tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1041632645408696462024-03-04T23:20:34.030-05:00K-M the LibrarianMild-mannered librarian by day. . . slightly less mild-mannered librarian by night.kmthelibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08173264575828631775noreply@blogger.comBlogger169125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-104163264540869646.post-4018259155712399342014-10-13T16:09:00.000-04:002014-10-13T16:09:56.611-04:00Write arounds for topic selection<!--?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?-->
<span style="font-family: Arial; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">A couple weeks ago one of the Humanities teachers approached me about introducing some resources for students who would be doing research papers on World War I. As we talked, I realized that my introduction of resources would be the <i>the</i> introduction students would be getting to this research paper, and so I asked about doing some topic-selection work with students to get started. I then briefly outlined the concept of write-arounds, and the teacher was excited to try something new as an opener for the research paper.</span><br />
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I'd never done a write around before, but I'd read about all of <a href="http://theunquietlibrarian.wordpress.com/2013/12/20/first-efforts-at-written-conversations-strategies-write-around-text-on-text/" target="_blank">Buffy Hamilton's work with the idea</a> and was eager to try it out. I was also a little nervous, as this was my first time collaborating with this teacher and I <i>really </i>wanted this to go well.
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After a little consultation with the teacher, I dug into our primary source databases, and did some other World War I searching (the 100 year anniversary of the start of the war means that there is a LOT of great World War I resources out there, including several excellent <a href="https://twitter.com/RealTimeWW1" target="_blank">Twitter feeds</a>). I tried to pick out things that would provide some background knowledge and also spark questions that could lead to future research. Since this was an introduction to World War I, I couldn't rely on students having any background knowledge.
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I found a pile of great articles and images, and then sifted through to find the best of the best. We had a class of 28, so I made seven groupings of five different passages and images. Often there were connections (direct or implied) between at least two of the articles submitted, but each collection represented a range of events. Some of the articles appeared in more than one set, but no two collections were exactly alike. I taped each grouping on a separate piece of large chart paper and I also bought a bunch of different-colored pens, so each group member would have a different color--I almost forgot to do this, but am so glad I did. Everyone having a different colored pen makes it easier for me and the teachers to "see" the conversations, and to better understand how different students interacted with the text.
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<span style="font-family: Arial; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">And it was awesome. I was amazed at how quickly students engaged with the text. We have a strong culture around annotation here, which definitely helped, but it was still amazing to see how focused and engaged students were. Papers quickly filled up with writing and lines and questions and images--and the occasional disagreement about an interpretation.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">After--this represents about 10 minutes of write-around time</span></td></tr>
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After giving them some writing time, I asked each group to select a scribe who would write down "What we discovered" and "What we're still wondering about" lists for their group and email them to me. Students quickly moved from quiet work to small group discussions about the texts they'd been reading.
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Next, we came back for a large group discussion and I asked students to share what they discovered and what they were wondering about. Several hands shot up immediately, and students added to their peers' questions and discoveries by sharing what they'd learned from their own write arounds. Eventually I had to cut off the conversation so I could review next steps in the process--and several students were visibly disappointed. I want to emphasize this--I had to cut off an intense conversation about World War I research at 3:00 on a Friday afternoon. I was there and I still can't quite believe it.
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I spent the last portion of class giving them a brief overview of some of the sources on the LibGuide for their class that would be helpful as they explore these questions and settle on a research topic. No database reviews or source-type requirements--just a "choose your own" exploration to help them get a bit more familiar.
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After class, I compiled each group's "Discovered/Wondering" lists into one big document and posted it to the class LibGuide so all could reference it. I also took pictures of each write around and compiled it into a slideshow--both so students could reference their own work, but also so they could see what their peers had been learning about. I'm excited to go back to this class and see what kinds of research topics they've settled on.
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">If I were to do this as a pre-searching activity again (which I think I may have the opportunity to do), I'd like to try having students move between different sets of articles--perhaps moving between different themed groupings or responding to the same articles/topics in different contexts. I loved how the low-stakes process of the write-around made diving into a new topic so inviting--I think this is a process that will definitely help nudge more research towards inquiry. </span></div>
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kmthelibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08173264575828631775noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-104163264540869646.post-35027960447199165122014-10-02T22:20:00.002-04:002014-10-02T22:27:00.081-04:00On settling inI have a terrible sense of direction. I am fascinated by people who, when asked which direction is north, just point. Confidently. It occurs to me that they could all be wrong, but I would never know. Moving to a new area entails heavy reliance on maps and detailed directions. As I learn a new area every time I can get someplace without having to rely on GPS feels like a victory.<br />
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I was driving home from work Monday evening; it was around 7:30, right around the time dusk was turning to dark. I have several routes to and from work mastered, but just a few miles from school the road was closed, and traffic was being routed down a side street and I found myself on an unmarked detour. No worries--I grabbed my GPS from the glovebox and hit "Home."<br />
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And then lost satellite reception.<br />
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There I was. On back roads that I'd never been on before, without the type of information I thought I'd have available to me. It was dark. I had no landmarks to go by. I just kept driving, taking the turns that seemed right, hoping that I didn't get even more lost. Nothing looked familiar for the longest time, until eventually I found myself at an intersection I recognized. Relieved, I took the turn and continued on my way home.<br />
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Two months into my new job, this is how I feel: I still don't entirely have my bearings, but I feel like I'm headed in the right direction.<br />
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<br />kmthelibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08173264575828631775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-104163264540869646.post-5957366088287889302014-09-22T22:35:00.001-04:002014-09-22T22:35:42.018-04:00Thoughts on being back<!--?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?-->
<span style="font-family: Arial; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">In my head, I was going to write this right around my first day of school, but I had forgotten how exhausting the start of the school year can be, and how overwhelming it can be to be somewhere new. Learning new names, learning new curriculum, learning the quirks of a new photocopier. </span><br />
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I am so excited to be back working with students and teachers, though. As amazing as the last year has been (and oh, it was, in so many ways, but if I try and summarize it I'll be here all night and it is a school night after all), I missed working with students. I missed the energy that comes when you are able to share a great idea or resource with a colleague.
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But it's not exactly like picking up where I left off when I left my last positions. I don't have the same relationships with my new colleagues--relationships that took years to build. Some days it's hard to remember how much time and work went into building those relationships--and I get a little impatient.
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I also feel a lot of pressure around making a good first impression. Obviously, making a good first impression will make it easier for me to build relationships with teachers and students that make it possible for me to do my job--but mostly I feel the pressure because I know that the impression they have of me will shape the impression they have of librarians in general.
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I often think of this whenever I see an "X things teachers should know about librarians" or "X things administrators should know about librarians" article. My first thought is always, "if they don't know those things, it's not their fault." While administrators, teachers, and students know enough teachers in order to generalize and know that teachers come in good/bad/in-between, sometimes they've only worked with one or two librarians. And if those librarians didn't do X, Y, or Z, well. . . they're not going to assume that other librarians will either. Articles about what librarians do are meaningless without evidence.
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It's a lot of pressure, is what I'm saying.
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I know it will take time for my new colleagues to really learn who I am, but I wanted to make an initial attempt at explaining my philosophy and vision for the library. Those of you who know me know that I have a deep, abiding love for Venn diagrams, and as I thought about the best way to explain my philosophy a Venn diagram took shape in my head.
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I'm honestly sort of beside-myself happy about this Venn diagram. And if other school librarians like this, I hope they'll share it with their colleagues. But it will be meaningless unless our everyday actions match it.
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In a way, this is my thesis statement for who I am as a librarian; my day-to-day work is how I provide evidence. </div>
kmthelibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08173264575828631775noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-104163264540869646.post-62003021047913233112013-07-01T22:57:00.000-04:002013-07-01T22:57:57.539-04:00Goodbye, Hello<!--?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?-->
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">These are the first pictures I have of my library.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I took them after my interview, about 15 minutes after I was offered the job. I'd gone out to my car, grabbed my camera, and asked if I could be let back in to take a few pictures. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">A couple weeks ago, I said goodbye to my library. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I thought a lot about whether to think of it and describe it as saying goodbye to "the" library or "my" library--because these are the things you think about as you are saying goodbye to an empty room. I settled on calling it "my library" because what I was saying goodbye to was not that empty room, but to the time I've spent there, and the people I've spent it with. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">About a week before I packed up my office, a recent graduate contacted me to ask for some book recommendations. After suggesting some titles and authors, he said, "Thanks. I told my mom I was going to call my librarian."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">No past tense. No definite (or indefinite) article. My librarian.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">My library continues to exist, just as I hope my students always think of me as their librarian.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The past six years in the library--and the experiences my students have had there--have been guided by my principles and philosophy of education and librarianship. And this philosophy has been shaped and influenced by thinkers and writers inside and outside of school libraries.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">With that in mind, and as I look towards the next phase of my career as an educator, I have created a new blog in order to share the ideas, articles, videos, and conversations that inspire me and shape my thinking about the future of education: <a href="http://wheniruntheschool.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">When I Run the School</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Please check out my first post, and share some of what inspires you. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Because in reality I don't think of the library I said goodbye to as "my" library--I think of it as "our" library, belonging to students and teachers who shared that space with me. And they shared more than the space--they shared ideas, they shared passions, they shared frustrations, and they shared their hopes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Education is not an individual pursuit. Our education, throughout our lives, is shaped by the people we interact with, and the ideas that inspire them. It is what we all bring to this conversation that will shape the future. I look forward to continuing the conversation. </span></div>
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kmthelibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08173264575828631775noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-104163264540869646.post-77659841043465483932013-05-26T15:50:00.000-04:002013-05-26T15:51:45.390-04:00On Sisyphus and ShoesWhen I first started working here the default password for most library accounts was set to "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisyphus">sisyphus</a>." In retrospect, that maybe should have been a red flag. But it was my first librarian job, the library was newly renovated, and I was so excited to jump in and get started that I looked right past that and started digging through boxes and making plans.<br />
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Six years later, as I look back on what I've accomplished here, I get it. There have been times when I've felt like I was pushing a boulder up a hill--and there have been times when I've felt like I've been crushed by the boulder rolling back down the hill and right over me. But as I look back I'm kind of amazed and overwhelmed by how far up the hill I've managed to get this boulder. <br />
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There are tangible successes (the average age of my collection went from 1984 to 1996), and far more intangible successes. The other day I was watching a group of students in an Improv class do their final performance, and one of the games they played was "World's Worst" (the audience suggests job titles, and the performers do their interpretation of what the "world's worst ___________" would be like). Curious to see what they would come up with, I called out, "librarian." Afterwards, a student came up to me and said, "I couldn't think of anything. How do you be a bad librarian?"<br />
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I have dozens of stories like that to carry with me (seriously, I keep them in a file for when I need cheering up), and as proud as I am of the program I've built and the lessons I've taught, what I'm proudest of are the relationships I've built with students and teachers. Knowing that students leave this school with a positive impression of librarians and libraries is one of the greatest things I've ever accomplished. <br />
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When I first started to tell people I was planning on leaving my position and <a href="http://www.klingenstein.org/">going back to school</a> next year, several people said, "they're never going to be able to fill your shoes." To which I would reply with the line <a href="http://quoteinvestigator.com/2011/11/21/graveyards-full/">often attributed to Charles De Gaulle</a>: "The graveyards are full of indispensable men." I do appreciate the sentiment more deeply than I can express, but I also believe that everyone is replaceable. No, the new librarian will not be like me. Which is fine. Good, even. I will know that the library is truly an integral part of the school if someone else can step in, take over, and keep it moving forward. <br />
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I've been asked what I want to see continue after I'm gone. What I most want to continue is not a specific program or unit (though I hope many of them keep happening and continue to get better), but the feeling faculty and students have about the library--that it's a place you can come with all kinds of questions and ideas and find support and encouragement. I know many people are capable of doing that, but it's not something I know how to write in a manual. But I also know it's something I didn't do on my own, and that that feeling will persist long after I'm gone. I will know I've been successful if faculty and students don't just feel this way about me and our library, but about <i>all</i> libraries and librarians. <br />
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But I do worry about that sometimes. How much of the success of my program is built on what I do, and how much is built on who I am--the personal connections I make with faculty and students? As much as I believe that you can't build a program on a personality, I know that in no small part what I <i>do</i> is successful because of who I <i>am</i>. What becomes of a program that has a specific personality as its cornerstone? It will take time for the new librarian to build the same relationships and connections, but it is possible. The foundation is made of a solid philosophy of librarianship that I believe will endure.<br />
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I also know that the colleagues I'm leaving behind are interested in building those relationships with a new librarian, because they are the same colleagues who welcomed me and helped me build this program. I want to thank them for so many things: for sharing their good ideas with me, and letting me jump on board; for jumping on board when I shared my (good and. . . less good) ideas with them; for pushing back, as it helped me refine what I believe in and what I think is important; for being so passionate about what they do, and sharing that passion with me; for laughing with me--and laughing <i>at</i> me when I needed it. <br />
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I'm going to miss working with them. All of them. Really.<br />
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The thing I'm struggling with most about being a full-time student next
year is that I won't be working with students on a day-to-day basis. I
didn't really realize how important that is to me until I was faced with
not having that as part of my day. Realizing that has been a valuable
confirmation that I am in exactly the right line of work for me--and
also made saying goodbye to students at yesterday's graduation
particularly difficult. <br />
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As anxious (and overwhelmed and excited
and nervous) as I am about this next step, I am eager to take the
philosophy of education I've developed while working as a school
librarian and think about how to apply it to schools as a whole.<br />
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I know I haven't written much this year. It has been, as you might imagine, a tumultuous year, and so much of what I've been thinking about has been hard to put into words. I have struggled with writing this post, because I want the people I work with to know how truly important they've been to me, and I want people reading this from afar to know how truly incredible the people I work with are. <br />
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I think work that you're passionate about always feels a bit like pushing a boulder up a mountain, and I am so, so grateful to have had so many people pushing this boulder with me. I couldn't have done it without you.<br />
<br />kmthelibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08173264575828631775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-104163264540869646.post-28803360176068389532013-04-10T18:16:00.004-04:002013-04-10T18:16:57.404-04:00Relentless Optimism at CILI was so honored to be a part of Tuesday night's Innovative and Awesome Tech panel at Computers in Libraries. It was a total blast. My Relentless Optimism slides are below (they might not make much sense without me speaking along with them, but I think they're still fun).<br />
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I've also written about <a href="http://kmthelibrarian.blogspot.com/2012/05/relentless-optimism.html">Relentless Optimism</a> on my blog before. And if you're interested in learning more about how we're wired for optimism, I highly recommend <a href="http://blog.ted.com/2012/11/26/new-ted-book-the-science-of-optimism/">The Science of Optimism by Tali Sharot</a>. kmthelibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08173264575828631775noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-104163264540869646.post-23609949332216541802013-04-10T18:10:00.002-04:002013-04-10T18:10:45.579-04:00Learning 2.0 and 23 Things in SchoolsOn Monday I was lucky enough to present with <a href="http://www.pafa.net/">Polly Farrington</a> and <a href="http://sarahludwig.wordpress.com/">Sarah Ludwig</a> on "Learning 2.0 and 23 Things in Schools" at the Internet @ Schools track at Computers in Libraries. My slides are below:<br />
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You can also check out the <a href="http://14thingstotame.blogspot.com/">14 Things to Tame</a> blog I used at my school.<br />
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And, of course, here's the video about the symptoms (and cure for) TADIS:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/tTEzK8LG4nE" width="360"></iframe>kmthelibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08173264575828631775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-104163264540869646.post-66357169319114552082013-03-14T14:43:00.000-04:002013-03-14T14:43:01.667-04:00Dear GoogleReader: It's not you, it's meWhen Google announced that they'd be phasing out iGoogle (for which they gave 16 months notice), I moved several of the feeds I had on my iGoogle homepage over to GoogleReader. <br />
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In hindsight, this does not seem like the smartest move ever.<br />
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I know this isn't the type of thing I usually write about here (though I'm not sure I could actually define what I "usually" write about), but GoogleReader has been incredibly important to how I gathered information for so long--and the information I found there was very influential for me as I started my career as a school librarian.<br />
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I am probably not what you would call a "power user" of GoogleReader, but I loved my GoogleReader. However, the past tense of "love" in the preceding sentence is not preemptive. For the past several months I find myself more and more often going into GoogleReader and Marking All As Read on a lot of my feeds (and on the same feeds over and over again, but I can't bring myself to delete them because I am that kind of crazy). Or marking posts as "Keep Unread", telling myself I'll go back later when I have more time. And, as I'm sure you've already guessed, I very rarely do.<br />
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It's not because I no longer find the information there useful or meaningful. Oftentimes by the time I get to the posts in my Reader, I've already seen and read it on Twitter or Facebook or through Diigo groups or through my Paper.li paper, or through a variety of other sources. And here's the thing I love about all those other sources--I often find things I never would have discovered if I was just relying on my GoogleReader. The sense of discovery and serendipity I felt when I first started gathering feeds for my GoogleReader (including blogs that helped me discover new feeds) is a constant with these other sources. My GoogleReader--in large part due to my own neglect--has grown stagnant. <br />
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The timing of the GoogleReader shutdown is also significant for me. As some of you know, I'll be leaving my current position at the end of the school year, and enrolling in a graduate program in Independent School Leadership in the fall. The types of information and resources I'm going to be looking at and for are going to be changing (though there is definitely overlap)--it seems appropriate that the tools I use to gather that information will be changing as well. I move out of my on-campus apartment on June 30th; GoogleReader closes
on July 1st. This is, obviously, simply a coincidence. But I'm going to
attach significance to it anyway. <br />
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I don't know what I'll move to, and I'm still deciding what exactly I'm looking for as I pick a new service. I'm not ready to jump feet first into something new, and I certainly don't want to simply transfer a bunch of unread feeds to a new service. And I'll keep using GoogleReader until the end of the school year--there are still feeds there that I rely on for ideas and information. But rather than bemoaning the loss of my once-beloved GoogleReader, I've decided to take this as an opportunity to reflect on what kinds of information I'm looking for, and to create a system for myself that incorporates the sense of serendipity I love about the other tools I use to gather ideas. <br />
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<br />kmthelibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08173264575828631775noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-104163264540869646.post-29971930767938365592013-03-11T11:21:00.001-04:002013-03-11T11:21:27.315-04:00CASL/CLC Conference Presentation: 14 Things to TameHere are my slides from Saturday's CASL/CLC Mini-Conference. Thanks to all who came and made it such a great day!<br />
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Be sure to check out the 1<a href="http://www.14thingstotame.blogspot.com/">4 Things to Tame</a> blog as well for more information. <br />
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<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/129729168/14-Things-to-Tame" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View 14 Things to Tame on Scribd">14 Things to Tame</a> by <a href="http://www.scribd.com/kmthelibrarian" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View kmthelibrarian's profile on Scribd">kmthelibrarian</a> </div>
<iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" data-aspect-ratio="1.33115468409586" data-auto-height="false" frameborder="0" height="300" id="doc_49022" scrolling="no" src="http://www.scribd.com/embeds/129729168/content?start_page=1&view_mode=slideshow&access_key=key-wp4vn795sqp0kleebcm" width="100%"></iframe>kmthelibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08173264575828631775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-104163264540869646.post-51137622849675146712013-03-08T10:23:00.000-05:002013-03-08T10:23:31.885-05:00Connections/Creativity I spent last Sunday afternoon at MoMA. They had an exhibit called "<a href="http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2012/inventingabstraction/">Inventing Abstraction</a>" which chronicled the development of abstract art. Outside the galleries they had a huge diagram (it covered the entire wall) detailing the connections between different artists.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwij5OmM7mDKcYHZhk4bdyReY0j7wHzM2TD453xcNxMpDJ1yDS9ov15P6wPTSoKPef_FDTclNRcSSeWbIlhLXMrKzWlPeJVkcsoV4iVkqqN65I8SLgx0K_km0eTm0IybhYDZ-gFo4rB3Ru/s1600/IMG_1681.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwij5OmM7mDKcYHZhk4bdyReY0j7wHzM2TD453xcNxMpDJ1yDS9ov15P6wPTSoKPef_FDTclNRcSSeWbIlhLXMrKzWlPeJVkcsoV4iVkqqN65I8SLgx0K_km0eTm0IybhYDZ-gFo4rB3Ru/s320/IMG_1681.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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You can see an interactive version of the connections on <a href="http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2012/inventingabstraction/">MoMA website</a>. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The names in red are the artists who had more connections. And you'll notice (particularly if you look at the diagram on the website) that the names in red are well-known names--artists who are particularly prolific, or influential, or have stood the test of time. <br />
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As I looked at this diagram (and I spent a long time looking at it, and even longer thinking about it), I wondered--does being connected make you more creative, or does being creative lead you to form more connections? The answer is, I think, both.<br />
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I know the opportunity to connect with people online and in person has fueled my work in many ways--I gather ideas and inspiration when other people share their passions with me. And I also know that when I have an idea or project I'm excited about, I'm more likely to reach out to people to share those ideas--whether it's sharing the idea with a colleague over lunch, or using this blog or Twitter or any of my other networks in order to share with a wider audience.<br />
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The interconnectedness of creativity and connections has implications not only for our own work as educators, but also for our students. Are we providing opportunities for students to connect with each other and with a wider audience in order to be inspired? Do we create avenues for them to share their ideas and what they're learning? These connections--and the creativity they inspire--are, I believe, inextricably connected.kmthelibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08173264575828631775noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-104163264540869646.post-69462191073178465682013-02-16T11:36:00.000-05:002013-02-16T11:36:03.078-05:00Why Do We Read?A few weeks ago a colleague approached me about doing an independent reading project with all of our seniors. We often hear from alumni that they're overwhelmed by the increase in the amount of reading they need to do, so the overall goal was to help our students ramp up their reading (in terms of both speed and comprehension) before heading to college. But I grabbed at the opportunity to sneak in a few of my goals around promoting reading as well.<br />
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I believe that helping students develop a love of reading is one of the most important things I can do--and the one that will have the greatest impact on students over the course of their lives. Lifelong readers and lifelong learners. And there's more and more research pointing to the idea that <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/opinion/sunday/the-neuroscience-of-your-brain-on-fiction.html?_r=3&pagewanted=all?src=tp&">reading helps people be more empathetic</a>--and the ability to look at an issue from different points of view is, I believe, another vital skill for all people.<br />
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I see a lot of my students struggle with picking out something they want to read "for fun." The idea of "pleasure reading" is, for many of them, an oxymoron. So I wanted to focus on both why reading is something people choose to do even when it's not assigned, and on how to pick out something that will be enjoyable to read.<br />
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For the first part, I turned to Twitter, Facebook, and e-mail in order to gather responses to the question "why do you read?" Reading those responses was pretty much the best thing ever (I'm still getting replies, and will hopefully have a chance to update my presentation at some point). The responses were better than I could have hoped for in the breadth of perspectives they offered. I organized the presentation based on major themes that emerged in the responses, and then focused specifically on responses from faculty and staff at my school.<br />
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After spending some time talking about why to read, we segued into picking out what to read. I love the "speed dating with books" projects I'd seen other librarians do, and wanted to build on that idea. But given how I've seen many of my students try to pick out books before (grab first book they see, quickly flip through it, ask to check it out), I wanted to avoid time pressure. So I did more of a "mixer." Students still had speed dating-type scorecards to keep notes on the books, but were free to move from book to book and table to table at their own pace.<br />
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And let me tell you--it was awesome. Using the dating analogy gave us plenty of jokes and terrible puns to use as we talked about the books, which also took the pressure off. We talked about knowing what your "type" is--do you like blondes, brunettes, or mysteries? I encouraged students to look at a books they thought they wouldn't like, telling them it's good to know what doesn't work for you in a reading relationship, too. I offered to play matchmaker for students who were having trouble finding a book they connected with. I emphasized that they did not need to worry about hurting a book's feelings if they rejected it. And when I checked a book out to a student, I told them, "I hope you two will be happy together."<br />
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I love doing reader's advisory (and wish I was better at it) and I love when a student comes in to talk about what they're reading, or thank me for picking out a good book for them. What I love most about this project is that instead of students coming in and saying "I love the book you picked out for me" they're saying "I love the book I picked out." <br />
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<br />kmthelibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08173264575828631775noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-104163264540869646.post-85085000195743534782013-01-20T23:51:00.000-05:002013-01-20T23:51:34.386-05:00This is what happens when you require certain types of sourcesDuring lunch on Saturday a student came up to me to ask me about sources he wanted to use for a project.<br />
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Student: You know how on Wikipedia they list their sources on the bottom of the page? Is it okay to use those?<br />
Me: Of course. That's how research works--you see what sources other people are using when they research similar topics and then you use those sources for your own research.<br />
Student: So I can cite a book even if I haven't seen it?<br />
Me: Wait, what?<br />
Student: There's a book on my topic in the references on Wikipedia, and I want to cite it in my bibliography.<br />
Me: Even though you've never read any of the information in the book, or even seen it?<br />
Student: Yeah.<br />
Me: No. <br />
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And then we talked about how to get to our Biography databases and other places to look for actual information, and then I sat down and banged my head against the table for a while and then ate my lunch.<br />
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I often hear other librarians get frustrated with teachers who require that students have X number of print sources (particularly when they won't accept digital content as meeting that requirement) and I occasionally share those frustrations (though anytime I have approached a colleague with concerns about such requirements, every last one of them has been receptive and flexible). Selecting sources based on container rather than content seems counterintuitive.<br />
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But I also understand why teachers have those requirements, and the goals they're trying to accomplish make sense to me. <br />
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Sometimes consulting a print book is the best possible starting point for a student simply because the information in there is limited. Even the largest book is puny compared to a list of search results on Google. The table of contents and index of a book are far easier to navigate and interpret than most database search result--and learning how to navigate a table of contents and index is helpful when it comes to understanding how other types of searches work. And yes, students need to learn how to navigate all kinds of search results, but those aren't necessarily the skills they need to be focusing on at every stage of every research process. <br />
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More importantly, without the requirement of having to have a print book, or a database
article, or any particular type of source, there are many students who
would never even consult these resources.Without (seemingly arbitrary) requirements, many students would not push themselves out of their comfort zones when researching. They'd simply stick with the resources and formats that they've always used. And good research strategies and skills are, in many ways, about moving out of your comfort zone; most of us don't leave our comfort zone easily, and those requirements can help pull students out of theirs. <br />
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But sometimes the sources that meet the requirements aren't the best sources for a project. Sometimes what I have in physical format in the library is inferior to what can be found online, through a database or a website. And sometimes a book on the library's shelves has the perfect bit of information that will become an "aha!" moment for a student. <br />
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This is one of those "easy to answer in an ideal world" questions for me. In an ideal world, there would always be the time, and structure, and support for students to consult a diverse array of sources before settling on the ones that best met their needs. Students would willingly move out of their comfort zone--or at least not actively resist.<br />
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But most of us don't work in that ideal world. There are limits to our time. There are limits to our resources. But we can nudge around the edges. We can encourage, and we can push, and we can cajole. We can challenge ourselves, and our colleagues, and our students to think broadly about what types of sources we use, and why. And at the very least we can be clear that someone else's Works Cited page can be an excellent source--but not one to copy and paste into your own. <br />
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<br />kmthelibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08173264575828631775noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-104163264540869646.post-32236162195614108032013-01-13T12:38:00.000-05:002013-01-13T12:38:55.337-05:00A tale of two conferencesWhile going through my inbox the other day I clicked on a link about an upcoming conference in my area; I was hoping to find out a bit more, but also saw that they were still seeking proposals. Having been on both ends of the request for proposals, I'm always interested in to see what different organizations ask for.<br />
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The request was pretty standard, until I got to the section on AV requirements; the form specified that standard AV equipment would be provided, including overhead projector and VCR/monitor. Presenters were asked to bring their own LCD projector, if possible. <br />
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About an hour or so later I got another e-mail, asking me to participate in a conference program described as "Battledecks meets TED."<br />
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The first call for proposals was like almost every call I've ever seen, until I got to the AV section. The only distinguishing feature was the listing of technology that I did not think was still in popular usage <br />
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The second call was also very similar to requests I've seen. Except in this case the distinguishing feature was how they described the "feel" they wanted a presentation to have.<br />
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I go to a lot of conferences (fewer this year than in years past, but I still have several under my belt), and I have a pretty extensive online network for resources and ideas. And there is a lot of overlap in terms of sessions, topics, ideas, and even attendees. Which is great. But even with that overlap, different conferences and different online communities often end up having a different feel for me. Despite being able to get the same types of information from many different places, I often feel myself pulled towards particular learning communities.<br />
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I'd never given that much thought, but seeing these two very similar--and very, very different--calls for proposals so close together brought the idea to the forefront of my mind. While these two conferences are likely to have a significant overlap of ideas, there's only one I'm interested in attending (just to be clear, it's the "Battledecks meets TED" one. Because, obviously).<br />
<br />There are a lot of ways to present and share the same information. I've been to sessions (or read articles) on very similar topics that leave me with very different feelings. In one I may walk away feeling energized and ready to put an idea into action; in another I may walk away feeling like I've just been chastised for being behind the curve.<br />
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I'm thinking about this more consciously as I "Mark All As Read" some blogs in my Google Reader, while reading and reflecting on others. I pore over every article in some journals, while casually flipping through others before tossing them aside. I make plans to attend (in person or virtually) some conferences, while saying, "Eh, maybe some other year" to others.<br />
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When I talk to my students about research, I tell them that the issue I most regularly faced when doing research in high school was not being able to find enough information; that is, most often, not the challenge they face. The challenge they confront is focusing and narrowing and separating the wheat from the chaff.<br />
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I'm working on applying that idea more consciously to my own professional research. Finding ideas and information is no longer the challenge. Finding a professional network that inspires and challenges and supports me is. And this is not just about surrounding myself with people who share all the same ideas--I want to be surrounded by people who push my thinking in new directions, without making me feel like I'm a failure if I'm not already doing X, Y, and Z.<br />
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So I'm trying to more consciously look for the feel I get from really inspiring conference experiences from my online networks. Do they leave me feeling overwhelmed? Underwhelmed? Inspired? Chastised? Excited? Encouraged? <br />
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The right network for me will be the wrong network for someone else. But I should be as discerning in selecting my sources as I encourage my students to be in selecting theirs. <br />
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<br />kmthelibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08173264575828631775noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-104163264540869646.post-12227764341473359502012-10-18T11:38:00.002-04:002012-10-18T11:38:42.691-04:00Like a splinter or like a journalistLast night I had the honor of spending some time (via Skype--thank you all for your patience with my technical difficulties!) with a group of school librarians in Nebraska talking about embedded librarianship. The slides from my talk are below.<br />
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<b> <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/formanlibrary/embedded-school-librarianship-nema" target="_blank" title="Embedded school librarianship - NEMA">Embedded school librarianship - NEMA</a> </b> from <b><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/formanlibrary" target="_blank">formanlibrary</a></b><br />
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It was a wonderful opportunity to talk about the why and how I've embraced the sometimes messy process of becoming a more embedded librarian. As I talked about in my presentation, I believe that embedding ourselves in different teaching and learning spaces is the natural evolution of the collaborative efforts that have been at the heart of our profession for so long. </div>
kmthelibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08173264575828631775noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-104163264540869646.post-73002155179875101452012-10-15T22:31:00.000-04:002012-10-15T22:31:37.599-04:00Fight in the Dining Hall: A Research AllegoryI know it's been quiet here on the blog--it's been a busy fall in many ways. But tonight I finished a project I've been thinking about for a while, and I wanted to share.<br />
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When I talk to students about research, I always talk about trying to get as close to the original source as possible. This often comes up in discussions about Wikipedia, when I point students to the Reference list at the bottom of articles (which few of them had noticed before). The analogy I usually use is to explain that research works kind of like gossip--the story can get distorted the farther you get from the original source. I often create a version of the story depicted below involving students in the class. Using the gossip analogy has often helped students grasp the "get to a primary source" idea.<br />
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I'd been toying for a while with the idea of creating some sort of video to illustrate the story, but I don't have a lot of film making expertise. But as I was playing with apps for some different projects, I had an "aha!" moment about how I could make this project. <br />
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I used Skitch (to make the drawings) and Explain Everything (to create the video) on my iPad to make the video. I can't decide if it's nerdtastic, or the most nerdtastic thing I've ever made, but I'm pretty happy with how it came out. <br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bbqSYmjiefU?rel=0" width="420"></iframe>kmthelibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08173264575828631775noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-104163264540869646.post-14029404352559295922012-08-12T23:06:00.001-04:002012-08-12T23:06:49.800-04:00Sweat, Tears, or Sea<h4 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">“The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea.” – Isak Dinesen</span></h4>
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The last school year involved a fair amount of both sweat and tears. At one point it was suggested that every time I cry at work I should get a pedicure; I am many pedicures behind.<br />
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In starting to write this I was hesitant to admit that sometimes I cry at work; I know some people will think that it makes me seem weak or unprofessional. I was getting ready to write a justification, but then I remembered that it's okay to cry:<br />
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Anyway, this summer I have been lucky enough to spend some time on the sea, which I think is the most powerful salt water cure.<br />
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There is something about standing in the ocean that makes me feel both insignificant and powerful. Insignificant because I am just this small, small person on the edge of a vast, unknown territory. Powerful because despite being up against something bigger and infinitely stronger, I manage to keep my head above water.<br />
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I usually first stand in the water facing out, so I can anticipate and react to the waves. But as I get my "sea legs" I turn and face the shore, letting myself be carried by the waves. I gradually trust in my ability to react to the waves even though I can't always see them. And if sometimes I get a face full of water? Oh well.<br />
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The ocean, like so many challenges we face, is huge and beyond our direct control. And while I find that frustrating in my work life, it is one of the things that makes the ocean so beautiful. <br />
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So much is beyond our control; sometimes we just have to trust in our ability to ride the wave, and keep our head above water. And even if we don't manage that all the time, it's just a little salt water, and we can prepare ourselves for the next wave.<br />
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Early on in the summer, I spent a day in Gloucester with some friends. While we were wading on the beach a little boy approached the edge of water. He was all limbs and belly, and watching him move I thought, "Ah, that's why they're called toddlers." And he loved the water. He moved as fast as he could get his legs to carry him straight towards the ocean. And, inevitably, fall either forward or backward onto the sand. And then immediately get up and charge full-speed ahead once again. Sometimes he'd start charging in the wrong direction, but as soon as he figured out he was no longer headed towards the water he did an about-face and headed towards the water once again.<br />
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I loved watching him approach something so big and so unknowable with such enthusiasm and joy; I loved that the last thing he wanted to do was turn away from a challenge.<br />
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The analogy became clear to me in one of those moments that I believe is only possible while standing in the ocean. There are challenges to face, but there are also forces larger than myself in play. I can run, full-speed, arms open to the challenges this year will bring; but that doesn't mean I have the power to control them all. I sometimes I wish I could choose which challenges I want to face, but then they're not challenges. You can't pick which waves come to shore.<br />
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And I was reminded, too, that I love the challenges. I can approach challenges with joy and with enthusiasm--even if the end result is a face full of salt water. That's all part of it. <br />
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This summer has been, very deliberately on my part, a time of reflection. I hope, as what promises to be another busy year gets underway, that I remember the sea, and that no matter how overwhelming things may seem, I can still stay on my feet.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With your feet in the sand, it doesn't matter what state your pedicure is in</td></tr>
</tbody></table>kmthelibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08173264575828631775noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-104163264540869646.post-28871988107210204592012-06-17T18:37:00.000-04:002012-06-17T18:37:15.030-04:00Figure/GroundI was recently in New York City for the SLJ Day of Dialogue. I love going to New York, but I also find it overwhelming. I have lived most of my life in rural areas, and I spend so little time in cities (especially big cities) that I often feel a bit of sensory overload. <br /><br />However, I had an "ah ha!" moment while walking around Sunday afternoon--I find New York overwhelming because, for me, it is all figure, no ground.<br /><br />I'll admit I have a very basic understanding of figure-ground organization (I had to look it up to make sure I had the right terminology for my insight), but the easiest way to understand it (at least in the way I'm using it) is in optical illusions like the Rubin Vase. An observer can either see it as two faces in profile, or a vase. The definition of what the image is depends on the interpretation of the observer, not on the image itself. Again, I am not an expert in this; it's just the analogy that helped me make sense of my experience.<br />
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<br />For some reason, thinking about how overwhelming my current surroundings were brought to mind a (for me) completely opposite experience. This was many, many years ago--if I had to guess, I'd say I was in middle school. Some of my cousins were visiting our house in upstate New York. I grew up in the Adirondacks, surrounded by fields and mountains, with our "next door" neighbors about a tenth of a mile down the road. A few of my cousins--most of whom lived in the suburbs--were visiting, and they were absolutely fascinated by the cows that lived in the field next to our house. And all I could think was, "What's the big deal? They're just cows; they smell and they attract flies."<br /><br />For me, the cows were ground; for my cousins, they were figure. For me, everything in New York City was figure; for everyone around me, it was mostly ground.<br /><br />As I was thinking about and contrasting those two experiences ("so many people! so much to look at! so many sounds/smells/sights!" vs. "what's the big deal, they're just cows"), I started wondering if there are professional conversations in which we've made things ground that really need to be figure--or are making things figure that really should be ground.<br /><br />Kristin Fontichiaro's recent blog post <a href="http://blog.schoollibrarymedia.com/index.php/2012/06/13/what-admins-think-of-librarian-messages-tasla-2012/" target="_blank">What Admins Think of Librarian Messages</a> highlights a perfect example of what I'm talking about. Maybe our advocacy efforts aren't as effective as we like not because our messages are being ignored; maybe the messages are being heard, but they're not the right messages. <br /><br />I wonder, too, if it goes deeper than that. Are there situations in which we've made "the problem" ground, when it's really still figure? When we meet failure in our advocacy efforts, are we staying with the same definition of the problem even though the reason we've met failure is because we're trying to solve the wrong problem? If we've misidentified the problem, there is no chance of identifying the right solution.<br /><br />On a different level, I wonder how much these figure/ground (mis)perceptions affect our teaching. I don't think we do this consciously, but many teachers (and I include myself in this) often make the process of learning ground, when for many students it is still figure--or, worse, the students have made it ground without actually having a solid understanding of the learning process and themselves as learners. This can range from the "good student" who has become adept at absorbing information and returning the "right" answers at the right time to the "bad student" who has given up on themselves as a learner because this process that seems to come naturally to others--which their teachers don't teach explicitly, further reinforcing the idea that students should naturally know how to do it--does not come naturally to them.<br /><br />I hear again and again from teachers, "I don't have time for XYZ skill, I need to cover more content." We have, in many ways, made content figure, while keeping the process of learning ground. But is that what education is about? We tend assume (particularly as students get older) that the process of learning is ground for our students, that they have well-established habits of mind. But this is not necessarily true--and even if students have mastered the process of learning when they're younger, as brains mature they become capable of different kinds of thinking. And, as with any truly valuable and complex skill, learning takes practice. If you'll excuse the pun, by assuming that the process of learning is ground for our students, we may be building on a weak foundation.<br /><br />I also wonder how figure/ground (mis)perceptions impact our teaching of technology. I know many teachers (of all ages) who assume that students just naturally know how to use technology of all kinds effectively. Students may have grown up around these technologies, but that does not mean they have any natural, innate ability. We all grew up around books and print, but I don't know of any "print natives" who had a natural, innate ability to read just because they grew up around books. Letters, words, and their meanings had to be raised to figure for all of us to learn to read. We need to help students raise the technology they're surrounded by from ground to figure in order for them to learn to be thoughtful, effective users of the tools available to them. <br /><br />The same goes for all sorts of skills--just because a student is good at hanging out with friends does not mean they intuitively understand how to effectively collaborate. <br /><br />For some of us, these skills have been ground for us for so long that we forget that they used to be figure for us. This is a big part of why I think ongoing learning is such a vital part of being an effective teacher--it makes it easier for you to stay in the mindset of your students, and remember how challenging the process of grappling with new information can be.<br /><br />It's important for us to step outside ourselves and make a conscious effort to move our assumptions--about all kinds of things--from ground to figure. If we don't try and see things from another point of view, we risk losing all perspective. <br />kmthelibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08173264575828631775noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-104163264540869646.post-81986717256184360382012-05-06T23:45:00.001-04:002012-05-06T23:45:49.185-04:00Relentless OptimismMaybe it was Caine who inspired me.
I know this video has made the rounds, but if somehow you haven't seen it, take the time to watch it. And if you have seen it, watch it again (the fun pass really is an incredible deal).<br />
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There are other reasons, too, but I'm not going to get into them, as many are deeply personal, and that's not the point of this post.<br />
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Whatever it was, a few weeks ago I posted the following status update on Facebook:<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">It was, to be honest,
kind of a lark. But somehow--in a way and for reasons I don't think I'll ever
fully understand--the idea of "relentless optimism" caught on at my
school. A few colleagues "liked" my status, some mentioned it to me.
. . and I also started talking about relentless optimism, and shouting
"relentless!" when I felt myself getting pulled into negativity. And
then other people did, too. </span><span style="color: black;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">I accidentally started a
movement.</span><span style="color: black;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">And as the accidental
leader of this movement, I feel like I should be able to explain what it's
about. So I'm going to try, with the disclaimer that my ideas about relentless
optimism are evolving every day--in ways driven largely by conversations I'm
having with colleagues and friends. </span><span style="color: black;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">So what is relentless
optimism about?</span><span style="color: black;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">It's about believing in
(and working for) the possibility of change despite evidence to the contrary.
It's about believing that we're all in this (whatever "this" is)
together. It's about moving forward, even when moving forward is frustrating and
difficult and overwhelming and seemingly pointless because it feels like you've
never gotten anywhere before (or even lost ground).</span><span style="color: black;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">It's not about being
delusional or ignoring problems. It is so NOT about that. It's easy to just
pretend that everything's fine--easier still to simply complain about what's
wrong and not do anything about it. Relentless optimism is about hope--and hope
makes you vulnerable. It involves the potential of feeling let down--or feeling
like you let someone else down. And that can be scary. But it's better than
feeling stuck.</span><span style="color: black;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">If you don't try, you are
almost guaranteed to feel disappointed. If you try, and things don't work the
way you wanted them to, you might still feel disappointed, but at least you'll
know you tried. It can be easy--and comfortable--to succumb to negativity and
defeatism. Relentless optimism involves risk; it can mean working without a
net. It might not feel safe, but it's exhilarating. </span><span style="color: black;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">And it's hard. It's
exhausting. But it's worth it. And surrounding yourself with people who are on
the same page is not just important, it's vital.</span><span style="color: black;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Relentless optimism is
about being part of a team and being inspired by colleagues. The work we do is
hard, but it's easier when you know you're not the only one; one of the best
parts of the past few weeks has been when a friend or colleague will (seemingly
randomly but it always seems to come at just the right moment) e-mail me or
text me the word "Relentless!"</span><span style="color: black;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">It's important to
surround yourself with passionate people; it doesn't even matter if you share
the same passions. Passion, like negativity, is contagious. So surround
yourself with people who inspire you. And if you can't surround yourself with
them (because we all have to deal with people who suck the energy right out of
you), make sure you spend time talking with them, focusing on them, finding out
what they're doing. It sustains you. Well, I know it sustains me. </span><span style="color: black;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">The work we do is hard,
on every level. It</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">’</span><span style="color: black;">s harder still if we don</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">’</span><span style="color: black;">t believe we can make a difference. And feeling like </span><u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://tinybuddha.com/quotes/tiny-wisdom-somewhere-right-now/"><span style="color: blue;">we're all in this
together</span></a></span></u><span style="color: black;"> helps.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">It's about, </span><u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/06/29/be-kind/"><span style="color: blue;">as Plato put it</span></a></span></u><span style="color: black;">, being kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. And
don't forget that "everyone" includes you--be kind to yourself.
Indulging in hope is kind to yourself. Surrounding yourself with people who
inspire you is kind to yourself. Taking a night off is kind to yourself, and makes
the rest of life possible. Acknowledging that you're struggling and asking for
help is kind to yourself. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Relentless optimism is
about taking the long view. Even when you feel like you're shouting into the
void, you have no idea when the echoes will bounce back. There are projects and
ideas that I</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">’</span><span style="color: black;">ve been talking about for what seems like forever, and I was
giving up hope on ever getting traction on them. And now, all of a sudden (but
not really all of a sudden), things are happening. People are responding.
Relationships I</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">’</span><span style="color: black;">ve been cultivating for years are transforming into partnerships. </span><span style="color: black;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">It's about not waiting
for someone else to be the leader. No matter our position, we can all be
leaders. There will always be other people and other factors that influence the
direction of your work, but to cede all the decision making to other people is
neither relentless nor optimistic. </span><span style="color: black;"></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Being optimistic (and
being relentless) is a choice. It's not always the easy one. But the more often
and more deliberately I make it, the easier and more powerful it gets. And I
love watching people around me make that choice, too. Relentless optimism does
not happen in a vacuum. </span><span style="color: black;"></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">And relentless optimism is about so many other things, too. It's
about whatever it needs to be about for you. </span><span style="color: black;"></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">And optimism is, maybe, the wrong word. Maybe it's more about
relentless momentum (which doesn't really have the same ring to it). Forward
motion gives me hope. Acknowledging the struggle is optimistic because it means
you believe that something can be done. Believing in the possibility of change
is the most optimistic thing I can think of. And if you're in education and you
don't believe in the possibility of change, I'd like to kindly ask you to get
out my profession. </span><span style="color: black;"></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">And, perhaps most importantly, it's </span><span style="color: black;">about
yelling "relentless!" at seemingly random moments. As a reminder to
yourself, as a reminder to others, and because it adds a little levity. And
levity is important. </span></span><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"></span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_733570059" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrXoUcOS8pMp_l0h_SqYPjq25HQQKKef46zoaJgwC9R2K2Sww2SXMaMlnp3-0pbscpdxHiumglk0SrWe9ta8Bxab5137WyHxDHXuCJCuT0Q5lFnZp24h4LNlbmeXM3GFd01Ew1wRq7xim_/s320/IMG_0525.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Because every movement needs buttons</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />kmthelibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08173264575828631775noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-104163264540869646.post-74631582112629413572012-04-22T14:53:00.000-04:002012-04-22T14:53:44.288-04:00Things that make me love my jobI'm working on a few big ideas that I've been meaning to write about, but can't seem to make the time and brain space to write about them in the way I want to. It's been a particularly exhausting few weeks, and a time when it's been easy to focus only on what's not working and all the work still left undone. But on my walk this morning (after a glorious nine hours of sleep) I was thinking about some of the projects I've been working on in the last week or two, and realizing that while I am, at times, legitimately frustrated and discouraged, I do have a lot of things to be grateful for.<br />
<br />
1) Signing with Texas<br />
<br />
When I was at Computers in Libraries in DC, I heard Carolyn Foote speak about how teachers in her school were using iPads in their classes, and she mentioned how her school's sign language teacher was using Skype and FaceTime to connect to other schools. My ears immediately perked up; there aren't a lot of schools with ASL programs, but we have one--and a teacher who I thought would love the idea of connecting with another school. And I was right! Last Thursday the two classes Skyped, and I have no words for how awesome it was to watch these two groups of students connect.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/61880489@N06/6948791720/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="L pass O by kmthelibrarian, on Flickr"><img alt="L pass O" height="374" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5462/6948791720_2a6c1fc110.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Learning the sign for El Paso</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
2) My students<br />
<br />
Friday was the <a href="http://dayofsilence.org/">Day of Silence</a>. I was at breakfast Friday morning handing out buttons to student participants, and ribbons and stickers to supporters. Of the 100 buttons we got last year, I had over 50 left over, so I didn't get any new ones this year. But I ran out of buttons, which is the best "problem" I could possibly imagine. I think I had about 70 ribbons, and now I only have two left. My first year here, one student participated in the Day of Silence. To see so many students from diverse social groups take a visible stand for the type of school they want to have gives me "hope for the future" warm fuzzies.<br />
<br />
3) Momentum<br />
<br />
I've been given the go-ahead to start planning some edcamp-style PD for our school, which is something I've been wanting to do for a while. <br />
<br />
4) My colleagues, both near and far<br />
<br />
In a year that's been incredibly busy, exhausting, and at times frustrating, I am incredibly grateful for the support and friendship of my colleagues. I am thankful that Twitter and Facebook and this blog and conferences and so many other opportunities have allowed me to connect with colleagues from all over the country. Those connections are invaluable to me both professionally and personally, but I am most grateful for the colleagues at my school who are "in the trenches" with me on a daily basis.<br />
<br />
I am given almost daily reminders of how incredible the people I work
with are. Their innovation and creativity and passion inspires me. I am
so lucky to work with so many amazing people, and so grateful that they seek me out to share what they're doing in their classrooms.<br />
<br />
As I've been struggling with some challenges in the past few weeks, they
have been there without fail encouraging me, acting as a sounding
board, and letting me know that they believe in me and in what I'm
trying to accomplish. If you are one of those people (and I hope you
know who you are), thank you. So much.<br />
<br />
5) Optimism<br />
<br />
Last week, half in jest, I posted that having examined the available options, I had decided on relentless optimism. Mostly this has consisted of yelling the word "relentless!" every time I or anyone around me starts succumbing to negativity. It is ridiculous. But, I swear to you, it works. Both as a reminder to stay optimistic, and as a way to bring levity and stop the slide into dwelling on what's going wrong. I'm not quite ready to write a self-help book based on this experiment, but I highly recommend it.kmthelibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08173264575828631775noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-104163264540869646.post-66660113621312082582012-04-15T08:58:00.000-04:002012-04-15T08:58:05.330-04:00"Do you ever come in here?"We've just finished up Family Weekend at my school, a marathon two days of parent-teacher conferences and other events. Since I'm not a traditional classroom teacher, I only have a handful of formal conferences. I spend most of my time chatting with parents and directing them towards the right teacher's classrooms.<br />
<br />
Fairly often during the weekend (and this has been true of every Family Weekend I've been here for) a parent will wander into the library with their student, and ask some variation of, "Do you ever come in here?"<br />
<br />
It is usually not an idle question.<br />
<br />
And regardless of how often I actually see the student in the library, I never blow their cover. Because most often the question is not really about how often they come to the library--it's about how serious a student they are. Serious students go to the library. And if that's the perception the student wants their parents to have of them--if that's the perception the student wants to have of themselves--I am more than happy to go along.<br />
<br />
Do I think it's true that serious students go to the library? Yes. And no. I see very serious students who rarely come to the physical library, and not-so-serious students who are in there all the time. But there is, undeniably, a larger cultural image around library use and being "smart."<br />
<br />
My thinking about librarianship and library as place has been shifting in very significant ways over the past few months. But this weekend reminded me that ours is not the only image we need to consider as we talk about the changing role of librarianship.kmthelibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08173264575828631775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-104163264540869646.post-85582146377081209682012-03-29T16:05:00.002-04:002012-03-29T16:05:00.158-04:00My Students in the Rainforest!Long time readers of this blog (hi Mom!) may assume that the title of this blog is a lead up to an analogy. But I'm being quite literal. For the past 20 years, my school has sent a group of students to the Costa Rican Rainforest in order to conduct scientific research. You can read more about the project <a href="http://www.formanschool.org/academics/rain-forest-project">on our website</a>. It's an amazing project in many ways.<br />
<br />
And I'm going to be a part of it! Wendy Welshans, the project leader, approached me right before the group left on this year's expedition and asked if I wanted to go to the rainforest. After clarifying that she meant next year (you never know. . .), I responded with an enthusiastic yes! I'll be going down with them in order to help them share about the research they're doing while they're there. We'll be blogging and sharing photos and videos, hopefully. As you can imagine, it's quite remote, and we're just beginning to figure out the logistics involved.<br />
<br />
For this year, we're working on sharing the results and process of the group that's just returned. We've started a <a href="http://formanrainforestproject.wordpress.com/">Forman Rainforest Project</a> blog, and a <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/76572714@N07/">Flickr group</a> , and a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvrheCxB42pZxiKzulqRseA/videos">YouTube channel</a> (all in the beginning stages, with more to come). The blog includes a separate page for each different project, where we've posted the papers they wrote before heading off to the rainforest, and where we'll eventually share their final dissertations. We'll also be adding interviews with students about their experiences in the rainforest.<br />
<br />
This is where I'd like to enlist your and your students' participation. Please, share <a href="http://formanrainforestproject.wordpress.com/">the blog </a>with teachers and students in your school, and encourage them to comment and ask questions. These students have a ton of great information to share, and their work deserves a wider audience. So share it! Share like crazy! And ask us questions!<br />
<br />
Check out our Flickr slideshow and an awesome video of some leaf cutter ants below--if that doesn't pique your interest, I don't know what will.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YRyxwaCofg8?rel=0" width="560"></iframe>kmthelibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08173264575828631775noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-104163264540869646.post-88214551303579138132012-03-15T18:55:00.000-04:002012-03-15T18:55:35.377-04:00Understanding introvertsI am way, way late on writing up anything from ALA Midwinter, but I told a few people I'd write up my reflections from <a href="http://www.thepowerofintroverts.com/">Susan Cain'</a>s talk about introversion--and I'd also like to write them up in a more formal way for my own reflection purposes. Given the amount of time that's passed however, this is going to be more of a "what she said/what I thought" list rather than something cohesive.<br />
<br />
Cain started by asking everyone in the audience to think about a moment in their childhood that illustrated their introversion or extroversion, then gather in groups of six to share those stories. Everyone shifted uncomfortably for a moment before she said she was kidding. You could feel the entire room relax.<br />
<br />
I think it would be fair to assume that the majority of people in that room were self-identified introverts--and I think we've all been in situations where a speaker actually wanted us to actually do something like that. And then all tried to figure out how to escape. It was nice to have a speaker instead acknowledge how terrifying such requests can be.<br />
<br />
<u>The idealized extrovert:</u><br />
<br />
What Susan Cain had to say:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"><ul><li>In this extroverted world of ours, we all act more extroverted than we really are</li>
<li>We internalize the biases against introverts from a young age</li>
<li>We view introversion as something between a flaw and a pathology</li>
</ul></blockquote>My thoughts:<br />
I know I, as an introvert, internalized biases against introverts. I figured there was something wrong with me because I didn't like being around people all the time--and often find social situations overwhelming. Some of that was shyness, but a lot of it isn't. No one who knows me well who would describe me as shy, but I am definitely still introverted.<br />
<br />
I think part of this is that extroverts are more likely to be public figures--and introverts who are in the public eye put on an extroverted face. Which always makes me think: we're being told extroversion is the ideal--but who are the ones telling us that? Extroverts. So maybe their viewpoint is a wee bit biased. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with being extroverted--just as there's nothing wrong with being introverted. I think these two personality types can exist without value judgments.<br />
<br />
<u>Different kinds of attention:</u><br />
What Susan Cain had to say:<br />
<ul><li>Introverted children absorb information by observing rather than by participating, but they’re still involved.</li>
<li>When given a math problem to solve, introverts performed better when there were low levels of background noise, extroverts performed better when background noise went up.</li>
</ul>This made me think of the constant debate around multitasking, and students' constant insistence that "I work better with music!" I'm also curious about what this looks like for people who have ADD/ADHD or other executive functioning issues. Does more noise still help? Or hinder? I don't know if there's been any research on that, but I hope there will be.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
I also know that I, as an introvert, tend to absorb more by observing than by participating; I think "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27esprit_de_l%27escalier">l'esprit de l'escalier</a>" is the curse of the introvert. In meetings or other groups I am often so busy trying to absorb and process what's happening that it's not until we've moved on (or the meeting is over) that I'm ready to respond. Given the option, I prefer asynchronous communication on group projects--or at least the ability to follow up in writing afterwards (writing helps me figure out my thinking on a topic). Unfortunately, following up with an e-mail about something you "should" have shared in a meeting is often viewed as weak or passive-aggressive (and this is not me projecting insecurities--I've had people tell me this). I've tried to get better in these situations about at least speaking up to say, "I need to think more about this; I'll follow up with my thoughts in an e-mail later."<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<u>Lessons for teachers and schools:</u><br />
What Susan Cain had to say:<br />
<ul><li>Classrooms used to mostly involve individual work; focus has tilted almost too much to group work. We need to have room for both. </li>
<li>We do a good job facilitating the needs of extroverts; we need to be better at facilitating the needs of introverts</li>
<li>Small groups (managed well) can be good for both introverts and extroverts. </li>
<li>People learn well in groups, but that’s not the full picture; in real life, these groups are different than the “ideal model” being studied. And really, we learn best 1-to-1</li>
<li>Introverted students love to work independently and autonomously, and it drains their energy in order to have to work as an extrovert. </li>
<li>In our push away from “one size fits all” education, are we just trying to cram students into a different mold when the old size actually fit them well?</li>
<li>We need balance. And we need room for both.</li>
<li>Solitude is an important catalyst to creativity, and introverts are comfortable with solitude. </li>
</ul>My thoughts:<br />
<br />
The more we value collaboration in school, what is the impact on our introverted students? I think it's vital that we create ways for both extroverts and introverts to play to their strengths--and to stretch a bit beyond their comfort zone. Collaboration is, I believe, important to learning, but there are different ways to collaborate. Asynchronous collaboration is possible; it doesn't all have to be active group work.<br />
<br />
I also think this needs to impact the way we teach and manage our classrooms. Having "active" classrooms is great for extroverts, but overwhelming for introverts. It's important to create room for quiet, too. Just as introverts can benefit from developing the ability to be more active in groups, extroverts can benefit from developing the ability to sit and be still. <br />
<br />
Cain also said something else that made me think about how I, personally, work in a school setting. She said that introverts prefer to devote social energies to people they know well. I think this is, likely, why I like working in a small school--working with fewer people, it's possible to develop meaningful working relationships with a higher percentage of the people you work with. And given that librarianship, at least in my mind, is about relationships (more on that in an upcoming post), being able to build those relationships is important. I'm sure I could build those relationships in a bigger school, but building them with a greater percentage of my colleagues feels more possible for me in a small school.<br />
<br />
<u>General takeaways:</u><br />
<ul><li>We are losing out on the skills and talents of introverts by compelling them to pretend to be extroverted. <br />
Introverts are social beings, too. We just express it differently. <br />
Extroverts seize the day, introverts make sure there is another day to seize.</li>
<li>Everyone shines, given the right lighting. For some it’s a Broadway spotlight, for others it is a lamplit desk.</li>
<li>Collaboration between introverts and extroverts can be powerful. Each brings different strengths. </li>
<li>I’m not saying John Donne was wrong and man is an island after all. We need each other.</li>
<li>We need a world where it is culturally permissible to go off and be quiet. At work and at school. </li>
<li>We need to let our children know that it is okay to be introverted</li>
</ul>That last one is the big takeaway for me. We need to stop teaching--directly and indirectly--that extroversion is the ideal, and introverts better learn to measure up to it. Or we're all going to miss out.kmthelibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08173264575828631775noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-104163264540869646.post-91460277770646426712012-03-02T12:31:00.000-05:002012-03-02T12:31:11.330-05:00One School, Many BooksMy students have all headed off for Spring Break--a welcome break for all involved! I'm relieved to be on break (goal for break: get my sleep back in functioning condition), but also excited about what will be happening when students come back from break.<br />
<br />
We started a program I'm calling "One School, Many Books" this year. I'd long been interested in doing a One School One Book program, but had no idea what book I would choose for such a program. As a result of working in a very small school with students with very diverse reading interests, all of my top ten checkouts have checkout totals in the single digits. What book could I possibly choose? Especially since much of my population is comprised of VERY reluctant readers. If the book doesn't appeal to them, there's no way they're going to even give it a shot.<br />
<br />
But then I started thinking about what could motivate students to read a book over Spring Break. And I realized, as with so many other things, it's about making connections between people. A student who might not be interested in reading a book (or only have a passing interest in reading a book) might be more interested if reading that book was tied to a book club being hosted by one of their favorite teachers. <br />
<br />
We have an amazing faculty here, and several of them stepped up right away to host book clubs. Each of them have different interests, and connect with different kids, and so picked out very different books. Which I love. We've got groups reading The Hunger Games, The Art of Racing in the Rain, Lola and the Boy Next Door, Gentlemen and Trapped.<br />
<br />
Once I announced the book clubs, students would come in looking for "the book that Ms. _______ is reading." Didn't matter the book, they wanted to spend time with the teacher. They knew the teacher, liked the teacher, assumed<br />
<br />
We're building on relationships that already exist in order to foster a love of reading. And it's really cool to watch it happening.<br />
<br />
As part of this, we're hosting a visit from Michael Northrop (author of Gentlemen and Trapped) in April. Handing out those books to kids has been particularly cool. "This is mine to keep? Do you think he'll sign it for me? Awesome!"<br />
<br />
In honor of that visit--and in the interest of generating more interest in those books, I made a couple book trailers.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bFCWH4oukdg?rel=0" width="560"></iframe><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7CVkYERga-I?rel=0" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
I love making book trailers, as it pushes me to think in ways I don't usually think. "Thinking in pictures" is generally a weakness for me, but many of my students connect really well with images, so it's a skill I work on a lot--and making book trailers is a really fun way to develop that skill set. I use <a href="http://flickrcc.bluemountains.net/flickrCC/index.php">flickrCCBlueMountains</a> for images, and have recently added <a href="http://photopin.com/">PhotoPin</a> to my "go to" sites for CC images. I use <a href="http://www.jamendo.com/en/">Jamendo</a> for music, and I don't know what I'd do without it.<br />
<br />
Overall we have about 30 (out of 180) kids involved in the book clubs in some way. I'm looking forward to the book club discussions that will be happening after break!kmthelibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08173264575828631775noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-104163264540869646.post-74781220904081904022012-02-13T00:08:00.001-05:002012-02-13T13:11:05.228-05:00I'm not "just" anythingI have been kind of completely and totally overwhelmed at the response to my most recent post; it's amazing to me that something I wrote could resonate with so many people. What's been even more gratifying is the conversations I've been able to have with people about the role and perceptions of school librarians. <br />
<br />
In that post I hinted at--but did not make entirely clear--one of the two words that bothers me most when we talk about images of libraries and librarians.<br />
<br />
That word: make.<br />
<br />
The point I didn't make clearly enough in that post is that I have no problem at all with the doing what we can to help educators, administrators, and legislators understand what we do and why it's important. I think we should demonstrate, I think we should teach, I think we should share, I think we should tell. I think we should be very deliberate and purposeful about taking our lights out from under the bushel. But those are not the words I most often hear--the word I hear more often than not is "make"--and as a reader and recovering English teacher, I know that verbs matter.<br />
<br />
I know, of course, that other parts of speech matter, too. Which brings me to the other word I hear again and again in these discussions, and that bothers me even more.<br />
<br />
Just.<br />
<br />
As in "more than just a librarian." Or "more than just books." That we need to "make" people see that we're more than "just" librarians.<br />
<br />
I am often described by colleagues as being "more than just a librarian" and while I know they're trying to be complimentary, it always makes me cringe. Is there something wrong with being "just" a librarian?<br />
<br />
It just seems so. . . dismissive. As if being a librarian isn't much to be impressed by.<br />
<br />
It seems that people are looking for a term that encompasses more than traditional, stereotypical definitions of what a librarian is. In school libraries in particular, they seem to want a word that encompasses both teacher and librarian--and the term they most often go for seems to be "media specialist." For the record, I hate the term media specialist.<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"> I think it makes me sound like a PR consultant. Not that there's anything wrong with being a PR consultant--it's just not what I am. </span><br />
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"> </span><br />
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">We seem to be in a bit of a "redefinition phase" and I think we need to be really thoughtful about the roles we're playing as people make up their minds about the terms they use to describe us, and the definitions attached to those terms. The dictionary definitions of librarian are vague enough that it's really up to us. And beyond the dictionary, it really is up to us as librarians to define who we are and what we do; we won't be able to "make" anyone have a particular definition of librarianship, but our actions will determine the limits of that defintion.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">I really hope that the end result of these growing pains is not a new name for what I do, but a new definition of the term librarian. I don't want the idea of librarianship to be limited by "just"; I want to expand the limits of traditional definitions. </span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">I worry, too, about the use of the word "just" when we talk about being about "more than just books." </span><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">Even though what I do extends far beyond paper books, I don't think that the work I do with connecting readers and books (no matter their format) is anything to be dismissed; it's important work, and it's work I love.</span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">I've heard other school librarians use the term "more than just a librarian" too (usually in the context of "how do we make them see we're more that just librarians). I always find this a little dispiriting--if we won't own the title, how can expect anyone else to?</span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">I don't want a new name for what I do. I love being a school librarian, and I think that title fits perfectly for what I do and who I am. </span>Rather than looking for a term that means more than "just" a librarian and encompasses all that we do, I would love to see us broaden the definition of librarian to include all that we know librarians do. <br />
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I am not "just" anything. I am a school librarian. No more, no less.kmthelibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08173264575828631775noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-104163264540869646.post-18290653330241393462012-02-06T13:03:00.000-05:002012-02-06T13:03:28.054-05:00"You're not really a librarian"The other day I got into an "argument" with a student about whether or not I was really a librarian. His position was that I wasn't a librarian--I was actually a teacher who happened to have an office in the library.<br />
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It was a weird discussion to be having. As the conversation continued, it became clear that he was, in no small part, trying to annoy me. But I don't think the original statement was meant just to taunt me. We ended up trying to pull in other students to make our respective cases--his that I wasn't a librarian, mine that I really was. The general consensus seemed to be that I was definitely a librarian. And probably also a teacher. <br />
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I was thinking about the discussion I had with him, and with other students, in light of one of the phrases I so often hear when it comes to changing the perception/image of school librarians:<br />
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"how do we <i>make</i> them see that librarians [fill in the blank]"<br />
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This was not a student I know particularly well, nor have I worked with him a lot. He's new to the school this year. There's nothing I've done to try and "make" him see anything. I've just been doing my job the same way I've been doing it for years, and he came to his own conclusions.<br />
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We will never "make" anyone understand anything about school librarianship. We will do our jobs, and people will come to conclusions. It is frustrating that our colleagues, our administrators, and our legislators don't always understand our jobs. But there is no position statement or pamphlet that will truly change that. They are carrying with them perceptions of school librarians formed when they were in school.<br />
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If we concentrate on our students, our future colleagues, administrators and legislators won't need to be "made" to see anything. They will carry with them the perceptions of school librarians they are forming right now. Which is why we need to hold ourselves--and each other--to a high standard. Unfortunately, there are school librarians out there who are not doing us any favors when it comes to the perceptions of school librarians students will carry into the future.<br />
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I have met librarians who say, "this tech stuff is interesting, but it has nothing to do with my job." Or, "collaborating with teachers just takes too much time." Or librarians who express, in dozens of little ways, their general disinterest in students who don't come naturally motivated when it comes to reading and research.<br />
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We don't know which students in our library today are going to be future teachers, administrators, or legislators--but I guarantee their rosters are going to include today's unmotivated or struggling students who don't feel welcome in their school library. And by the time they're adults, there's nothing we will be able to do to "make" them change their perception. The only time we have for that is right now, with the students in our schools.<br />
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I don't know what to do about school librarians who are unconcerned with the perceptions their students are forming about libraries. It's a bigger issue than I feel equipped to address. So in the meantime I go to my library, and I do my job. And if my students graduate thinking of a school librarian as "a teacher who has an office in the library," I like to think I've done a pretty good job.kmthelibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08173264575828631775noreply@blogger.com34