Reading through my forum posts throughout this unit has made something pretty obvious.
I start a journey well. Much like a small child in a car on the way to somewhere far away. However, it’s not long before the inevitable question.
Are we there yet?
Ask the question often enough and the answer will be yes.
So, yes. We are there…but the journey hasn’t finished.
In my first forum post, I mentioned the value of coursework that is immediately relevant to my day to day business (Havenaar, 2021, 19th February). Resourcing the Curriculum has not made me a liar. The span of practical knowledge throughout this session has been comprehensive.
However, several particular ideas have captured my attention and prompted me to think about how my practice needs to change. They include:
- The selection v. censorship debate
- Communicating with staff, students and Executive management about how the library is currently being used, and how it could be used (using statistics to benchmark and monitor change), and
- Strategies to foster reading engagement and developing a culture of reading in staff and students.
Where faith and censorship collide
During Module 4 I was introduced to the selection v. censorship debate. This immediately struck a chord as I work in an openly evangelical Christian P-12 school. It raised an important question. If one of my general selection criteria is that resources need to be sensitive to the ethos of the school, how can I possibly avoid censoring? Conversations with the Chaplain, Head of Teaching and Head of the Senior School around the water cooler (Havenaar, 2021, 8th March) suggested that the answer was not going to be cut and dried. If Harry Potter ranks first in ALA’s Top 100 banned books for 2000 – 2007, then what hope is there that literature on gender identity or gay marriage, for example, is going to be entertained at my school (Cox, 2009, p. 15)?
A 2016 study found that 25% of librarians felt that managing book challenges had influenced future decisions about book purchases (Jacobsen, 2016, p. 3). Harry Potter was a challenged book at my school when it was first published. However, thanks to an articulate and clever Head of Information Services, armed with a robust policy, the books remain some of our most popular borrows. If, as I outlined in my blog post dated May 21st, I am committed to intellectual freedom and the rights of students to read age appropriate literature that appears to conflict with my school’s religious ideologies, I’m going to need to spend more time having conversations at the water cooler.
Nothing like a good set of statistics!
Not everyone loves a good looking statistic. You either agree with George Bernard Shaw that being moved by statistics is the mark of a truly intelligent person, or with Mark Twain that facts are stubborn, but statistics are pliable. Whichever way you go, it must be acknowledged that, in some sectors, there is a deep distrust regarding how statistics are used. Replying to a forum post on 26th April regarding library metrics and reporting, I was struck by an infographic that was presented (Wilson, 2021, 26th April). Stacey expresses her hope that the statistics presented will inspire teachers to reflect on the reading culture in their classrooms. This post spoke to my soul (with the exception of a reference to using borrowing statistics as a platform for competition – more on that later).
One of my key priorities is building a culture of reading at my school – particularly in our Stage 3 students. Collecting quantitative data from our library management system and Accelerated Reader, I have been able to identify patterns in borrowing (or non-borrowing) that I am able to address. The next step is to gather some qualitative data from students and teachers that delves deeper into the issues raised. For example, it has become apparent that a Stage 3 teacher disagrees with our book filtering policy. As an avid reader of YA, she has suggested that if Year 6 want to read The Hunger Games or Twilight (or books of that ilk), they should head to the local library. All well and good, however, we have been able to identify the potential for this to lead to a de-valuing of the library in the minds of students. This particular class has been to the library 3 times this year to borrow – and all this term.
And all because of statistics presented. Thank you Stacey Wilson and your infographic!
Time for some pithy quotes – oh, and a reflection on competition in the classroom and changing culture.
- No competition, no progress
- A flower does not think to compete with the flower next to it, it just blooms
- It is nice to have valid competition, it pushes you to do better
- If you can’t win, make the guy in front of you break the record
- Look in the mirror, that’s your competition.
In a reflective blog post called, I think I can! I think I can! on May 18th, I reflected on whether competition between classes was useful in creating a genuine culture of reading. The blog post came out of my response to the metrics discussion detailed above. It is my belief that setting classes against one another establishes a culture of competition, not reading. We need a culture of reading, for reading’s sake.
I recently had opportunity to attend an online MeetUp hosted by the School Library Association of NSW featuring, Vicki Courtenay. Vicki is a Teaching and Learning Librarian involved in changing the reading culture of her school. Some of the strategies she discussed during the presentation were practical and easy to begin straight away. So I did.
- Pop Up Library Picnics for Junior and Senior schools, and staff (I wanted to call them PULPs but thought it sent the wrong message about books). This was inspired by Vicki. We have great attendance.
- Performing Chicken Divas at the Senior School Talent Show with the Head of Information Services – we were brilliant!
- Celebrating even small improvements in the numbers of words read with classes each fortnight (using Accelerated Reader)
- Starting a school wide Where’s Wally hunt – find Wally in the school and choose a free book, and
- Continuing to engage students at our early morning Techie Brekkies on three Friday mornings a term.
There are exceedingly more creative ways to build a reading culture in your school than piting one class against the other. Using professional networks to inspire and encourage new thinking is invaluable.
There’s lots to takeaway from ETL503 (including a possible action research project with Stage 3). It’s been a tough session for many reasons.
I’m glad I’ve arrived at the end.
But I’m also glad the journey isn’t over.
Are we there yet?
Nope…and that’s the way it should be.
References
Courtenay, V. (2021). Spotlight on TL of the Year [Zoom presentation]. School Library Association of NSW. https://slansw.net.au/ (Password protected).
Cox, L. (2009). Faith and literature: A look at book censorship. Honors Thesis. Ouachita Baptist University. https://scholarlycommons.obu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1239&context=honors_theses
Jacobson, L. (2016). Unnatural selection. School Library Journal, 62 (10)
Strum, P. (2020). Are we there yet? [Image]. Strum: your daily dose of nonsense. https://www.philippsturm.de/en/cartoons/are-we-there-yet/
Wilson, S. (2021, April 23). Library Reporting [Online discussion comment]. Interact 2. https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_55150_1&conf_id=_110082_1&forum_id=_231262_1&message_id=_3566950_1&nav=discussion_board_entry