. A number of schools have limited resources and funding.
I would agree with their summation that while there may be brilliant policy documents and statements about the importance of a school library and teacher-librarians, they have not translated into practice Australia-wide.
As someone who was relatively newly trained in teaching I don't recall anything being spoken about or taught about the importance of a school library or teacher librarian. There was no instruction or suggestion on how to work collaboratively with them in planning the curriculum.
Where we differ it seems is that in Australia to be a "teacher librarian" you need to have a teaching degree plus a teacher librarianship degree added to it.
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