While listening to Bonanno’s speech, and than reading the article, the main thing standing out for me was the library budget and how it impacts on student outcomes.
The connection between school library budgets and literacy levels, and school library staffing and literacy levels, is mind blowing. Research by the Softlink Australian School Library Survey (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014), show clearly the correlation between a higher library budget and NAPLAN results. Even more staggering is the link between the number of library staff and the results in NAPLAN. Although these results speak loud and clear, the trend of decreasing budgets and drastically decreasing library staffing is continuing.
Investments need to be made in the 21st century libraries. The library should still be the information centre of the school. We are doing our students a disservice by not prioritising this space!
The last few weeks have been busy!!!! I have been working 4 days a week, looking after my 3 kids and husband and writing my first two assessment tasks for 401 & 503!
Wrapping my head around academic writing, but mostly the referencing part, has been a steep, steep, learning curve. It will be good to have the first ones done and dusted to gaze if I am on the right path!
Happy writing!!
A short review on Pinterest as a curating tool. 
Pinterest is a comprehensive site for a wide range of topics. It gives the option to do a search on a topic of interest. Within this topic it gives the user the possibility to narrow down the search as the topic is split into sub-topics. The different search terms accumulate in the search bar. When the user finds what they are looking for, a link to the webpage is available.
The user can follow certain topics and get notified when new content matter appears online. The great thing about Pinterest is the availability of an app for mobile devices.
A busy weekend reading various articles, book chapters, blogs and resources. And it was not a task, much…..
The groove I am in at the moment is a pleasant one. I feel I am making progress in both subjects and I have discovered the power of collaboration! A lovely group of fellow aspiring TLs, sharing the rollercoaster we are on, with a Facebook chat group. Another YES moment came today, when I discovered a completed Masters subject count as 50 hours of PL for my maintenance as proficient teacher. Winning!
So on I go for another week of blogging, reading and assessments.
It is hard jumping back into a life of study! Work, kids, house, dinner (oh, how I hate cooking…), social life and everything else…..
Although it is an uphill battle, I do enjoy it! I enjoy learning about new and exciting parts of a job I really love. The readings give a greater insight in what we do as TLs and how under resourced we actually are! It also has given me a renewed passion to change things. And all at once thanks!
Today I ran the first maker space in my library. Forty kids turned up for a colouring in session during recess! I can only imagine when I do LEGO or something electronic…..
So on we go, towards the first assessment deadline. I will be fine!
This topic is one close to my heart and experience. I will give two examples of recent encounters with students and a Teacher Librarian regarding the accessioning of new books.
The most recent one came during a shopping trip with my friend, who happens to be a TL. She had requests for books about the popular game Fortnite. While at the local Kmart, she found two children’s books that were about this online game. She was concerned about the rating of the game and the suitability for the borrowers in her library. The decision she made was to tag the book for Year 6 only, meaning the younger kids would not have access to them. A good example how to make the library a place where the students are listened to.
Having started as TL myself in a school at the beginning of Term 1, the requests for books have been coming in swiftly! Unfortunately, due to having no budget yet, I had to disappoint the children. I did feel bad as the library needs a upgrade of the collection. I did make a wish list with the students and hope to tick a few of the requests of the list! To acknowledge the needs of the students, an interim solution like the wish list, can make the children feel heard.
In the school library I work, the difference between fiction and non-fiction borrowing is like night and day. Fiction borrowing takes up 80% of the total book circulation. Of the 20% of non fiction books borrowed, 50% would be for a research project set by the classroom teacher. The other 50% of non-fiction books are mostly borrowed by boys. They borrow books about science, jokes or world records. Most non-fiction books are not relevant for the students.
Sara Mosle (2012) says it well: “What schools really need isn’t more nonfiction but better nonfiction, especially that which provides good models for student writing. Most students could use greater familiarity with what newspaper, magazine and book editors call “narrative nonfiction”: writing that tells a factual story, sometimes even a personal one, but also makes an argument and conveys information in vivid, effective ways”.
A large number of non-fiction books are just not appealing to children, they are not engaged and lack the skills to find the information needed.
I have set up a library rewards program at my workplace to encourage the students to borrow, as borrowing was almost non-existent. At this moment in time I am content WHEN my students borrow, the fact if it is a fiction or non-fiction book, for this moment in time, irrelevant.
References
National Library of NZ. (2014). Non-fiction. National Library of New Zealand Services to Schools. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20160729150727/http://schools.natlib.govt.nz/creating-readers/genres-and-read-alouds/non-fiction
Mosle, S. (2012, November 22). What should children read? [Blog post]. Opinionator: The New York Times. Retrieved from https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/22/what-should-children-read/?_r=0
Determinism, the theory that everything that happens must happen as it does and could not have happened any other way. (Cambridge Dictionary, retrieved from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/determinism)
A new term and a new philosophy! A philosophy that seems to give people no free will or decision making powers. I would rather not see the human race as a helpless being, going through time and space with no input or impact on the process! Not in line with my idea of free will.
The truth is, we are run by the technology and the few among us controlling and developing it. We are exposed to concepts we knew nothing about and never knew we needed. We are convinced we somehow need it, do a complete 360 and can not live without it!
Who could predict Facebook and Google “talk” to each other and show you the things you need because you searched for the product just a few hours earlier? Or that your lights, heating and appliances can be remotely operated? In the future we will be travelling in cars that drive themselves. Is it determinism? Or is it big companies and business pushing these changes along? Do we still have the choice to opt out and go off the grid?
For some the change is great and they can not wait to jump in and experience the thrill of new and exciting technologies. For others it is all moving way too fast and it is hard to keep up with.
Whichever group you belong to, I believe the technology is already a big part of modern life and will only increase its dominance. Better buckle up and hold on tight….
Human beings are, in one way or another, controlled by their devices nowadays. Everything we do in our life is somehow connected to artificial intelligence (AI) Our homes are “smart” so we can turn on our coffee machine in the morning without getting up, our lights and cooling/heating can be remotely accessed and the television knows what we like to watch. Social media has an impact on our every day too. When ‘liking’ a post, page or comment on Facebook, the AI shows us advertising for products we might be interested in, according to our previous ‘likes’.
We are being directed by the technology around us. And most of us don’t mind. It makes life easier, less stressful and it saves time. Our children will not question the way AI enhances their lives because they will not have know any different. Which leads to the question if we want AI to have such a huge impact on our lives? Or is it too late to turn back now?