Looking Back, Reading Forward

Maybe this is why we read, 

and in moments of darkness we return to books: 

to find words for what we already know. 

~ Alberto Manguel

This past year I tracked my reading using GoodReads for the first time. It's not the first time I've ever tried to keep a list of the books I've read but it is the first time I used this app and that I was consistent for the whole year. 

I set a reading goal at the start of the year, not because I wanted to reach a certain number but because I was interested in knowing how many books I would read over the course of the year. I've noticed in the last two years as my daughters have gotten to an age where they can be trusted to play and entertain themselves that I have been able to read more again. In the early years when they were babies, I was either too exhausted to focus on reading or every time I tried to read they would want my attention. 

Now that they are older, I can read as much as I want ... but 

I also miss those little baby arms always reaching up to me. 

I started out the year blogging about my reading with the intention of keeping it up all year. Isn't the saying that "the path to Hell is paved with good intentions..."? Well, as the year got busier and other things took my attention I dropped that endeavor but I think I'd like to pick it back up this year. 

Maybe focusing on just 1-2 books each month? Maybe completing a FOLD Reading Challenge? Perhaps this is the year I read the Canada Reads long list as I did a few years ago?

I'd definitely like to find time for more PD books during the school year. 

A wonderful educator, Alanna King, that I met at previous OLASC's and who I follow on Twitter recently blogged about her reading journey and it really stuck with me.

Alanna shared this video on Jacques Derrida from Youtube (and I swear I haven't heard anyone mention Derrida since my days in undergrad...) and it was super interesting.

My husband and I often talk (or have a fierce discussion... however, you want to call it!) about the state of the world, people's reactions to things, and our own opinions. For two people who pledged to spend their lives together, it's rather amazing how little we often agree on.

One thing that usually comes from our chats is the belief that most people are too stuck in their own thoughts and beliefs. That they haven't attempted to learn enough about the "other" around them. That we need to go outside of ourselves, to ask questions and to learn more, and to understand that we know less than we think we do.

So what did I read last year?

Well, GoodReads just happens to create a visual display of the books logged over the course of the year.

I have also been reading articles related to reading. What reading is and could be.
The books that should be available to children and the books that need to be available to children.

I started with Diverse Literature in School Libraries: Reflected Realities by Matthew Courtney (School Librarian, Vol. 67, Issue 3, The School Library Association) and then moved on to Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors by Rudine Sims Bishop (Perspectives: Choosing and Using Books for the Classroom, Vol 6, no. 3, Summer 1990.)

I was sad, disappointed and a little ashamed that neither had crossed my path during any of my teacher-librarian courses or qualifications.

Then the amazing article by Rabia Khokhar came out in the ETFO Voice Magazine entitled- The Power of Stories: Learning from Complex Characters to Counter Islamophobia (Winter 2019). This led me to A Black Character Does Not a Good Book Make: Choosing Black-Focused Books to Support Culturally Relevant Teaching by Natasha Henry (ETFO Voice, Spring 2018). And finally, as I had already started writing this blog post the latest edition of The Teaching Librarian magazine arrived with the article Silent Message in the Stacks by Holly Dickson (January 2020, Vol. 27, Issue 2).

So after a year (and more) of intentionally diversifying my reading-

...reading books with #OwnVoices, from backgrounds and cultures different than my own, trying new genres and formats, reading more non-fiction and memoirs, reading Canadian books, etc-

Do I have less questions? 

No.

But I'm happy with that. I'm happy to have more questions.
More wonderings. More confusion.
Less certainty. More openness.
Less silo.

More books to read. Always more books.

And isn't that the magic of reading?

One Word x 12

My first post on this blog was about my One Word for 2018 and you can find it here.  I talked about how my word for 2017 was conquer and my word for 2018 would be nourish. I didn't blog about my word for 2019 but it was evolve. 

All good words.

All good intentions when I picked them to start off the year. 

I love the thought behind choosing a word to represent your goals and your plans rather than a New Year's Resolution. I like the idea of being more intentional throughout the entire year and being able to encompass a number and variety of goals. 

Writing a New Year's Resolution seems very small and narrow. Or too large and too vague. 

Choosing one word feels more open to actual change. More open to follow through. More open to adaptation and flexibility as the year shifts and changes.

Twelve months is a long time, however. So much can change in a single year. 

This year I want to be responsive to my year as it ebbs, flows, changes and spirals. 

I've decided to choose One Word for each month of the year in 2020. 

I am not going to choose the words ahead of time, meaning that I will not have all twelve months planned right now. I am going to choose January's word and focus on that for now. 

I have started a list of possible words that I might want to use throughout the year. I've been looking on Instagram and Twitter to see what other people are choosing. I found a great resource from BookCampPD where educators are sharing their One Word using an image and in some cases their reasoning for choosing their word.

My current list contains these words:

Renew

Elevate

Amplify

Patience

Embrace

Moment

Intentions

Gratitude

Present

It's not twelve words yet and that's okay. I may not use some of these words and that's okay. I may repeat some of these words depending on how my year evolves and that's okay. I may choose more than one word for a month and that's okay.

I'm hoping planning to blog about my OneWordx12 each month as I choose them. I'm hoping that this will not only help me to blog more regularly but that my word choice will continue to be intentional as I strive to explain and defend my word choices. 

I've created a list on my Google Keep with the following picture as a header. I will be tracking my ideas for future OneWordx12 there as I hear new words. Perhaps I will keep some notes about my thoughts prior to blogging. (My love for Google Keep could be an entire other blog post!)

My word for January is going to be...

I've chosen this for a number of reasons. First, the start of the year is always a time of renewal. It's a time when we set goals. It's a time when we look to the future. It's a time when we reflect and plan.

I have a number of habits I'd like to renew this year that I enjoyed in the past but due to life let them fall by the wayside.

For example, this is my first blog post since the beginning of October...

I'd like to focus more on eating healthy and exercising more consistently. Making this (and me) and priority. The girls are old enough now that I should be able to take time to do this during the day and they should be able to entertain themselves.

I love using my bullet journal as a creative outlet and as a way to plan and schedule my busy life. I've joined a Facebook group that is focusing on #100DaysofNotebooking (hosted by Michelle Haseltine @Mhaseltine on Twitter) and I'm hoping that this will inspire me to reflect more often, to write more often and to take time to express myself creatively- either through writing or doodling. 

Do you choose One Word? Do you make New Year's Resolutions? 

What are your goals for the new year and the new decade? 

Preserving the Cup

Self-care is how you take your power back.

~lalah delia

Self-care is something I have been thinking about a lot lately. 

The dictionary defines self-care as:

NOUN: the practice of taking action to preserve or improve one's own health

It's hard to believe that it’s only been a month since school started.
But it feels like we have been full steam ahead for months now.
Every year it feels as though the back to school season becomes more hectic. 

There's more to do with less time. There's more needs with less resources. 

There's more.

I am an optimist. My husband is a pessimist. 

I always see the glass as half full.

Getting lost is an adventure.

We can always find the fun in a crazy situation. 

I look for the solutions.

It's one of things that makes our partnership work.

It’s also one of the things that causes friction.

But I must admit that this year it's a little harder.

It’s harder to be the one who sees the good in everything.
I’m finding it harder to be the one who finds the solution to the problems, both big and small.
The one who uses humour and a smile to diffuse a conflict between our daughters.
The one who sees the light at the end of the tunnel.

And if I’m being completely honest with myself,

 it’s been harder for a lot longer than just the start of this school year. 

I see so many colleagues looking strained and drained early in the school year.
They are concerned about their students. Maybe it's one in particular. Maybe it's a group.
Maybe it's the relationship and community developing. But they are worried.
There’s a few conversations happening these days among colleagues that don’t include their worries
about their class and they ability to help all the students in their care.

And I'm worried about them. I'm worried about myself. I’m worried about my kids. 

Feeling stretched thin is never a good feeling. I know that at times I take on too much
but for the most part I've gotten much better at saying no to the things that I am not passionate about
and ready to give my whole self to but that doesn't stop people from asking.

The act of having to self-preserve so often can be a drain.

I want to be available to help my colleagues and friends at work. I want to be a sounding board,
a shoulder to lean on, and a friend when they need it. I want to  and need to be available to
support my two young daughters. They are starting the school year at a new school and are
navigating new friendships, a new before/after care. A new bus routine.
New expectations. New worries. 

Anxiety and worry has been a part of our family for many years now. It’s so heartbreaking to
watch a child struggle with so many worries on their small shoulders.
We are learning together about
guided meditation, yoga, calm breathing, sensory needs, and more.
But sometimes it still comes crashing down.

There’s still tears.

There’s still nightmares.

There’s always another worry. 

This year, with this climate, is going to be a crash course in self-care.
With so many worries and uncertainties surrounding education and so many educators
feeling pushed beyond their abilities, everyone is going to need to find a way to look for ways to
preserve their cup.
The saying “you can’t pour from an empty cup” is so true and so important to
remember. 

Self-care is not selfish. 

So many educators just want to do the very best for their students. 

To provide the best for their students. 

To be there for their students. 

They spread themselves thin.

I spread myself too thin. 

They think about their students on the drive to work and on the drive home from work.

They wake up in the night worried about their students.

They are stretched. Stretched too far.

I'm wondering how we can help each other on a more consistent basis. 

How do we promote self-care for the educators that we work with on a daily basis? 

How do we advocate for our own self-care?

How can we ensure that we are helping each other to
"take action to preserve one's own health"?

How do we make ourselves a priority when we are needed by so many others around us? 

We talk a lot about the mental health of our students with reason. With good reason.

But our educators can not pour from an empty cup.

And if people are feeling stretched in September what will November, January, March bring?

... what will the year bring?

We need to check in on each other.

We need to listen to each other.

We need to recognize the importance of self-care in this ever demanding job

Social Media- What is it good for?

Maybe it's not about the length of time you've known someone; 

maybe it's about the instant recognition on an unconscious level.

Our souls know each other.

~ S.E. Hall

Warning before we start... 

I think this post is going to be a rambling one. 

It'll probably back track and circle around all over the place.
It might not even make sense to anyone but me. 

But I know that I think best through writing 

so this is just me trying to put my thoughts to paper and to see if all the columns

add up to a cohesive thought for myself. 

I've also taken a bunch of screen shots of tweets that have prompted 

my thinking or given my pause and helped to clarify my own ideas.

So fasten your seat belts, it might be a bumpy ride.


With great power, comes great responsibility.
~Spiderman
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/With_great_power_comes_great_responsibility

It's been an interesting summer as an educator who uses social media to connect with others, to grow in my understanding of the world and those around me, and to share my own thoughts.
I will be the first person to say that I tweet A LOT.

I like it.

I like sharing my learning journey with others.
I like learning about how my journey intersects with others on a
similar path or a vastly different path.
I like having my learning journey disrupted, interrupted, sent spiraling on a tangent.

I like "meeting" new people. I like engaging in conversations. I like thinking and hearing about the thinking of others.

This summer there are many people questioning the use of Twitter (and I'm guessing other social media platforms" by #eduknowns or #educelebs.

What is their purpose?
What are they attempting to drive their audience to do?
What might they be selling?

Can an #eduknown be part of your #PLN?
What do they offer to your learning journey?

What if all they post are questions and no replies?
What if there is a lack of true engagement?
Do #educelebs have a responsibility to engage and provoke on topics?

Why do you follow an #eduknown?

A big thanks goes out to Chris Cluff @chrisjcluff for really pushing my thinking on this topic.
We have been having DM convos throughout the summer based on
tweets, articles, Twitter threads and more.

Each time we chat I come away with new thinking and new questions.
Lots of #thoughfuel .

So why might I follow an #eduknown?

This summer has really opened my eyes to which Twitter users might be using the platform to push their own agenda (e.g. selling a book or tickets to an event where they are a keynote speaker).

Do I wish or think they should engage in more pressing matters related to education?
Yes.

Can I control how they use social media?
No.

Can I control who I follow and how I use social media?
Yes.

These three posts really hit home for me and made me think.

Am I using my Twitter to "amplify those voices who may have been silenced"
as stated by Jenn Brown @JennMacBrown ?

Or am I creating an echo chamber where I hear more of what I already know and understand?

How many Indigenous Black or People of Colour am I following so I can better understand?
So I can confront my privilege? So I can learn and grow?

If an #educeleb that I follow is not engaging in these communities and conversations do I still want to follow them? Can I still learn from their posts and tweets?

What do I want from my Twitter feed?
What responsibilities do I have when using Twitter (and other social media) to engage in important topics? 

I want to follow people who will challenge my thinking and the thinking of others.

I want to follow people who are learning out loud and are sharing that learning with others.

I want to follow Indigenous, Black and People of Colour so I can learn and grow.

I want to follow people who are reading and watching and sharing the work of Indigenous, Black and People of Colour.



I want to come away from every encounter with new questions.

Moving forward, I will be more intentional about curating my Twitter feed on a regular basis.

I will question the #educelebs I follow and whether their voice needs or deserves to be amplified any further.

I will consistently ask whose voice needs to be amplified?

How might I use the reach of my Twitter use to advocate for the voices of others?

And most of all, as with every thing we do as educators we must ask "And how are the children?'.

This thread by John Phillips @ByJohnPhillips presents excellent #thoughtfuel on this topic.

The reading, learning, watching, discussing, learning that I engage in is there
to make me a better person and a better educator.

I want to bring my learning back into the school community in order
to support my students to the best of my ability.

It all really boils down to one thing:

Is it good for kids?

And that's really the most important thing of all. 

What the Librarian Read- Part 3

The One With All the Middle Grade Novels...


Back again to share my reading from the year so far. To be honest... I'm pretty shocked as to how much I was able to read in the past few months as I completed my Teacher-Librarian Specialist, packed up our house to move next week and dealt with all of the end of the school year craziness.

Perhaps, as always, reading was my escape from the realities of every day life.

I did choose to read a number of middle grade novels that were new to the library before putting them out on the shelves so that might have skewed my numbers a bit as middle grade novels are shorter than my usual book choices.

Books 22- 37 of 2019

22. The Moscow Club by Joseph Finder

23. Ghost by Jason Reynolds*

24. A Drop of Hope by Keith Calabrese*

25. Homes: A Refuge Story by Abu Bakr al Rabeeah

26. The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

27. Gracefully Grayson by Amy Polonsky*

28. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by JK Rowling*

29. Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson*

30. Root Beer Candy and Other Miracles by Shari Green*

31. You Don't Know Everything, Jilly P! by Alex Gino*

32. The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton

33. The Unteachables by Gordon Korman*

34. Ungifted by Gordon Korman*

35. Supergifted by Gordon Korman*

36. The Woman in the White Kimono by Ana Johns

37. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card 


Something I have always found interesting in the ebb and flow of reading patterns. Obviously as I was doing my AQ course and reading/ viewing all sorts of different PD texts I wasn't drawn to add in any PD books to my personal reading. This entire list is narratives.

There's also a large portion of middle grade novels because as I said before they are shorter than my usual reading material but also, I think, chosen as a way to escape the grind of relentless PD reading that occurs during an AQ course. I suspect (well, I know since I can see my to be read pile) that this summer's list will contain a lot more PD focused books.

(I have marked all the middle grade novels with an *)

Must Reads....

If you are an educator, parent, have children in your life please get your hands on Gracefully Grayson,  Locomotion, A Drop of Hope, You Don't Know Everything, Jilly P, and The Unteachables.

These are the types of books that make me wish I was still in a classroom so I could share them with my students through the magic of read alouds. I will be creating a display with these as recommended reads in the library once we start back at school. Can't wait to hear what the kids think.

If I had to pick one book to pass on...

I can never pick just one book but I'll try for two.

I'd say that Homes: A Refugee Story is an important read for our time.
We need to see each other more.
We need to try to understand each other more.
We need to share in our humanness more.

For the second book, probably The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton. Her books never disappoint and always keep me on my toes wondering how the narrative will play out.

Biggest Surprises...

So The Moscow Club was passed on to me by my mother-in-law and I picked up The Woman in the White Kimono from a sale table at a bookstore. Both were riveting and very enjoyable. Highly recommend.


Here's the summer and lots of time to read!
Can't wait to get started.

Looking for my other posts:

What the Librarian Read: Part 1

What the Librarian Read: Part 2

Podcast PD?

"Listening is an attitude of the heart,

a genuine desire to be with another 

which both attracts and heals."

~L.J. Isham

So an interesting question or idea has been bouncing around in my brain for a week or so now...

Can podcasts be considered professional development?

I first started thinking about this after listening to the DeCodEd the podcast by Rolland Chiadic and Chris Cluff and they were discussing this idea from the side of being podcasters and creating their podcast.  (Season 2- Episode #35)

Does having a professional conversation with another educator count as professional development?

It's a very interesting idea. 

I am not a podcaster, but I do listen to a lot of podcasts. 

Which then leads to another question...

Does only listening to podcasts help you grow professionally or do you need to be "in" the conversation?

In the past year or so I have really developed a love affair with podcasts. I like to listen to them while I drive to school each morning, while I am walking the dog or doing work around the house. 

I like being involved in a conversation that challenges my own thinking, 

that presents a new idea I haven't thought about, 

that teaches me something, 

that helps me to understand other people, 

or that extends my current thinking.

I especially like listening to podcasts that introduce me to new people, new books, or new viewing.

As I started to thinking more on these questions it of course led to more... questions!

Has listening to podcasts made me a better educator?

A better person? A better listener? 

I'd like to think that the answer is yes, to all points. 

I have found that the podcasts I enjoy have really opened my eyes to things I didn't know before or to humanity and how we interact with each other. I also think that listening to other people share and explain their thoughts has made me a better speaker and better able to articulate my own thoughts when speaking. I've always considered myself a better writer than speaker and if I need to share my thoughts via speaking then I will write a script for myself. But through listening to podcasts I think I have actually become a better speaker.

I'm more comfortable with voicing my opinion of things and not feeling like I have to apologize if it's different than other people's opinions.

I'm more comfortable with pausing if I need to think about a question, to mull through an idea, to ask for clarification.

I'm more comfortable with asking questions and to probe for more information. This has been a great addition to my skill set as an educator. Asking students questions about their thoughts, their work, their process is a necessary skill to hone for all educators and by listening to conversations on podcasts that are centralized around asking questions I feel that I have really been able to develop a deeper skill set in this area. 

I also ask more questions of myself.

What else do I need to consider?

What don't I know?

Whose perspective haven't I considered?

What will I listen to, read or view next that will add on to my learning?

I think this line if thinking and questioning lends itself to considering how we interact and have conversations with our colleagues. 

How might we use the conversations we have with our colleagues to springboard into further professional development?

How might we use our listening skills to develop questions that will further guide our professional learning? 

******************************************

My Current Podcast List

Revisionist History- Malcolm Gladwell

Armchair Expert- Dax Shepard

I Wish I Knew EDU- Ramona Meharg

Against the Rules- Michael Lewis

Broken Record- Malcolm Gladwell

WorkLife- Adam Grant

This Week in Ontario EduBlogs (Live)- Stephen Hurley and Doug Peterson

DeCodEd- Rolland Chidiac and Chris Cluff

The Year End Report

Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on.

~Hal Borland

This is my second year as a teacher-librarian and my first year creating a year end report for the library learning commons. It was an assignment for my Teacher-Librarian Specialist AQ but I won't lie... I really enjoyed making it!

First of all, Canva is absolutely one of the best things out there. It's so fun and easy to create a really professional looking product like an infographic or year end report.

Which I did! LOL

Secondly, I have come to discover that I am a data nerd. I love looking at the numbers that relate to how the library space is being used by the school community and how the data can help to inform our practice moving forward.

The areas of focus. 

I chose to focus my report on 5 main areas:

*Collaboration/ Inquiry
*STREAM/ Maker Culture
*Circulation and Collection Stats
*Visits / Events / Presentations
*Fostering Literacy

and I included a Moving Forward section at the end.

Inspired by...

I originally started by creating an infographic that was modelled after the one shared by Leigh Borden (@msbordenTL) on Twitter. I liked the concise nature of the infographic for sharing snapshot of the data and a summary of the report for those stakeholders who may not have time or inclination to read a multi-page report.

I like the clear and succinct picture that an infographic offers.

But I want it all...

After viewing a few examples of different long-form year end reports for my AQ course I knew that it would be a great way to tell the story of our library learning commons and the transition that we have undertaken in the last two years. A big part of me REALLY wishes that I had done a report at the end of last year, my first year in the TL role, but I didn't really even know about year end reports then.

I did then what I knew how to do. 

Now that I know better, I do better.

~Maya Angelou

What really jumps out at me as I look over the report is the pictures of the learners interacting with the space. 

The multiple ways the space has been used.

The numbers of educators and students willing to take risks. 

Willing to try new things. 

Willing to say "yes, and".

Some of the numbers are staggering to me to look back on.

We are given 190 school days each year and hope that we make the most of it.

Hope that we fill each and every one of them with as much learning, questioning, wondering, making, thinking, reading and fun as we can.

We hope we connect.

When I look at this report I see a community of readers,

of makers, 

of problem-solvers,

of "doers", 

of writers,

of creators,

of tinkerers,

of learners.

And I'm so very lucky to be a part of it. 

And so here it is....

The Year End Report.