Three Apologies and One Statement

Dear Librarian,

I am sorry that flexible scheduling has been eliminated in your library. You are correct, being a part of a specials rotation is not ideal for library programs. As someone speaking from experience, I know that trying to collaborate with teachers when you are their break planning period is exceedingly difficult. Still, I cannot help but be excited about the opportunities that present themselves with the ability to interact with young learners on a regular basis. It may not be the best situation, but our job is to make it the best possible situation.

I apologize if I sound angry when really I am saddened and frustrated. What I want to convey here is a sense of deep professional regret at the prospect of 15-20 minutes of makework used to fill the time allotment of a fixed schedule. This is a squandering of 10 hours of our students’ time each year – a full month of school days by the end of high school. Forget asking whether fixed or flexible scheduling is best for students. I can assure you that wasting 10 hours on worksheets is not best for students.

It is unfortunate that not every state/district/building has adopted a library and information skills curriculum. There are, however, many exemplars out there which can be quietly adopted to guide the development of units. Topics addressed for primary grades in these documents include copyright, research skills, understanding about different types of books, identification of real vs. imaginary, and more. In addition, many states/districts/buildings are looking to their teacher-librarians to teach the technology skills that are so intertwined with today’s information literacy skills. So add identifying keywords, keeping information safe, producing media and using technology to the list of topics to be covered in primary grades.

Though I will apologize for my clumsy way of expressing this, I will not express regret for my strong belief that teacher-librarians need to be teachers. The teacher part of being a teacher-librarian means putting the needs of students first in our constant drive for the end goal of student success. If students are privileged enough to receive instruction from a certified teacher-librarian for 45 minutes a week, then it is our job to make it the best possible instruction.

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