Sunday, May 15, 2011

I Feel Sick to my Stomach

Just read the most disheartening blog post in my educational history...http://bit.ly/jZlSJu

I honestly feel sick to my stomach.

This is the ongoing saga of Teacher Librarians in the Los Angeles School District. The District has a rule that you must have taught in the past 5 years to be moved back into a teaching position. Many TLs in the district have been pink slipped and are now being grilled by a district attorney in front of a judge to decide if they are actually teachers and have the right to retain their job. This degrading grilling is reducing the Teacher Librarians groveling moment crunchers - not able to truly defend their profession - but only allowed to answer the questions posed by an attorney who is not an educator.

Seriously!! We live in a society where information rules each and every one of our lives and the teachers with who are the most closely connected to information skills, research and technology are defending their role.

How did we get here???

How have we rearranged our priorities so much that those who are teaching are the ones on trial?

What does this say for our society?

Who is standing up for these Teacher Librarians??

There may be those fellow teachers who smile quietly with relief that their position is not on the chopping block...
but good grief...
aren't we all teachers together?

Don't we stand together to defend our profession and the needs and skills required??

I could go on and on...

It all makes me profoundly sad.
As a new Teacher Librarian, I have talked to other teacher librarians
about their jobs
and their connections
and their futures
and it makes me profoundly sad.
We are the current scapegoats. The current seeming solution to a problem we did not create.

But, it is our children who are the real scapegoats.

As we continue to shave the edges of education we are creating a future with huge holes for our children.

I've been an educator for 25 years and this is the worst...
Speak out!
It's time to add your voice to the discussion before it's too late!!!

But...
what exactly does that mean? What does that mean for me?

1. I need to demonstrate to myself, my administrators, and my co-workers that what I do matters. That means being willing to do all the PD that I can, handing out an annual report and constantly seeking ways to tie in with classroom content.
2. I need to have my 2 minute elevator speech ready to deliver at any moment - to any stake holder (parent, community member, teacher) This speech should explain what I do and why it is so important.
3. I need to transparently share what I know students need to know about information skills and research with other TLs as well as my colleagues. That means blogging, tweeting and keeping involved in the larger TL community.
4. I need to try very hard to be positive and believe in what I know to be true and to keep my focus on the students!

What do you think???
Add your voice!!
Let's make a difference - not just talk to one another about it!!

Monday, May 2, 2011

Teacher Librarian Job Description


I was wondering what our Teacher Librarian job description 'looked' like.
Click on the image to enlarge.