Why Can't I Read?!!

It's day 17 of staying at home. I think. Maybe 18? I've lost count!

I have two young kids, so I don't really have time to be bored. But I am definitely listless. I have no attention span. Every time I sit down to read, my mind goes racing and I end up reading the news on my phone.

I'm guessing I'm not the only one?

I have managed to finish a few books, but they are all graphic novels written for middle school students. The main motivation for finishing these books has been my 7-year-old's begging to read them--so obviously, I have to preview them to make sure they're appropriate. (She's an advanced reader, but honestly I don't think she understands half of what she's reading. She's just obsessed with middle schoolers--like OMG they are so cool.)

I would love to get engrossed in a good book right now, but either I don't have the right material on hand or maybe my brain is just not capable. And e-books are not going to get the job done. As a school librarian during a pandemic, I am definitely pushing e-books and audio books on my students, but I myself cannot stand them.

It's not just reading, though. There are a million projects around the house I could do. I could exercise for an hour--or more-- every day. But, like millions of people around the world, I just want to eat snacks and watch TV. The pandemic told us to hibernate and that's what we want to do!

Some days are better than others. Today I got up and got ready for work. I've been more productive than usual working at the computer while my husband "homeschools" downstairs. The sun is shining and we'll probably play in the yard this afternoon.

But next time it rains...I'm watching Tiger King!

Pandemic Work from Home Day #1

I always had the feeling that a time would come when I would live through a dystopian novel. I didn't think it would happen this way or this soon in my life; I supposed I thought it would be much, much worse.

Many people's lives are in turmoil, so I am grateful that I am only inconvenienced by the COVID-19 disruption. My kitchen is well-stocked, my heat bill is paid, my children and I have all the resources we need to "homeschool" and work from home. My husband's business is taking a big hit, but he'll weather the storm and be fine in the end.

While it can feel like this period of isolation will never end, the curse is also the gift. We have so much TIME now!

• Time to work on this blog! This is my first post in over a year! I absolutely love learning about what other school librarians are doing, so I do believe that putting my own ideas, successes, and failures out into the world is a good thing to do.
• Time for my family to slow down. We were stuck in that rush of school-activities-dinner-bedtime and endless obligations on the weekend. It's nice just to relax and hang out with each other!
• Time to cook. We are spending less money because we aren't eating out, and we are eating healthier foods at home. My kids and I love to bake, so I hope we can try out some new recipes in the weeks to come.
• Time to read and do professional development: While I am expected to work from home, and I intend to spend most of my time assisting teachers and students virtually, I also think I'll likely have more time for professional development to fill the hours. Under normal circumstances, it can be hard to find time to do webinars or read School Library Journal, let alone an actual book!

So now that we've made lemonade, let's talk about lemons!

I love good dystopian novels because I feel like each one has that kernel of truth that makes you go, "wow, that could happen!" Usually, things also feel just a little far-fetched, so you feel safe from what's happening in the story. However, I do think reading this kind of literature has made me a little cynical and afraid of what the current pandemic could lead to.  For example,

• In The Handmaid's Tale, women lose their rights due to a mysterious drop in birthrates around the world. Could the closure of schools lead to a similar fate, with men in power insisting that mothers must now stay home to take care of children and give their jobs to men?
• In The Hunger Games, we see a rich Capitol City hoarding resources while citizens in the "districts" toil and starve. Could a lack of medical supplies and other basic needs lead to this kind of drastic inequality?
• In 1984, surveillance of citizens is nearly constant, and dissent is not tolerated. In China, we have seen how their strict lockdown measures have had a positive effect on COVID-19 infections. Could this lead to similar actions taken around the world?

Ultimately, I don't believe that COVID-19 will be the end of humanity. In fact, I've seen a lot of generosity, kindness, and hope being spread across online platforms in a way that warms my heart. I do believe that we need to read these books, and have these conversations, because if we don't explore the darkness, we can't celebrate the light.

My First Book Club!

I knew I wanted to start a book club this year, but I put it off last semester just because I was so busy with other things. Then one day I was talking to a student about her film studies class, and we were discussing movie adaptations of books. Suddenly, I had one of those light bulb moments, and "The Book  is Better!" became the premise for my new book club, focused on books that have been made into movies.

In my experience, hanging up flyers around school isn't the most effective recruitment tool. So in addition, I used my circulation system and wrote out personal invitations to students who were checking out books consistently, but who were not necessarily the stereotype of a reader. I also let students vote on which books to read.

And that's how I ended up with a wonderfully diverse group of readers who voted for The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins as their first book. Those of us who are over 16 might find that surprising, but these kids were 8 years old when it came out--most of them have never read it before. I got a book bundle from the public library and handed them out before winter break.

Last week, we met during advisory and discussed the book. I wouldn't say it was the most academic discussion I've ever had, but it was vibrant and passionate and fun. Tonight, a small group has stayed after school--from 2:30 to 5:00!--to watch the movie.

We have already chosen our next book, The Hate U Give, and will start it as soon as I can get enough copies for everyone. I was able to order 10 copies from firstbook.org, which is a site that provides low cost books to Title I schools, and ordered the rest from the public library.

I'm excited to see where this club goes!

Getting Creative With Book Displays

I thought creating displays would be the most fun part of my job, but it has proved to be a bit more challenging than I expected. I mean, where do these Pinteresty librarians find the time to be so creative?! What am I supposed to do without any wall space for bulletin boards?! How do I get kids to actually check out the books I put on display?



I kept things simple for my first display of the year with an "around the world" theme. All it took was a globe and some books by international authors. It was fine for August when I was feeling a little overwhelmed by the newness of everything.



Then I read this post from Library Girl, and it changed the way I think about the purpose of displays: "Every display presents us with an opportunity to tackle big things: to address individual student needs, to awaken dormant readers, and to engage all kids in meaningful conversations about books, reading and their lives as learners." 

With that in mind, my second display was focused on the fact that ALL my junior high students wanted to read the same books, even though we have hundreds of amazing other choices. So I chose four popular series (The Giver, Hunger Games, Diary of Wimpy Kid, and Harry Potter) and then filled my display shelves with books that have similar themes, characters, and settings. The students kind of ignored it at first, but eventually it was picked over pretty nicely!



Of course, for Halloween we had to do a scary stories display--but this actually worked out great, because we were getting a lot of requests for scary stories anyway.

Also in October, we were able to consolidate the fiction section to make room for a more permanent Sports display (another common request), and a New Arrivals shelf. The big readers love being able to see what's new and being the first one to check something out!

In November, I did a Native American Heritage Month display, but to be honest it was not effective in getting students to actually check those books out. Our school is religiously diverse, so I decided to keep things secular for December. Instead of a holiday theme, I focused on books that have been made into movies. The movie display included a vintage film projector found in my husband's grandparents' basement -- the kids love it! I've also started a book club called "The Book Was Better" and we are reading some of the books from this display.

While I'm still not an expert at this, and I'd still love some wall space, I do feel more confident than before in my display making abilities. For the new year, my goal is to focus on Library Girl's tip #4: build interactive displays. I'll keep you posted!

A Rookie's Top Five

Somehow, I woke up this morning and I have been a school librarian for almost a whole semester! I've been so busy that I have not been keeping up with the blogging at all, but I'm going to try to do better. I want to document this amazing new career that I am so glad I decided to pursue. Seriously, this is the best job. I still get to teach, but I don't have to worry about grading or testing...or waiting for the bell to go to the bathroom! :)

Bu there are are quite a few things I've had to learn on the job. So to help out future rookies, here are the Top Five things I have learned about being a new school librarian:

1. They don't teach you anything practical in school! For example, my program never taught us how to upload MARC records, print bar codes, or repair old books. Luckily, You Tube has my back!

2. A good library aide is worth more than gold. I am so fortunate to not only have a full-time aide, but one who is also a library rockstar. Over the years, I have seen aides who don't read, don't like kids, or don't expect to do more than check books out. My wonderful assistant has an English degree, experience as a public library clerk, and--most importantly--she loves to read. Her experience has been invaluable and I hope she never leaves me!!!

3. Students may expect you to be similar to their old librarian. I think kids are used to getting new teachers with different personalities every year, but I have found many are either disappointed or excited that I am different from my predecessor. I have laid on the "expectations" pretty thickly, knowing that it's easier to start strict and lighten up than the other way around.

4. The library is either chaotic or dead. You have to take advantage of the dead moments and get things done (like ordering books and planning lessons) because the next thing you know, 17 people will want 17 different things from you!

5. You have to let go of your students' assignments being your assignments. I'm so grateful that many of the teachers have embraced my expertise and allowed me to teach informational literacy. However, sometimes they don't give me the time I need to do it the way I want to, or the assignments themselves don't live up to my standards. But it's not my ship, I am merely one sailor on the voyage!

When I went back to school to study school librarianship, I always expected to have to "put in my time"  at a school I didn't really like (as I did with my teaching career). Instead, I won the lottery and landed a job in a place that I can see myself staying for a long, long time. It's the kind of school that believes in investing in people and helping them grow as a professional. Whether you've found yourself in a school like mine or the kind that seems to suck the optimism right out of you, try to keep your focus on what's best for students and you'll do great!

What does it mean to be a "Connected Educator"?

I am in the final week of my M.A. program in librarianship, finishing up two courses in Leadership and Digital Communication. The instructor of the latter course has asked us this question for our final assignment: What does it mean to be a "Connected Educator"?

The textbook we have been reading, What Connected Educators Do Differently, argues that Connected Educators go beyond being online and instead, correspond online. That means giving as well as taking. This idea struck a chord with me, because I have been an avid reader of blogs and the "ALA Think Tank" Facebook group for years now. However, my participation has been quite limited. I always felt like I didn't have anything valuable to contribute.

For one of our assignments in this course, we had to participate in two Twitter Chats. The instructions said we had to write at least four tweets during the chat, and when I read this I thought, "how in the world am I supposed to do that? What if I don't have anything to say?" But the reality was the opposite! I found, with both chats, that I had plenty to say. I asked questions, responded to others' tweets, and shared my own ideas. I never felt incompetent or insignificant. I wonder now if what I thought of as humility was really me devaluing my own expertise.

So, I've been thinking about what it means to be "Connected," and it really comes down to one's  professional learning network (PLN), which is essentially an online PLC. Once connected--usually through social media--you can have discussions, share resources, celebrate successes, and learn from each others' failures.

As I move into the world of school librarianship, I know that isolation is a big risk. I will be the only librarian in my school, with only one other librarian in the district. My online PLN is my biggest resource, but I can't expect to just take from them all the time. As I muddle through the next few years, I'm sure some of my experiments will fail, and others will be brilliant. I plan to share them all!

In addition to reading and writing blogs, I will continue to participate in my Facebook group. I will continue to follow librarians and other educators on Twitter, and use the plethora of resources they are always posting. "IRL" colleagues are important, but the varied experiences and perspectives of my online PLN is also invaluable, and I am very grateful for them.

Risk-Taking: How can I be a model for my students?

It is not uncommon to hear teachers complain about their students being afraid to "take risks." This might mean they are afraid to participate in class discussions or turn in a less-than-perfect essay.

Many of us believe that our system has inadvertently taught students to be risk-adverse by putting so much emphasis on test scores. After years of being told there is one right answer--A, B, C, or D--and that their future depends upon that answer, why would they want to take risks?

The authors of What Connected Educators Do Differently argue that modeling (in this case, modeling risk-taking) is the key to change: "By modeling the way, teachers and leaders encourage those they teach and lead to behave according to shared values so that they can achieve a shared vision for excellence" (Whitaker, Zoul & Casas, 2015, p. 98). If I want students to be risk-takers, I must take risks myself.

So how can I, as a teacher-librarian, model risk-taking?

In some ways, I feel that this entire year is about taking risks. I will be a first-year teacher-librarian, working in a district that is new to me. I will be asking the faculty to accept me as a competent, knowledgeable resource who can not only serve students, but also teachers. I will be reorganizing the library after a major reduction of the nonfiction collection, trying to make the space more functional, modern, and inviting.

But students won't necessarily notice any of that.

What they will see is me advocating for individual students, because it is my job to "guarantee that every student has the right to read and receive (or have access to) information and educational opportunities" (Hunsinger, 2015). This includes our students who are learning English, who have emotional issues, or who need assisstive technology to help them learn.

They will see me opening up the library after school for the first time, creating a safe and helpful space for students to meet to do homework.

They will see me attempting parent outreach, something that is new and scary to me. My principal suggested I start a parent-student book club, so I am jumping in and giving it a try!

They will see me following the "95/5 rule, which means [I will] not make decisions based on the fear of what 5% of the population will do (which usually means challenging authority or school policies) but on the knowledge of what is best for the other 95% who rarely, if ever, break school rules" (Whitaker, et al., 2015, p. 101). That means I need to take a hard look at some library policies. Should we allow food and drink? What about cell phones? Can they visit during lunch without a pass? What will 95% of the students do if I allow these things?

They will see me embracing new technologies, fumbling my way through learning how to use them. For example, I want to put a green screen in our library for student video projects. While I know how to paint a wall green, I have no idea how to use green screen software! But I believe I can figure it out, one way or another.

Mostly, they will see me being my geeky self, and hopefully that will inspire them to let their own geek out. I get excited about Hamilton, I make bad jokes, I tell embarrassing stories about my own adolescence. I admit when I don't know how to do something, and ask my students if they can help. I love talking about my world travels and asking my students where they have been and where they want to go. I talk about my favorite books with passion, and tell them that reading opens you up to the possibilities of life, making you think about places and people and professions you never knew existed.

This is what I want my students to learn, above all else: to be successful, it is crucial to try new things. My parent book club might be a total flop, but if I never try it then I'll never know. As Mark Zuckerberg said, "the biggest risk is not taking any risk" (Rao, 2011).