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Re: Professional Responsibility
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From: Susan Greenberg <sigreenberg_at_earthlink.net>
Date: Sat, 25 Sep 2010 15:27:45 -0400
I should begin by stating that I'm not a librarian but have a background in children's literature and reading education. One of the issues that became apparent when I was preparing my lit review for my dissertation was that education professionals lacked sufficient background in cultural awareness to discern serious flaws in the books they were selecting for use in their classrooms. Here is where an "informed" librarian in a school setting can be of immense assistance in not only guiding a teacher--or for that matter a curriculum/textbook review committee--but in helping shape an approach that can be used to help students in the classroom identify these "flaws"--creating a stimulating teachable moment. If we look at literature within its historical context, it becomes evident, in looking back on some award-winning books that, today, we would consider them less than stellar. I suppose I'm advocating additional academic coursework in cultural awareness, particularly as our population (school and non-school) be comes increasingly diverse, while our education professionals (teachers and librarians) continue to be less so.
Susan Greenberg, Ph.D. Language and Literacy Retired.
Received on Sat 25 Sep 2010 03:27:45 PM CDT
Date: Sat, 25 Sep 2010 15:27:45 -0400
I should begin by stating that I'm not a librarian but have a background in children's literature and reading education. One of the issues that became apparent when I was preparing my lit review for my dissertation was that education professionals lacked sufficient background in cultural awareness to discern serious flaws in the books they were selecting for use in their classrooms. Here is where an "informed" librarian in a school setting can be of immense assistance in not only guiding a teacher--or for that matter a curriculum/textbook review committee--but in helping shape an approach that can be used to help students in the classroom identify these "flaws"--creating a stimulating teachable moment. If we look at literature within its historical context, it becomes evident, in looking back on some award-winning books that, today, we would consider them less than stellar. I suppose I'm advocating additional academic coursework in cultural awareness, particularly as our population (school and non-school) be comes increasingly diverse, while our education professionals (teachers and librarians) continue to be less so.
Susan Greenberg, Ph.D. Language and Literacy Retired.
Received on Sat 25 Sep 2010 03:27:45 PM CDT