Month: April 2020

Firstly, apologies for that very boring title. I’m going to use the fact that I’ve been stuck at home with my children A LOT over the last few weeks, like many others, and my brain feels slightly fried.

Secondly, to the point of this blog post – my response to the Australian School Library Association’s Evidence Guide – essentially, a guide to how teacher librarians fit into the AITSL professional standards for teachers. The biggest thing I take from this document is THANK YOU. Thank you for this document!

I have found it increasingly difficult and slightly (ok, more than slightly) overwhelming to define the role of a TL. The more I read, the bigger the role grows, and I’m not exaggerating when I say it’s made me question taking on the role at times (as previously mentioned, I am the new TL at a small girls’ school and learning so much every day).  I have found myself doubting my ability to do ALL THE THINGS and be ALL THE PEOPLE that apparently the TL is supposed to do and be. Not knowing where to start, I began by doing what I do best – making a list of what I should be doing. The list has been getting bigger…and bigger…and more overwhelming. As Dr Seuss famously said, “the more that you read, the more that you know.” Well, the more I read about the role of the TL and how huge that umbrella is, the more stressed I’ve been getting (that may be a little personal to put in a blog related to my Masters degree, but it is a blog after all, and it’s nice to have somewhere to put these feelings down!)

BUT – along comes this task, asking us to read the ASLA’s evidence guide and suddenly, I can breathe a little bit easier. The guide sets out the standards of proficient and highly accomplished teachers, then directly underneath it describes how a TL fits into this. Examples are then provided underneath of what this might look like in practice, and THIS is the part I am most grateful for. I feel like this guide will have a huge impact on how I approach my role now. The examples provided clearly state how I can make the best of my position within my school. It’s easy to read, not crowded with “edu-speak” and makes me feel a whole lot better when I realise I’ve already been doing some of those specific examples without realising how they fit into the TL role.

So, in short – thank you, ASLA, for this very helpful guide. I feel it should probably be one of the first documents given to a fresh TL, and I plan to refer to it often throughout my study and beyond.

A reflection in response to Karen Bonanno’s speech:

When I first mentioned to someone that I was thinking about doing my Masters in Teacher Librarianship, I was met with: “Do they still have those?” I’ll admit it made me take a long pause, so long in fact that I decided not to apply for the course. I had a permanent position as a high school English teacher in a public school – did I really want to risk that job security by studying for something that maybe wouldn’t exist in a few years time? I have since been lucky enough to have been awarded the position of TL in my new school, which clearly values the role and what I have to offer, yet I am still finding myself constantly explaining what it is I do, or why my role is necessary, and even why I have to study a Master degree to train as a TL!

My take home message from Bonanno’s speech is that we need to look at the changing role of the TL as a “glass half full” opportunity to re-evaluate our worth and necessity in the school setting, rather than a “glass half empty” approach. Don’t defend your job and why it is important – decide how you can make your position so invaluable that you don’t have to. The five finger plan was excellent (despite the fact it came from Donald Trump, but I digress) and something that I will take away to think how this applies to how I use my position throughout my degree and within my school.