Why is the Librarian Your Best Friend?
http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/columnists/johnson/johnson007.shtml
Last semester in 374, Dr. Stearns invited Luann Rottman, the librarian at Cortland High School, into our class to tell us about her job. More than once, Dr. Stearns emphasized that the librarian should be the English teacher's "best friend" or best resource for books and the newest information. I found this article on the Education-World, a site that I've surfed to several times throughout the past couple of months. There's some really cool stuff here!
Check out the article and peruse the rest of the site. Hope it helps. ALSO- check out this video- Savanna showed this to our 341 class last semester and I've been obsessed with it and Slam Poetry in general since then...
14 comments:
Meghan bottle you put a youtube video in your blog. Very cool. I am going to copy that idea from you. Just kidding (not really).
The link is a great resource Megan. I'm interested in the "woman" librarian's perspective as so many of the talking heads in this field--Richardson, Warlick, Friedman, Heid, etc. are men. I don't see women out there -- front and center -- in this revlolution. One exception is Sara Kajder. Check out her new book: http://bringingtheoutsidein.com/
I'm going to try to make that link live: Sara Kajder.
Megan-
So great to see you enjoyed "On What Teachers Make," a slam poem that really impacted my decision to become a teacher. I suggest all of you other bloggers watch it, too!
I also agree that librarians are a very useful tool for the classroom and worthy people to get to know as English teachers. I saw this concept at work last semester as I observed at Homer High School. My teacher had a very good relationship with the librarian, and they worked together on many projects. My high schol teachers hardly ever used the librarians as resources, and our librarians were viewed as scary and harsh. I now see that that's not how it should be. Students should see the library as a place of refuge, instead of an uncomfortable environment like the one I was used to.
hey megan,
the librarian definitely is a useful resource to english teachers. i did an internship at my former high school in the library to see if media specialist was a career path i wanted to take. i enjoyed the tasks, but felt that education was more my speed. but, without a doubt, the librarian (media specialist) is a necessary tool to help with research and other important things. :)
Hey Megan, I had to watch that youtube again. your blog is really nice. I like it. and that is a great photo of you and hubby there. :) I figured out how to put a youtube in my blog too, so thank you!
What an amazing resource to put on your blog! When we watched this in class, we all absolutely fell in love with it. I'm so glad you included it here to share with the rest of the class.
This slam poet session is one that we should share with all friends or colleagues we have that are in the education field. Not ony does he inspire me to want to teach, but he inspires me to want to include slam poetry in my own classroom. Awesome post Meghan.
Jami
Meghan,
I wrote a whole reply to your post and somehow it totally diappeared so here I am trying all over again!
I wanted to say that I really enjoyed the youtube video. Although, it wasn't an incentive for me to take-up the teaching mantel, it has added some extra spark to my determination to "make it!" I really like the video's and I will have to figure out how to put one on my own blog (that is, when I find one I want to put on my blog!).
As for making friends with the librarian at the school district, I have to whole-heartedly agree with you. I can remember, as a middle school student, going to the library and asking the librarian what books were in that I might like, and you know what? She always had a reply for me. Whether it was the latest Nancy Drew book or something else I liked, she rarely ever steered me wrong! Of course my love of reading didn't hurt thing either . . .
Barb H.
PS
I love your wedding photo!
Meghan,
I wrote a whole reply to your post and somehow it totally diappeared so here I am trying all over again!
I wanted to say that I really enjoyed the youtube video. Although, it wasn't an incentive for me to take-up the teaching mantel, it has added some extra spark to my determination to "make it!" I really like the video's and I will have to figure out how to put one on my own blog (that is, when I find one I want to put on my blog!).
As for making friends with the librarian at the school district, I have to whole-heartedly agree with you. I can remember, as a middle school student, going to the library and asking the librarian what books were in that I might like, and you know what? She always had a reply for me. Whether it was the latest Nancy Drew book or something else I liked, she rarely ever steered me wrong! Of course my love of reading didn't hurt thing either . . .
Barb H.
Hey Meghan,
I have never seen that particular clip on youtube and besides it being totally hilarious, it is so true! I love slam poetry! Were you able to go see the slam poet that was here last semester? I can't remember her name but she was really good. Thanks for showing us that clip! I'll be on the hunt for more now! haha
Megan, I am so thrilled that you posted this in your blog. when Savanna showed this to our AED 341 class last semester it was gratifying to hear what we feel put into words.
As the next generation of teachers, we have our worries and doubts about how we will be received by the school systems, students, parents, and communities. We are aware, that while several members of our nation might claim we hold an important role, there are still those who feel we highly paid babysitters. Taylor Mali articulates - abruptly and directly- exactly what we are doing (or hope to do) in our classrooms: make a difference. It is disheartening to think that there are people who feel teacher's don't make a difference; even educators with negative impacts on students make a difference in a child's life. I am not saying that it is good to have a negative impact, I am merely stating that no matter what we do, how effective or ineffective we are in persuading students to learn, we are changing these students lives. Even if we think they are sitting in the back of the classroom, ignoring ever word we say or mocking every move we make, those students are impacted by what we do, even just slightly. That's important to remember.
Nice comment stream you've got going here Megan..with a little help from your friends! Way to go!
BS aside that was the most motivational thing i have seen in a while. When i first commented i was just stoked you had a video up, i didn't even watch it. That was amazing. That described why we go through all this, why we work so hard. So we can make a difference. Give our students a better chance at succeeding then we had.
I'd love to learn how to put a video on my blog-- hopefully some time soon I will figure that out! Also to tag on to what you said about librarians...I remember last semester in 374 that becoming a librarian is not easy at all! It basically requires going through a lot of the stuff that teachers experience. Pretty interesting. Well hope your podcast is coming out alright, see you on Wed.
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