The main take-aways I had in Theme 2 is that the role of the Teacher Librarian is vast, complicated, and varies between individuals, schools, and districts. Fulfilling the role is a large order and does not necessarily mean that can be completely fulfilled. In lesson 5, we discussed the role of the Teacher Librarian through the lens of providing opportunities for collaboration, relief time, and interviews. Largely, what was discussed in the forum was that "modern day Teacher Librarians" are unable to sacrifice the amount of time Riedling recommends to conduct interviews with students to provide them the best service possible while using the School Library Learning Commons. Other perspectives in the forum indicated that Teacher Librarians work with a lot of classroom teachers to pull and collect reference materials to have ready for when the class uses the School Library Learning Commons. However, I noticed that this method was largely successful if there is contact, communication, and collaboration between the classroom teacher and the Teacher Librarian. In my own school, we submit year-long plans to our administration, so if we were to have a Teacher Librarian, it would be easy enough for them to ask for a copy from administration. In having access to year-long plans, the Teacher Librarian is best able to have an idea about what to discuss with a particular classroom teacher. Personally, the contrast between the documents we read was most explicit when considering the lack of teacher involvement in the reference interview with students, as well as the lack of independence in the Riedling text. To me, it seemed as if the Teacher Librarian was doing all of the work, which does not help foster a sense of independence for the student, and does not necessarily allow the student to meet the requirements of the assignment as set out by the teacher. For me, lesson 6, about the role description of the Teacher Librarian was frustrating because the description, in most schools or districts is vague, and across districts the duties differ. I also found it strange that the job description was hard to find, as well as lists of responsibilities. Often, in job postings there are duties and responsibilities, however, most times I found a list of qualifications when searching for those postings across Canada. One norm I did find in reading the posts by others was that overall, there was a general section which could basically be summed up as "duties as assigned" which to me indicated covering for a classroom teacher so they receive their prep, substituting in a class where a substitute cannot be found, as well as coaching and leadership opportunities. My opinion about "duties as assigned" is overwhelmingly positive: in that I largely find the role of the Teacher Librarian to be one of service to others - serving students in the school, serving teachers in their classroom and in the School Library Learning Commons, as well as serving administration and the school district in fulfilling the vision of the school or district wherever the School Library Learning Commons fits. Being in a service role, to me, is where I ultimately want to be. As a classroom teacher, service is not quite a term used in the job description, often because instruction, planning, and curriculum is more about delivering, not assisting or helping (like the role of the Teacher Librarian). The Teacher Librarian, therefore, must be humble - something I am still working on. I find myself able to distance myself from my classroom self, something that took years and a lot of self-care to achieve. I find that EAs in our schools are most skilled with distancing themselves from their work where they see fit, and I have taken a lot of their advice to achieve what I see as being a positive and workable balance. Image Source: https://fundamentalacademy.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/wearing-lots-of-hats-300x265.jpg?w=300 We also discussed in lesson 6 how some of the description of the Teacher Librarian is constrained by time and budget. I found my own thoughts to be validated in that collaboration requires time, but not all administration is able to offer that time for the Teacher Librarian to meet with others within the school. If I were in a Teacher Librarian role, I would certainly advocate for a floating substitute teacher to be brought in to relieve classroom teachers for a few blocks to meet with me. In that relief time, we could sit down and talk in the School Library Learning Commons and discuss what they are doing in their classroom, how I can help, and what I can do to take something off of their plate. It might mean receiving a lot of work all at once for myself, however, the potential for working ahead together is far greater than a few extra hours of work to help someone on my team. From my perspective, lesson 7, being about reference resource goals is incredibly timely. I am currently working toward transitioning my school for my departure, as well as readying the staff as they transition to one-to-one classes in grades 4-9. I personally have made inquires and suggestions to and about various programs, services, and databases for the school to use as they work on integrating technology into their classrooms. With a big curriculum change in Alberta, the school and administration is not looking toward replacing textbooks or "trying something new", and understandably so. I discovered in my Assignment 1 that we currently should have access to a variety of databases for our school and for reference resources online, provided that we know our jurisdiction username and password. I have asked many times, and my principal is not sure if we have received it this year or not, so I have been encouraging him to obtain it so I can help get the staff acquainted with the materials available to them to teach their students.
I mentioned in my own post and was relieved to read others also mention that a lack of access (either portability or readability) prevents a lot of our students from learning the information in our reference resources. With the resources being so expensive already, acquiring a variety of them on similar topics with similar content with different reading levels is a significant challenge. This theme was timely and relevant in my own work, which I appreciated. I was humbled and learned about the various "hats" Teacher Librarians take on, which includes developing relationships by conducting reference interviews, as well as collaborating with classroom teachers, to advocating for funds for the School Library Learning Commons. I continue to believe that the role of the Teacher Librarian is that of a service role in the school community. Finally, I think that ultimately, the goal should be about providing access and opening doors, not closing them to our students, all while maintaining self-care. References Government of Alberta. (n.d.). Alberta Online Reference Centre. Retrieved February 15, 2019, from http://www.learnalberta.ca/OnlineReferenceCentre.aspx
KPMG Global. (n.d.). Union Budget 2018-19 [Digital image]. Retrieved February 15, 2019, from https://home.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmg/in/images/2018/01/budget18-Pre-Budget-Survey.jpg? Riedling, Ann, Shake, Loretta & Houston, Cynthia. (2013). Reference skills for the school library media specialist: Tools and tips, (Third Edition). Santa Barbara, CA: Linworth. Wearing Many Hats [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved February 15, 2019, from https://fundamentalacademy.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/wearing-lots-of-hats-300x265.jpg?w=300
2 Comments
Aaron Mueller
2/18/2019 07:46:58 am
Well done reflection. This was an honest, practical, focused and critical review of our key topics and ideas explored in the last few weeks. I appreciated your practical discussion of the challenges in implementing some of the ideas presented by Reidling. Your comparison, evaluation and descriptions of the environmental variables that impact the role and function of the T-L and the school library program was insightful. Overall, a positive look at the importance and opportunity of our service based role, with the right amount of balance and support.
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Raquel Pacheco McKinnon
2/18/2019 07:50:47 am
Hello Krista,
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