Donaldson_Christine_Blog #7_Free Choice

This class has improved many aspects of how I read to my students. I was a confident storyteller to begin with but there have been aspects that have improved the experience I create. I employed voices regularly, but I did not use props. These are great additions, and, in most cases, there are easy ways to use props. I had always thought that elaborate puppets and felt pieces were the norm, but the class has shown me that there are a variety of items that can be used. Commonly found items can be used that emphasize the story and bring something the students can really see and analyze into your story. Simple items can be used, and the younger audiences really benefit from the addition of props. Singing and rhymes have always come naturally so those aspects of storytelling have been present in my stories from the start. Storytelling is a blast but there are some aspects of librarianship that MLIS classes cannot prepare you for.  

We are busy and there is never enough time in a day, week, or year to accomplish all that we want. I walked into my first job apprehensive but ready to tackle everything. What I could not tackle was finding more time to accomplish the tasks I wanted. Yes, I knew I would be busy, but I had no idea how busy. Part of this is the combination of finishing up my master’s degree, teaching, lesson plans, and family. There were a number of things that took up more time than I had anticipated. Some of these extra tasks or interruptions that took up more time than I was expecting were purchasing books, technology, schedule interruptions, class time interruptions, and lesson planning. Many of these things are not daily occurrences but they happen often enough that it takes some extra planning to stay ahead of everything. 

Some of the various interruptions that can occur are “the pee pee disease”, technology issues, class coverage, and extra meetings. The “pee pee disease” strikes when one student needs to use the bathroom and four more suddenly also need the bathroom. Teachers remind students to go before activity but four- and five-year-olds still forget or are too excited. My room is carpeted so accidents are to be avoided. No one prepares you for children who need the bathroom as often as the younger students. It is sometimes comical how many have an emergency after one student does. It is frustrating and depending on your classroom location, it can be a problem. This really has no great solution but a gentle question of holding on for five or ten minutes until a break in the lesson will usually help most forget that the need is there.  

The number of meetings and additional commitments outside of the library focused items that happen in a school is astounding. You are asked to be a part of a few committees, help with the yearbook, create daily news shows, provide class coverage, attend IEPs, and laminate things. Libraries have a slightly more flexible space and schedule which puts us at the top of the list to help out with these things. This year the only one that I really feel unprepared for is the daily news show. There has been a steep learning curve and lots of feedback has helped improved things, but you want to have student involvement, except it is just plain faster to do it yourself. I probably spend an hour and a half or more each week creating these, and I knew it was a part of the job, I just did not think it would consume as much time as it has. 

Technology consumes a big chunk of time. Distribution and collection take up massive amounts of time at the beginning and end of the year, but the ongoing issues also are time consuming. Issuing devices to new students takes time as you wait for all their information to be transferred to the various databases. Assisting with device set up and making sure the students can have a positive start at the new school is vital and usually falls to the librarian to make that transition as smooth as possible. Librarians trouble shoot issues and try to fix the minor items before anything goes off for repair. When students have technology issues, they are missing a vital tool to complete many school tasks. Many schools use Seesaw or Google Classroom and if students cannot access these applications, they cannot do their work. Our society and our schools are very dependent on devices, and it is the librarian's job to be sure these tools work. How can you teach or learn when the tools you need are unavailable.  While I know my lessons are important, so are the classroom teachers. Finding the patience to resolve issues while continuing your own lessons can test the patience of many. There are various opinions about how to handle these situations with few perfect answers. I have learned to multitask and try the basic troubleshooting techniques and if those fail, send students back with my apologies and assurances that I will look at it later. One more note on technology. There is not enough time in a year to keep up with all the latest apps, updates, gizmos, robots, or websites. I think I need a yearly technology cliffs notes to have any hope of keeping up with my students and what is online.  

Lesson Plans are time consuming. Yes, I can write a lesson plan quickly but then there are Google Slides to create, a worksheet to go with our book so the students are occupied while they check out books, copies, and revisions when you have the occasional lesson flop. There are a ton of resources out there, but we all have our particular way we want to present things and creating that plan takes time. I combined two grades, so I only need to plan half as many lessons, but this still takes much longer than expected. The ideas I find usually require some adaptation to fit the plan I have. You must also consider that we have the AASL standards on how to teach materials but not really all the topics we should cover. We can teach all the basic library lessons like Dewey, ABC order, digital citizenship, and everything else under the library umbrella but we are also asked to assist the classroom teachers with their standards. The library is a good place to reinforce standards, but this adds to the complexity of lesson plans and the time required to create lesson plans that are meaningful and engaging. Teachers Pay Teachers is a great resource, but it is also a rabbit hole I often fall into as I search for that one perfect lesson. 

Purchasing books is incredibly time consuming. Reading reviews, choosing who to purchase books from, optimizing your budget, cataloging purchases, and developing an up-to-date collection with relevant and current titles all consume more time than I ever imagined. I work in a rural conservative district and while we purchase materials that are diverse, for some topics, subtle is better. Finding those subtle titles takes time. To find those titles, reading reviews or reading the title is required. Weeks could be spent searching and reading. Once again time becomes the issue. I was at a recent media specialist meeting in my district and a few librarians have stopped buying award winners and nominees as they are pushing the boundaries too far for their communities. This made me sad, but I also understand. I am also taking Young Adult Materials right now and we have had a discussion about how the age range of young adult materials has changed. What had an age range of 12-18 and has now expanded to 12-20. There is a vast difference in what are appropriate topics for 12- and 13-year-olds versus 18–20-year-olds.  Middle grade fiction is where I focus but more and more adult themes are making their way into YA lit thus also filtering down to middle grade titles. Parents seem to place schools on a pedestal, and we must ensure that students are sheltered and not exposed to anything that is minutely controversial. We must be prepared to defend our purchases and develop a collection that is both diverse and relevant. We have been given the resources to accomplish this, many of us just cannot find the time to dedicate to developing that collection the way we want.  

Current Reading List

Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers and Adapted by Amy Novesky

The Emperor's New Clothes by Hans Christian Anderson and translated by Naomi Lewis

Rumpelstiltskin by Jonathan Langley

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

The Witches by Roald Dahl

The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis