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[CCBC-Net] more thoughts on scheduled and flexible library time
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From: JuneCL at aol.com <JuneCL>
Date: Wed, 12 Oct 2005 11:22:04 EDT
I worked at an elementary school where I was a full-time librarian with full-time clerical support. Equally as important, it was a school where teachers were committed to using library resources as an integral part of their teaching. Adhering to the processes of collaboration and integration was important to me, and I was fortunate to work for a school district where library time was not a planning time for teachers, thanks to knowledgeable administrative leadership in the past. Administration leadership on this issue is key. Collaboration and integration in planning and execution often led naturally to flexibility in scheduling, especially for big projects.
I don't think the flexible/scheduled question is an either/or situation.
It's important for all students to use the library regularly; it's important for kids to come to the library whenever they need to; and it's important for librarians to collaborate and integrate with teachers to have a meaningful instructional program.
My compromise was that the youngest students in my school had regular visits; the oldest students worked with me on a project basis--oftentimes I would work with a class (and the teacher) every day for several weeks, and then move on to another class for a similar arrangement. When I was working with a class of the oldest kids on a project, and not seeing other classes at that level, I would sometimes arrange occasional single visits for them for stand-alone activities, such as book talks--this was the hardest part for me to manage. But, the oldest kids were also the most capable of using the library independently and had the most opportunity to do so. Sometimes younger grades needed more time for research projects or dramatic productions, and I used some "flex" time to meet these needs. In addition to the structured library instructional time, all kids could come to the library as they needed for book exchange, independent research, publishing on computers, quiet reading, or independent group work at any time. This combination of flexilbly-structured, collaborative, integrated library teaching, along with a constant "free flow," while not perfect, worked reasonably well for many years.
June Locke Ithaca, NY
Received on Wed 12 Oct 2005 10:22:04 AM CDT
Date: Wed, 12 Oct 2005 11:22:04 EDT
I worked at an elementary school where I was a full-time librarian with full-time clerical support. Equally as important, it was a school where teachers were committed to using library resources as an integral part of their teaching. Adhering to the processes of collaboration and integration was important to me, and I was fortunate to work for a school district where library time was not a planning time for teachers, thanks to knowledgeable administrative leadership in the past. Administration leadership on this issue is key. Collaboration and integration in planning and execution often led naturally to flexibility in scheduling, especially for big projects.
I don't think the flexible/scheduled question is an either/or situation.
It's important for all students to use the library regularly; it's important for kids to come to the library whenever they need to; and it's important for librarians to collaborate and integrate with teachers to have a meaningful instructional program.
My compromise was that the youngest students in my school had regular visits; the oldest students worked with me on a project basis--oftentimes I would work with a class (and the teacher) every day for several weeks, and then move on to another class for a similar arrangement. When I was working with a class of the oldest kids on a project, and not seeing other classes at that level, I would sometimes arrange occasional single visits for them for stand-alone activities, such as book talks--this was the hardest part for me to manage. But, the oldest kids were also the most capable of using the library independently and had the most opportunity to do so. Sometimes younger grades needed more time for research projects or dramatic productions, and I used some "flex" time to meet these needs. In addition to the structured library instructional time, all kids could come to the library as they needed for book exchange, independent research, publishing on computers, quiet reading, or independent group work at any time. This combination of flexilbly-structured, collaborative, integrated library teaching, along with a constant "free flow," while not perfect, worked reasonably well for many years.
June Locke Ithaca, NY
Received on Wed 12 Oct 2005 10:22:04 AM CDT
