It's that time of year... placement sheets!

 It's that time of year in my board when we have to start filling out our placement sheets for the next school year. Depending on the admin we sometimes have to list our top 3 or 4 choices, stop/start/continue for the school community, goals for the next 5 years and we can discuss it at a fireside chat of we wish.

It's an interesting time. 

People are curious as to what other people requested. Who wants to change grade levels? Who is looking at a support role? Who is thinking of switching schools or boards?

I have asked for full time library (of course) but in looking at the writing on the wall I can see how much our school population has dropped and that there's a pretty big chance my library allocation will be reduced. So then what? What is the optimal combination to effectively re-start our free flow book exchange and maker space programs should we be back to a somewhat "normal" school year next year?

I know in many, many schools and in many, many boards that teacher-librarians, library technicians and other school library professionals are split across roles, schools and in many cases, across distances between schools. I know the huge path of school library privilege I have always walked in as a full time teacher-librarian. 

I am also aware that the last 2 years in the school library have in some ways soured me to the role. Don't get me wrong!! I love the school library. I love being a teacher-librarian. BUT, there's been a lot of piece stripped away from the role as I knew it due to COVID protocols and the need for various support roles within the school community. 

For me it comes down to the students. I miss them.

I miss our day to day interactions when they would come to exchange books. I miss the kids who would visit multiple times during the week excited to find the next book they would devour. I miss the kids who would come to the library to just sit and play not knowing that while they were there they were gaining experience and skills towards their own self-regulation that would support them when they returned to class. I miss the thrill of starting a new inquiry with a class and filling a white board with a Notice/Wonder chart. I miss watching students building and share their ideas using loose parts and explore communicating their thoughts using a variety of modalities. I even miss the tangle of glue guns and glue sticks that came with large scale maker projects.

I miss being in the mess with the students.

The mess of learning. 

I've been looking back at my three year plan from when I started in the LLC 5 years ago as I do feel as though September 2022 will be a re-start. None of the students in our school will have participated in free flow book exchange in over 2 years. Our oldest students (Grade 5) will have been in Grade 2 the last time they accessed the library independently. It's going to be a complete refresh which on one hand in exciting and on the other is terrifying. 

I do feel as though I need a jolt of some kind to pull me back into what I love the most about teaching (and school libraries, if I'm being honest).

So on my placement sheets for next year, if I am not full time in the library, I have asked for Kindergarten planning time. Why not start at the beginning? Why not immerse myself in the full-on messiness, inquiry-based, wonder of learning? Why not take the opportunity to co-learn and co-teach with kindergarten educators? Why not?

Of course, full time in the library learning commons is the gold standard of library placements but a small part of me is really hoping that I'll get to experience some kindergarten joy as well. 

I guess we'll see what happens...