Reflecting on who I am and where I want to be…
PART A: What makes an effective Teacher Librarian? An effective teacher librarian is one who demonstrates leadership, collaboration, innovation, and supports the school community through the provision of services which enhance learning and wellbeing. It is someone who can position the Library as the heart of 21st century learning within the school and support whole…
My understanding of leadership and the important role of the teacher librarian as leader has developed significantly throughout this unit. Looking back at my initial blog post, I realised I already had a strong interest in leadership and an awareness that different styles could significantly alter outcomes, motivations and opportunities within the school environment; however,…
When learning more about leadership styles, what really stood out for me is that some styles facilitate the TL to lead, and others are styles that the TL should adopt when leading. Leadership which facilitates the TL to lead: Transformational leadership is an essential component of 21st century schools, as it provides an avenue to…
As a lifelong lover of literature, I was drawn to this subject and the immense possibilities it could provide to my future career. Coming from a secondary English background, I already felt fairly confident in my ability to foster a love of reading and use literature to open new avenues for student engagement, empathy and learning.…
An integral part of the role of TL is engaging students, teachers and the broader school community to ensure fictional texts are valued and embedded into teaching and learning programs. TL’s are in a unique position to support learning within a school as they work with teachers across all learning areas, and therefore should engage…
The role of the Teacher-Librarian (TL) is constantly evolving, as does my understanding of it. At the start of the semester, I thought the Library was predominantly about books, not realising that the increasing digital world and the projected future needs of our students means TLs need to revolutionise their practice in order to meet…
Despite the Australian Curriculum’s push towards the acquisition of twenty-first century learning skills, and modern teachers who strive to adopt innovative approaches and pedagogical practices, there is a dichotomous relationship between what teachers and students often want out of school, and what politicians see as essential. The notion of getting ‘back to basics’ in terms…
It is difficult to cast my mind back to early in my career, when I thought nothing could be more fulfilling than teaching my own English classes, and when I didn’t realise that the desire to become a Teacher Librarian was beating like a drum in my own heart. Back then, I would sigh happily…