Tag Archives: inspiration

Distribution of leadership

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What strategies to take you from TL, the keeper and stamper of the books and the quiet space (library) (how many of our colleagues perceive TLs), to become something different?

The role of the TL is so much more complex than many of our colleagues realise. We are the keeper of the books, though scanning has taken the place of stamping in most schools. We are the keepers of the (sometimes) quiet space, but we also are leaders in our learning communities. Among our colleagues, we form communities of practise and learning. Through collaboration we can both model and learn new teaching approaches, we can pose questions and encourage ways of thinking that previously lurked unrecognised in a TR cupboard. We can collaborate on curriculum development, integration of technology and information skills into the wider curriculum, attaching a genuine purpose to the skills students must learn in these areas.

The space we keep is not just quiet. It is a cone of silence. We listen to peoples’ troubles, concerns, frustrations and annoyances and provide a prodigious amount of chocolate and bickies to keep them coming back. By listening to our colleagues both individually and as a group, by keeping our ears to the ground we can start to recognise patterns and point them in the direction of assistance. We can recognise and celebrate the achievements of our colleagues and are in a position to communicate and promote various initiatives within the school and from the leadership that aim to address the frustrations. In an ideal world, the principal is in a position to provide visionary leadership – to develop transformational goals and map the pathways to success (Ingram, 2017). They motivate and inspire their staff to keep them on the paths set out. The DPs provide the transactional leadership – they keep the wheels in motion, putting out the spot fires and dealing with the day to day operations of the school, keeping the big picture in mind. The APs also provide transactional leadership, keeping the ball rolling and dealing with the everyday smooth running of their stage. The TL provides the servant leadership – focusing on trust, collaboration, empathy and ethics (Burkus, 2010). The TL works to promote the best interests of colleagues, students and the community.

Each leader has role to play in the success of the school. In this way, leadership in the school is often actually a type of distributed leadership – not because some leaders are responsible for different key learning areas, or certain initiatives, but because they are responsible for providing the very different types of leadership needed to keep the school both ticking over and reaching for the next milestone in their improvement journey.

References

Ingram, D. (2019, Fevruary 4). Transformational leadership vs transactional leadership definition. Hearst Newspapers: Small Business. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/transformational-leadership-vs-transactional-leadership-definition-13834.html

Burkus, D. (2010, April 1). Servant leadership theory. David Burkus. http://davidburkus.com/2010/04/servant-leadership-theory/

Embarkation

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My memory of my childhood school library is somewhat vague by now. I remember the green wooden door at the top of a flight of concrete stairs. I remember an inviting-looking patio off the side that extended into the basketball court (teachers’ car park) that we had to walk past to get to the main entrance. I remember thinking I would love to sit in the sun in that area and quietly read and I remember that students were not, under any circumstances, allowed in that area. I remember sitting in the AV room off to the other side and watching TV as a ball of plasticine rolled around a sand box singing about vowels. Why? I still don’t know but, hey, it was the 80s. I remember the roll of plastic carpet covering that would be laid out in the walk ways on rainy days and the circles along its edges. I remember a rather colourful lady who worked there. She had very large glasses and even larger hair. It was the 80s after all. I have absolutely no recollection at all of what she did in there all day.

Many years later, embarking on my first day of teaching at my first school in the inner west of Sydney, I was introduced to the school’s teacher in the library. He didn’t have large glasses or larger hair. In fact, he didn’t have hair at all. He had books. And a prodigious collection of sets of headphones. I had no real idea what to do with any of it, but who does when they’re first out of Uni? In those early days I was so focused on learning the ropes and desperately hoping to have at least some positive impact in the classroom that I really did not appreciate what he was able to offer. At that point, the library was a place I took the students every week and was not supposed to stay with them. What happened in there was, due to my own inability to see past the end of my nose, a complete mystery. I had completed a prac placement in a school library during my undergraduate course, so I really should have known better.

It wasn’t until about four years later when the school scored the services of the first qualified Teacher Librarian I had ever met, that I really started to develop some understanding of the value she could add. She seemed to know exactly the question to ask to point me in the direction of resources I didn’t know I really needed. She showed me how to access the information in new ways and how to help the kids learn to access it too. She introduced team teaching within the library program and wanted to be involved in developing stage-based learning programs as well. She not only provided resources to support topics of study but showed how they might be used. She introduced technology into inquiry lessons. Suddenly the students had access to computers and the internet. They needed to know how to use it efficiently and safely. She had my back there too.

I have been a classroom teacher now for 17 years and have had thoughts of working in school libraries for most of that time. I have done some relieving work in the library over the years, especially since my own children came along and I am more convinced than ever of the vital role a good teacher librarian has in developing the students’ love of learning, appreciation of literature and ability to really think about the information they are gathering. I have come to believe it is also vitally important for TLs to make their available services and skills known and visible to their colleagues, especially their newer colleagues who might benefit most from the leadership and guidance a really good TL can provide.