10.19.2013

Writing the SLO's

As I'm writing out my "student learning outcomes", I'm trying to put all the pieces of my work together.  I know some people would think this is just drudgery: picking through files and folders to find the appropriate work to match the outcome.  For me, however, it's a bit of a walk down memory lane.  I've been thinking about all the great classes I've had or the those little "a-ha" moments that happened when working on a paper.  It's those times that I remember why I wanted to be in this profession and still continue to be fascinated by it.  

I'm happy to be ending the degree program this fall, but am going to miss those schedule moments of learning.  Those times when I knew I would be with all those other folks who were just as interested and passionate about the profession as I am.  I think that's why so many people love conferences because it's the one time that we are together and "get" each other!

Okay...back to organizing and sorting!  A librarian's job is never done ; )

Cheers,

Amy

10.16.2013

Capstone...working towards the light

It's been difficult, to say the least, to sit and work on my capstone over the past few weeks.  I have a lot of catching up to do!  I finally wrote my PDP - prof. dev. plan on the blog.  You can check it out under the "PDP" tab.

It probably seems like I whipped this out in 30 minutes but I've actually been writing it in my head for weeks.  My future as a public school librarian is uncertain these days.  I'm not afraid to say that here, but it's hard to say that on a PDP when I need to project my goals and desires for a path I'm not even sure I want to keep moving on.  I have not enjoyed my elem. school experience.  No one tells you how challenging a fixed schedule really is and NO ONE tells you the reality - you are the planning period for the teacher and they don't care about collaborating with you.

That's the truth.  I said it, so help me God.

While I know there are teachers and principals out there who see the benefits of flexible scheduling, it's not happening at my school or many in my county.  As school librarians, we struggle; we lament; we curse; we blame; and at the end of the day we really want to do more for our students but it's really a challenge to get anything done.

Teachers will tell you that the school librarian has it easy.  We don't have to worry about grading.  We only see a class for 45-minutes so we should be able to suffer through even the worst.  We don't have to deal with parents or homework.  AND...I can't forget...that we are not being evaluated on how well our students do on the state standardized tests.

And I agree with those teachers...except for the "easy" part.

There is nothing "easy" about being a school librarian.  We don't have a formalized curriculum because we are supposed to be teaching information skills in collaboration with THEM.  We are to be working together not in silos.

But that isn't happening at most schools and it's sad.  So I've decided to do what I can, hone my skills as best as I can and not worry about the rest.  Come January, my resume will be ready to hit the Internet waves and I will be open to the possibilities of a new adventure someplace else.

Cheers.

9.29.2013

Excuse the mess...

While I'm in the process of ending my graduate school career, I'm working on transferring my information (PDP, resume, portfolio, etc.) to my blog.  Soooo...it's messy.  I don't like a mess.  I'm going through book fair at school right now and my desk is a mess.  My library is not a mess but in book fair land so sort of a "mess".  My house needs to be cleaned - it's a mess by my standards.  And sometimes, life is just messy, messy, messy!

So please excuse the mess.  I find that as I get older, I get more OCD about things like white space and clean countertops.  : ) However, it's in the midst of mess that I find what I'm looking for:

  • keys to my long forgotten bike lock
  • that really cool picture my son made back in May at school
  • a great lesson plan idea I wanted to try last spring and
  • myself.


Sometimes a mess is just necessary.  So please excuse the mess.  I'm a work in progress.

Cheers,

A

9.23.2013

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

I can't believe it's been almost a whole year since I last wrote a post, but that's what happens when one is doing grad school, new school librarian job and raising a family! It's been a crazy time and thankfully, I'm finishing my MLIS journey this year.

WHOO HOOOO!!!!!!!

I've rounded the bases and am nearing home plate. I can't tell you how good that feels to be almost free and in the clear.

I was reading my post from last December 2012...I really need to go back and read that again and again. There are so many truths in what I wrote that day that I have forgotten. Being a school librarian is "such a lonely job" to quote Ms. Lotta Scales (Thanks Ms. Deedy for understanding our profession!).  The hats that I wear each day - technologist, teacher, cataloger, analyst, writer, events coordinator, financial manager, collection developer, book reviewer,...it just gets exhausting some days and I didn't even mention my real title: LIBRARIAN.  Some days, I just want to be MOM...which has it's only specialty areas that include some of the above mentioned but at least it's to only 2 children.

I'm going to keep working on my blog now that I will have more time.  There are some really great lessons I've learned and I'd like to keep sharing what I'm learning.  The journey doesn't end with my grad school career.  It's only just beginning...

Cheers,

A