As a student myself, the Library was a place of refuge. I always had my nose in a book and for me, reading held various roles in my life. It was a place of comfort, inspiration, and often, escape. As I matured, reading became the primary way I learnt new information. As an amateur historian, I loved to become engrossed in historical fiction to really feel like I was walking in the shoes of great historical figures. I was right there with Laura Ingalls as her family made a trail across the American prairie and read with one eye closed in terror when Mary Queen of Scots was beheaded.
In my teaching career, initially as an Early Childhood teacher, and now Secondary English, books hold a central role. I love finding books for reluctant readers and seeing their view on reading change once they have found ‘their’ type of stories. I love teaching concepts through tales and encouraging imagination and possibilities. This is what initially drew to me the thought of becoming a Teacher Librarian. Being able to curate collections that would bring comfort, inspiration and learning to students seems like a dream role.
As I have begun my studies in the Masters course, I have been inspired about the relevance and importance of the role. Not only in encouraging a love of literature and stories, but in competent and able communication. The world is now at our fingertips through the marvel of the internet, which has made Teacher Librarians a valuable and essential resource. I am excited to delve into the world of information literacy and to eventually guide students to be critical thinkers and capable of interpreting and making sense of the world on their screen. As a high school teacher, we touch on this ever so slightly in some of our units of work, but my eyes have been opened as to the largeness of the impact that needs to be made – if we are going to send graduating students out into the world confident in their abilities. ACARA (2023, para.2), when describing the General Capabilities, specifically Literacy, states that success in any learning area depends on being able to use the significant, identifiable and distinctive literacy that is important for learning and representative of the content of that learning area. This statement struck me in its application for any student, regardless of their goal or learning journey. It is about being able to use the distinctive literacy for any context – whether that be Science or English, mathematical equations or soil testing in Geography. As a future teacher librarian, I am excited about not only what I will teach students, but what I will learn myself. As TL’s, we must be on a constant learning journey if we are to help our students achieve their best.
Reference List
Australian Curriculum, A. a. R. A. (n.d.). General capabilities downloads. Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. https://v9.australiancurriculum.edu.au/downloads/general-capabilities
Image header: Photo by Carl Jorgensen on Unsplash.
Hi Belinda, I enjoyed reading your post. I love that you touch on the aspect of the TL role that covers information access and communication. Great points! Regarding your secondary citation (ASLA, n.d. parra 2) – it is great that you have included the specifics here, but I would recommend double checking the ASLA referencing and removing the reference to the module content. This means that you will only reference the ALSA item. This takes away the secondary citation and is considered best practice. I’m glad to be working with you this session! Krystal 🙂