A video embedded in my module notes has lit a little fuse in me (Bonanno, 2011, 8:43-18:45). Addressing teacher librarians in 2011 on the rhetoric that TL’s are a dying breed, having to fight for their space, Karen Bonanno delivered a simple recipe for success. It is so simple, resonates so clearly, and is so immediately and obviously applicable, I want to adopt it across various aspects of my life straight away. But, we’re here to talk about teacher librarians, so I’ll try to focus my reflection there rather than on my health and well-being goals…
The five-finger plan to success: Strength, Focus, Brand, Relationships, and Little Things which Count. I was eating up her words as she unpacked these, so imagine my astonishment when she brandished a copy of a book co-written by Donald Trump as the source! (Trump and Kiyosaki, 2011). Well… I thought, he IS successful… And it makes sense. Bonanno formulates this plan as a “sell” because when those holding the purse strings don’t understand their teacher librarian’s worth, it is up to the librarian to convince them of their value. Regardless – to ever truly make a difference and be of service, we have to know our value, have clear goals, and be successful.
Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash
Let’s put my misapprehensions about looking to wealth creation and individualistic success gurus for inspiration to one side though as we unpack the plan and how it might relate to teacher librarians striving to remain relevant in a changing education and information landscape.
1. Strength (thumb) – strength of character. Cultivate this by establishing your reputation. Blogging is a great tool for this! It is an online presence that give you and your ideas visibility
Photo by Jeremy Perkins on Unsplash
2. FOCUS (follow one course until successful) (pointer) – not always practical, but have some specific goals with measurable outcomes, and see them through. When you jump from one thing to the next, you won’t be able to effect change, or truly make a difference.
3. Brand (middle finger) – Bonanno also links this to standards: Teacher Standards, the General Capabilities, even just asking yourself and knowing “what do I stand for?”
4. Relationships (ring finger) – cultivate your relationships with those you are working for and with: teachers, students, school leaders. Adjust your language so you can link conversations back to the curriculum and capabilities (ACARA), the standards (AITSL), and the services and resources (ESA) and how you are supporting the students, teachers and the school to achieve these.
5. Little Things (little finger) – what are the little things you do at your school which no-one else does? It is here that Bonanno highlights the creative critical thinking capability. This is where a teacher librarian can shine by taking the lead in bringing in and supporting inquiry based learning structures, digital literacy etc.
(KB Enterprises, 2011)
The link to the five fingers is memorable for all learners – look at and hold each finger as you recite the plan. I’m not going to forget this, and I see myself designing plans around my health goals and personal projects, and over time using it to create a plan and mission for my future career as a librarian.
Please just don’t use the five-finger plan to try and take over the world!
KB Enterprises. (2011). A Framework to plan your future. https://www.kb.com.au/framework-plan-future/
Bonanno, K. (2011). A profession at the tipping point: Time to change the game plan [Video]. ASLA 2011. https://vimeo.com/31003940
Trump, D., & Kiyosaki, R. (2011). The Midas Touch: why some entrepreneurs get rich and why most don’t. Plata Publishing.