ETL504 – Seoul Learning

Assessment 2_Part B: Reflection

Several years ago I remember a teacher librarian (TL) telling me that she loved her job because she got to “hide” because “nobody knows what I do”. I rarely saw her leave the library space and as a very busy subject teacher, I didn’t understand her role. The teacher librarian (TL) as a leader never crossed my mind until two years before I started the Masters of Education (TL) course. That is when a new TL started at our school and she was everywhere, as explained in my blog post (Seewald, 2021, May 18). It changed my stereotypical perception of TLs and inspired me to look at a change in direction for myself.

I have had a lot of ‘aha’ moments throughout the unit, not just about the role of the TL, but in general about leadership. Coming into the course, I had strong opinions about the traits and attributes of a ‘good leader’ as listed in my first blog post (Seewald, 2021, Mar 2). When I read this post again recently, I realised that much on my list belonged to a transformational leadership style – I just didn’t have the understanding of the theory and the terminology for it then! Reading about leadership styles and their role in change management put my own experience as a head of department into perspective (Seewald, 2021, Apr 22).

Like other fellow students, (Kenna, 2021, Apr 18), I had been uncomfortable about the idea of servant leadership. However, I realised that I had focused on the word ‘servant’ rather than ‘leadership’. As I was reading through forum posts, I noticed how intertwined the styles are. For example, reading Bourne’s post I noticed that she had blended instructional leadership and servant leadership (Bourne, personal communication, 2021, Apr 26). Without the awareness of the opportunities to collaborate and the sensitivity of choices made within that collaborative time, instructional leadership will only go so far. Without servant leadership to complement, instructional leadership may leave some hesitant and uncertain staff members behind. In particular within a change process, when teachers may already feel outside of their comfort zones, servant leadership becomes crucial. I was struck recently by these words: “leaders do not command excellence – they build excellence” (Williams, 2006, p. 5). A servant leader is a builder – without time invested in the foundations, (listening to concerns, seeking to reassure with practical support or with the latest research etc.), the structure will never be as strong as it could be. Thus, servant leadership comes from a position of strength, not weakness!

To sum it up, leadership for a TL truly is complex (Green, 2011, p. 22) and an excellent leader knows when to adapt (or mix up) their styles. Research has shown that teachers are more willing to collaborate with a TL if they can see their influence as leaders, and if they have taken initiative in the past (Lance in Branch & Odberg, 2001, p. 9). I think about the TL mentioned at the beginning of this post, and I wonder how she was able to influence and inspire staff members and students. I’m reminded me of the words of Phillips and Paatsch in regards to TLs; “remove the cloak of invisibility!” (2011, p. 33).

Moving forward, although I am still a subject teacher, I continue to look for opportunities to broaden my horizons and learn from TLs (Seewald, personal communication, 2021, May 19). Being on the Oz-TL listserv has been excellent – it represents all aspects of the TL’s diverse role. Just yesterday, excellent resources for embedding the International Baccalaureate’s Approaches to Learning skills were posted. It was just another example of how TLs are perfectly positioned to lead change in order to develop 21st century skills in teachers and students. Even though there will be personal challenges ahead (Seewald, 2021, Apr 27), I am so excited for when I will be able to do this too.

References

Branch, J. L., & Oberg, D. (2001). The teacher-librarian in the 21st century: The teacher-librarian as instructional leader. School Libraries in Canada, 21(2), 9-11.

Green, G. (2011). Learning leadership through the school library. ACCESS, 25(4), 22-26.

Phillips, G., & Paatsch, L. (2011). The invisible librarian: Why doesn’t literacy mention libraries. Practically Primary, 16(3), 31-33.

Siren, K. (2020). Reflection. [Photograph]. Flickr. https://tinyurl.com/jb7f5pe8

Williams, J. L. (2006). Leadership: Shaping the future of the profession. Knowledge Quest, 34(5), 4-6.

Reflection for Module 6.3

It is the middle of report writing and you overhear two teacher colleagues complaining about the light teaching and reporting load of the teacher librarian. Pick one to reflect on in your blog that draws on your learning about leadership this session to build productive partnerships.

I chose this scenario because to my shame, I have been guilty of it. This was many years ago, well before I had any understanding of the role of a teacher librarian (TL). As a subject teacher, my thoughts changed when I moved to a new school at the same time a new TL started. She was EVERYWHERE. I had never seen this happen. No hiding, no shushing – absolutely none of the stereotypes in my mind. She was in classrooms, she sat on the senior leadership team of the high school. She was regularly asked to sit on staff feedback panels and on potential employee interviews. She didn’t hide at Parent Teacher Conference night. She coordinated the IB Extended Essay process in tandem with the IB DP coordinator. She was the first point of call for any referencing issues. Students would say “I’m not sure what I’m looking for but it’s kinda like this….” and she would find it (or teach them how). Our academic subscription databases increased and were compiled more effectively. As a subject teacher, her involvement in so many different areas of the school and her advocacy of the school library was so very visible. It was really due to her that I started to think that I could follow in her footsteps. I loved the look of the diverse nature of her job. The library had come alive. Now that I am undertaking a Masters of Ed Teacher Librarianship course, I see what she was really doing (and much more besides) – the theory and rationale behind her practice.

With this background in mind, how would I handle the above scenario as a TL? If I overheard this complaint, I think the wisest course of action would be not to confront the teachers at that moment – it could possibly inflame the situation and lead to a fruitless comparison of schedules. A quick word of retort in this scenario may damage any possibility of a future working partnership, to the detriment of the students.

Instead, I think I’d have to sit down and really think. What has led them to believe the TL has a light load? Have I not advocated for the library enough? Am I not visible enough? Where am I spending my time? In fact, the more I think about it, overhearing such comments would provide a good opportunity for reflection. It may be uncomfortable, but maybe I would have to analyse in what ways I can promote visibility better. (Boyd, 2021, Korodaj, (2019) and Jones provide guidance here). It could be that there are gaps that I could be more proactive in, to increase staff understanding about what a TL does through the library. Or it could be that some teachers just really don’t want to understand what a TL does. This happens (and in my experience, usually it is the same teachers who are more cynical towards the structures, processes and other staff members around them.)

After reflecting, and no matter what the conclusions, I think I would actively reach out to the teachers who I overheard, asking if they would like to collaborate on any upcoming units, would be interested in literary learning resource kits, would like help with planning assessment rubrics for research tasks etc. I could begin the conversation by saying “I noticed that you were doing XYZ…and I thought of an article that might be of interest to you….” Maybe this wouldn’t work at all, but I think it demonstrates servant leadership. Coming alongside, asking questions, being willing to listen, and to support in a very practical manner. Generally, just being available and indicating to the teacher an open door. Fingers crossed, it might make a small dent in their negative perceptions of the role of a TL. With these actions, it may open up the way to a future positive, productive relationship with these teachers.

References

Boyd, K. C. Advocacy 2021 style and beyond. Knowledge Quest 49(4), pp. 26-31.

Jones, A. (n.d). School library advocacy resources. Live Oak Middle Library. https://www.lomlibrary.org/library-advocacy.html

Korodaj, L. (2019). The library as ‘third space’ in your school. Scan, 38(10), pp. 2-9.

Mary1826. (n.d.). Speaker. Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/illustrations/speaker-lecturer-speech-conference-2148213/

The worth of a social media network in leadership: A very personal challenge

CreativeTools.se – Twitter bird standing on branch – Close-up. (2011). Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/33907867@N02/5360884710

I have been thinking a lot recently about the role of the TL and technology, in particular, social media. This is quite personal to write about, but I had a nasty experience with Facebook over 10 years ago and since then have not been on any social media. I know this is hard to believe, but no FB, no Twitter, no Instagram etc. People think I’m crazy (in particular my 16 year old son) but I have been happy with this – it was my choice and I choose to communicate with friends via Whatsapp and good old fashioned email and voice calls. Professionally, I have limited myself to subscribing to a wide range of blogs, practitioner websites and extensively use the school library’s subscriptions to online subject magazines and databases. I am available to students via Google Classroom/Hangouts/Zoom/Gmail.

But I keep reading how important it is for TL leadership to develop a social/professional network for learning, for support, to share new ideas, to promote the library to the community, to advocate for the library (Fleming, 2106; National Library of New Zealand n.d.; Softlink, 2020)

Throughout this Masters course I have increasingly become aware that I have a decision to make. Reading Weisburg’s Leadership: There is no other option really hit home. Weisburg (2020) takes a tough love approach and confronts excuses and fears with common sense, encouragement and a challenge – to be a full advocate and leader of a learning space that is at the forefront of 21st century learning – this is what you need to do.

I’m not yet working in a library, but I really hope to make the leap from classroom teacher to TL. In order to do this I need to have a digital voice, a digital presence beyond the school library webpage, school email and Google Classroom/Hangouts. I need to take a deep breath and take the plunge. Although this is personally challenging, I realise that to be a leader I need to make choices that push me outside my comfort zone. I need to model risk taking and a growth mindset but to be smart about it (privacy settings on etc.) In doing so, I’ll be more empathic to my colleagues and students when they are faced with their own areas of discomfort and be able to practice genuine servant leadership.

References

Fleming, L. (2016, September 27). The power of a school library hashtag. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/power-of-school-library-hashtag-laura-fleming

National Library of New Zealand. (n.d.). Social media and the school library. National Library of New Zealand. https://natlib.govt.nz/schools/school-libraries/library-services-for-teaching-and-learning/your-school-library-online/social-media-and-the-school-library

Softlink. (2020, June 29). Social media ideas for the school library. https://www.softlinkint.com/blog/social-media-rise-your-school-library/

Weisburg, H. K. (2020). Leadership: There is no other option. Synergy, 18(1).

Leading from the middle and conflict

These are the results from the conflict style test that we were asked to take. As I reflect on my only experience of mid-level leadership (Head of Department for grades 9-12, ten staff members in the department), I think the results are fairly accurate. We seemed to have a lot of conflict between individuals of the department as well as between some members of the department and the assistant principal and principal. When I took over as HoD, the road had been very rocky for the department in the previous years with factions and divisions.

Leading this group was challenging. I had no previous experience, nor was mentored in any way. The high school principal did not follow through with the more difficult conversations that I know needed to be had with underperforming, deliberately obstructive and negative staff members.

When dealing with conflict, I always took an active listening approach, and would let colleagues talk (in many cases, rant!) about their point of view before asking clarifying questions. I was always willing to mediate between two people (although this often resulted in just ping-ponging back and forth). Compromise and collaboration were always my preferred ways of moving forward. However, I feel really let down by the senior leadership in the high school as there was only so much I could do with the varied issues brought to my attention. Yes, I could listen, yes I could mediate, yes, I could take on more work/duties to relieve others of the burden, yes, I could bring individuals together and try and hold them accountable. But I was not in a position of ‘power’ to change structures, to really challenge a colleague’s attitude towards work and missed meetings, or to effectively advocate for more staffing. I feel that being a mid-level leader in this situation led to a dead end. I do know for sure that the members of my team felt ‘heard’ by myself (they said this repeatedly) but they would resign themselves to me not being heard by the senior leadership.

I am saddened by what I experienced and saddened by the knowledge that the HoD who came after me also experienced the same thing and resigned the position after one year. I learnt a great deal from my experience and can reflect on what I did well, and the conversations and situations I would now have approached differently. This unit has helped me to better understand the styles of leadership and to put labels to where I had (previously) no words of description. This helps put the experience into perspective and my local context. I am heartened that the school is now taking mid level leadership more seriously, and a forward thinking and intuitive assistant principal is currently running a mid level leadership course which has been received enthusiastically and very well attended.

Teacher Librarian as Leader: initial thoughts

A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves. —Lao Tzu

I’ve just read through the readings for Module 2, and watched the video clips in regards to organisational and leadership theories. Some of these are new to me, some theories I recognise. At only a superficial level, it seems that there is some overlap between some of the theories of leadership, with shared elements. This becomes a little confusing then – for example, what really sets servant leadership and distributed leadership apart?

Before I get too far into ETL504, I wanted to establish my ideas of a ‘good leader’ (in a school context) based on my own experiences.

Some of the attributes and practices of a good leader:

: has an open door policy

: listens, listens, listens and then asks clarifying questions

: gives credit where credit is due and seeks to encourage at every opportunity

: is not afraid of (and has skill with) having ‘difficult conversations’ and is willing to make the tough decisions

: is conflict resilient, recognizing that not everything may be solved at once and seeks to see the perspectives of individuals

: is not afraid to say they have made a mistake

: is transparent in dealings with staff

: is a good, timely, communicator (no last minute decisions/changes if they can be avoided)

: is open to constructive criticism and is knowledgeable about their own strengths and weaknesses

: has a deep knowledge of, and passion for, the sector they are working in

: ensures quality professional development for their colleagues, as well as themselves so they are up to date with 21st century teaching and learning practices

: mentors mid level leaders

: not only manages the present but has a vision (and can effectively strategize towards this vision) of the future

: has student learning and growth at the heart of every decision

: if working at an IB school, models the Learner Profile attributes

I have not worked in a school library (yet), but I understand that Teacher Librarians (TLs) need to model leadership. They are the knowledge experts of the information world, and as such transcend classrooms and subjects – a dynamic library is what links us all together. My initial thoughts of areas of leadership that a TL could (should?) be involved in are:

: Supporting people with diverse needs coming from diverse age groups (leadership attributes here would require active listening, advocating for students/teachers/community, knowledgeable in how to access/source information needed)

: A leader in curriculum development (as outlined by the Australian School Library Association, 2014)

: A leader in 21st century learning in regards to information literacy and research

: A TL needs to be a leader of his/her team if they have people working with them in the library.

: A leader in highlighting current/new technological developments and being able to support others in learning how to use them

: A leader in modelling and providing evidence based practice

I’m sure there are many more areas that TLs can provide leadership in, and I hope I’ll be able to add to this list as I move forward in ETL504 and my own knowledge grows.

References

Australian School Libraries Association. (2014). What is a teacher librarian? ASLA. Retrieved March 2, 2021, from https://asla.org.au/what-is-a-teacher-librarian

Goodreads. (2021). Lao Tzu. Goodreads. Retrieved March 2, 2021, from https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/46410-a-leader-is-best-when-people-barely-know-he-exists

International Baccalaureate. (2013). IB Learner Profile. The International Baccalaureate. Retrieved March 2, 2021, from https://www.ibo.org/benefits/learner-profile/