Week 11. And while partial opening has been announced at most schools in Beijing for G12 and G8, this probably going to result in more stress, uncertainty and questions rather than less. Even more than ever before I am convinced we will need to radically change our teaching and learning practice. And now I'm not … Continue reading The troops are so very tired
I am convinced that there are generations of parents (and librarians) who think the main purpose of a librarian is to create age/grade related lists of books for students to read. When parent-teacher conference time comes around, if parents venture into the library and engage - as opposed to using us as a baby-sitting booth … Continue reading Resist the list
And we need it to survive. I meant to write this post a little while back, but then school started, and whoosh there went all my potential blogging time. On one of the FB groups I follow someone was asking about teaching academic integrity / honesty. Naturally the librarians in the group responded with "ask … Continue reading Collaboration is air to us
Classroom libraries vs. school libraries, teacher superstars marginalising teacher librarians - or is it our fault?
(Usual disclaimers - does not reflect the position at my current school but a comment on librarianship as a whole etc. etc.) I've been prompted to think about the library / librarian as part of an ecosystem (as opposed to the library ecosystem itself, * an important distinction) a lot recently as a result of … Continue reading Species at risk
I firmly believe that one of the main role's of a school librarian is to make teachers' lives just that little bit easier. And if we can do this while fostering a love and enthusiasm for reading in students - well that's a double win. Over the last few years I've written about the things … Continue reading How librarians can leverage the GRA
It's a funny time of year in education, November and December. I never knew this before. It's the time when educators need to decide if they're staying or going in their current school or position, and if not, what the next move will be. I'm new to this game, and as I librarian I get … Continue reading The 10% problem
Librarians are big on advocacy. Big on helping their peers when they're not being heard in their communities or schools to build their "advocacy toolkit". Most librarian courses include at least one module in one course on advocacy. Some academic librarians have built their careers on advocacy. But I'd like to cry foul. This has … Continue reading Advocacy is not enough we need power
Quite a few schools in our network have cut-back on funding for professional development and have either started limiting the time off or financial support for PD. This is extremely disappointing, as PD can be the lifeblood of educators, and dare I say, particularly for teacher-librarians with their often solitary status within a school. There … Continue reading How to get free PD
This no excuses post has been a long time coming. One of the things that most librarians have in common is that they are long-suffering, friendly, helpful, accommodating types, ready to share knowledge, know-how and eager to grasp on any acknowledgement they receive from academic leadership and fellow teachers. While the grumbles and moans are … Continue reading No excuses – Britannica Image Quest
