So You Are Going to Be A Teacher Librarian... now what? Part 1

 This is the time of year when my inbox starts to fill up with requests for new TLs and admin asking if I can chat with them about their library, can they come and tour the Larkspur LLC, what suggestions do I have for them moving forward. It's always very flattering and there's nothing I love more than talking about school libraries and how the space can best serve the students and educators in a building. 

But I started to think what were my first steps 5 years ago when I moved into the space? How did I approach this new role? What advice would I give someone starting their librarian journey for the first time? 

I've been working on a document outlining the details connected to budgeting, purchasing, collection organization and more. I had originally planned to just pass this on to the educator moving into the Larkspur LLC as I move on to a new classroom adventure but I've been asked to share it in numerous ways and so that will come. I think also that parts and pieces of this blog will end up in that document as well. I am hoping it will be a resource or a guide for new (and existing) TLs and not merely a series of boxes to check. 

Why? 

Every school library is different. Every school librarian brings different strengths and vision into the space. School libraries should be living spaces that grow and adapt with the people that are using it. Creating a vibrant Library Learning Commons is not a set of boxes to be checked and while touring and talking to others is perhaps bot important and necessary, time to sit and reflect on your own space is of the utmost importance. 

So where do you start?

Environment As Third Teacher

The use and organization of the physical space of the library should be the teacher librarian's first concern. Until students and educators can comfortably and independently use the space there is no reason to begin to think about integration of maker culture, inquiry based learning, book clubs and other literacy programs. The space must serve the users. 

To consider:

How will the sections of the library collection be organized so that students of all ages can find the materials they want? What signage and visuals will help them? Are the shelves arranged so that all students can reach and access the books they want? 

In our library we have 6 main sections for the books- non-fiction, chapter books, graphic novels, picture books, dual language, and beginning readers. Each of these sections is in a "nook" or area of it's own so that students can easily identify the books based on where they are located. 

Most of the sections have mainly visual (picture) signage to help student browse the shelves independently. We do not use the computer catalogue system in our library to find books. As the school is a K-5 school I wanted students to be able to self-regulate and independently access all materials in the space. 

A few decisions I made to support learners in finding their own library materials:

• Beginning readers- theses are the books that the youngest readers most often want to read and that get lost on the big picture book shelves. Using bins and forward facing books students can browse through the super hero, Pete the Cat, Franklin, Barbie, Disney, Trucks and Cars, Elephant and Piggie, Animals, Alphabet books, board books, Early Non-Fiction, Peppa Pig, etc books to find what they are looking for. Each bin is labelled with an image of the types of books that can be found inside as many of the readers of these books are actually pre-readers.

• Picture Books- these are organized by author last name as in all libraries. I did pull out popular authors and create a separate section beside the letter section for ease of finding. For example, Elise Gravel has a smaller section beside the main G section. The same for Ruth Ohi, Robert Munsch, Oliver Jeffers, Mo Willems, Ashley Spires, etc.

• Chapter books and Graphic Novels- the bulk of these two collections are organized by series and not by author. The series are either housed in front facing bins or in sections on the shelf for larger collections (i.e. Dogman). I do not make room for the entire collection on the shelf because once the school year starts and books are circulating you will never need that much shelf space until the library closes at the end of the year. (See picture of the Dogman books and allotted shelf space).  Students often want to read through a series and may know the name of the series but not always the author. By organizing these books in series students can quickly find what they want and re-shelving books together is quick. Both the chapter books and graphic novel sections also have a separate section for books organized by author last name. I most often use these books for displays as students rarely need to be encouraged to read books from popular series but may not have considered or been introduced to a stand alone title. 

New labels in in process for these bins...

• Non-Fiction- our non-fiction section is mainly organized by the whole number Dewey as in a K-5 school very few of our learners have begun to work with decimals and even fewer have experience with 3 digit numbers!! We have approximately 300 Kindergarten students and 150 Grade 1-2 students that will want to access the non-fiction section so their shelving and signage must work for their needs and allow them to access the books independently. First, I re-organized the non-fiction books to go straight across a shelf rather than zig zag up and down as it often does in public libraries. This allows the shelves to act as a number line and provides a clear sight line when students are looking for books. Each section has a large sign that displays- the whole number Dewey, an arrow pointing in the direction of the books, the label in words and the label in numerous pictures. This allows for all students, including pre-readers and multi-language learners to access the non-fiction section. A student may not yet be ready to read "dinosaur" but they definitely know what a Tyrannosaurus Rex looks like! Bigger sections, like the 599 Animals were split up into small sections like- Bears, Wild Cats, Ocean Mammals etc each with their own label and colour coding for ease of re-shelving. 

• Dual Language- our dual language books are organized alphabetically by language and when possible have the dual language on the label. They were moved to be the first section you encounter when you enter the library so that multi-language learners are welcomed as soon as they enter the space. 

Resources that Supported Decision Making

• Leading Learning- page 34
• I printed out the various continuum from Leading Learning and tracked our progress with my admin during the first 3 years in the school library space. 
• Capacity Building Series: The Third Teacher
• Empowered Inquiry Spaces by Trevor Mackenzie
• I would HIGHLY recommended all TLs (and edus) read Inquiry Mindset by Trevor Mackenzie to guide your pedagogy and decision making connected to the school library.

The library learning commons and all connected programming must start with books and texts and this includes how they are organized for stakeholders. Once your physical plan is set and in transition then you can begin to think about next steps:

• flexible seating and provocation areas
• encouraging a maker culture that permeates beyond the library walls
• co-planning, co-teaching and co-learning from an inquiry stance
• library programming that instills a love of reading and promotes literacy habits
• virtual library spaces and programming

How might your space serve the learners who will use it most often? How will the organization and signage support learners to independently find their own materials? How might you create spaces or nooks for inquiry, tinkering and innovation? Does your space allow for displays- front facing books move more often!! Promote new titles, diverse collections and thematic curations of books for your learners. 

This is how the school library I have had the privilege to curate and work in on behalf of the school community is currently organized. 

Is it the best way or the only way? A definite nope. 

As a new teacher-librarian moves into the space with a new vision and serves a different cohort of learners (because the school community is a living, breathing entity that is always changing) it is my hope that they will adapt, structure and re-organize as needed. And I will be cheering them on all the way. 

Excerpts from a Cover Letter

 Change.

A lot of people are hesitant about change. Some people embrace change. As the saying goes, the only constant is change. 

Awhile back I wrote a blog post about placements sheets- the method in which educators rank their choices of assignments for the upcoming school year so that admin can build the school's organization. Then I blogged about being grumpy. And being a naturally reflective person (is that a fancy way of saying I'm an over thinker..) it all stuck with me. 

It's been 5 years since I transitioned from the role of a classroom teacher to teacher-librarian. I have learned a lot about inquiry mindset, maker culture, pedagogical documentation, dismantling anti-Black racism, cultivating genius, teaching from an anti-oppression, anti-colonialism and anti-bias lens, Indigenous knowledge and land based learning... and so much more. One of the privileges that comes from being in a non-classroom role is that you often have more time (and thought capacity) to embrace professional learning, to seek out PD books and workshops, to engage with multiple educators and co-plan and co-teach.

What you often don't have in a non-classroom role is a consistent source of time to work with students through the many stages of inquiry and learning. And over the last few years, due to numerous reasons, I have had even less time with students. I miss them. 

And so to avoid burying the lead too much... 

I am headed back into the classroom in September in a Grade 3/4 class. 

So many people have asked why. So here are a few excerpts from my cover letter:

My most recent experience as a teacher-librarian has afforded me the opportunity to learn and grow as an educator in the areas of equity and social justice education. I believe that it is of vital importance to embed pedagogical practices rooted in literacy and multi modal texts to consistently be teaching and co-learning with students from an anti-oppression, anti-racism and anti-colonialism lens in all areas of the curriculum. After spending the past five years in the role of teacher-librarian I am eager to return to a classroom role so that my own pedagogical practice is rooted in the experience of daily co-planning, co-learning and co-assessing alongside students.

I have never seen myself staying in the library until I retire. I have at least another 15 years (and, no I don't know my retirement date. That's a conversation for another day, eh Aviva!) and that's a long time to be in a non-classroom role, in my opinion. Since I moved into the library there have been revisions to the Social Studies, Science, Math and soon the Language Arts curriculum. To really know the curriculum you need to be working with it daily. I believe that teacher-librarians have a wide view of the curriculum because they are constantly curating, collecting, co-planning and co-teaching with educators from all grade levels but I miss the deep embedded experience of curriculum that comes from exploring a topic from start to finish through an inquiry lens with students.

I believe in the intentional practice of working with students to build their capacity for critical cultural consciousness. I have attended a number of workshops with Dr. Andrew Campbell from OISE and have heard him say that “the opposite of tokenism is consistency”.

Embedding a variety of differentiated instructional practices and processes is central to helping students learn about themselves as learners. I am hoping to explore digital compositions (i.e. podcasting, video/vlogs, visual literacy) with students in a classroom space so they grow as creators and consumers of media and informational texts. I believe that it is important that students’ learning within the school is  grounded in not only their experiences beyond the walls of the classroom, but the current events that are shaping our world.

The past few years have brought HUGE change and awareness to educators around issues of diversity, building critical cultural consciousness, embedding anti-racist and anti-colonial pedagogy and I am proud of the work that I have done in the library to help educators. I am proud of our "Live from the Library" read alouds that have been curated and built using Gholdy Muhammad's HRL framework from Cultivating Genius. I am proud of constantly seeking out how we might approach a topic with an inquiry mindset and help students to see the wonder and joy of their own interests. I am proud of layering provocations and sparks connected to multi-modal texts and loose parts to help students share their voice and ideas.

And now I want to take that learning and work with students directly. Often in the library you get to spark an inquiry with students, you get to support the research or exploration stage, or you get to take part in the creation of products related to the learning. I want to be a part of all of it all the time.

As I have slowly shared this information with friends and colleagues close to me many people have said something along the lines of "Oh, wow! That's amazing for the kids but what a loss for school libraries." And while it's lovely to be thought of in this way I really, truly wonder if it is a loss?

I mean, I still have all my knowledge and experience about school-libraries and what I believe them to be. I am still a passionate advocate for school libraries and the role they play in supporting students, educators and the community. I have the 5 years I spent sharing that vision with the school I worked in and now a new passionate school library advocate will take over the role of teacher-librarian. Will it be the same? Of course not but that doesn't mean it's a loss.

I spoke with the educator who will likely be taking over the role and we discussed that the school librarian role and the school library itself is unique to each school community. What they bring to the role is their own set of skills and strengths. They bring their own professional network of collaborators that may have never connected with me. They bring their experience and knowledge of being a classroom teacher through the pivots to online/remote learning, of supporting students as they transitioned back into the building and learning within a classroom space.

If we believe in each student's capacity for genius then shouldn't we also believe in each educator's capacity for genius as well?

One person does not a school library make. A school library is a living, breathing, ever changing entity of the school community. It reflects the beliefs and values of a school. It reflects the diversity and culture of a school. It reflects all the hopes of what we believe our school system can be to support the learning of all stakeholders.

Will I return to the school library someday? I hope so.

Will I continue to be a passionate and vocal supporter of school libraries and role of teacher-librarians? Damn right, I will.

But until then, I will be finding my joy in my own little classroom as I continue to grow and learn as an educator.

Does everything have to be a lesson or is everything always a lesson?

 Educators are always looking for ways to "cover" the curriculum. Even when we know that we are accountable to the Overall Expectations the draw the ensure that all Specific Expectations are touched on is strong. 

But not all expectations are created equal. 

Are they? 

On Friday I made my way down to a classroom to speak to an educator about a specific student. We had crossed paths in the hallway that morning and I had said that if he was available later in the day would he be able to come and sort through the LEGO station? This was an arrangement we had in place before the pandemic when the library was wide open at all times to all students. This student required frequent breaks and was always eager to be helpful and take on a leadership role in  the library so his homeroom educator and I worked out a plan where he had his own set of library tasks on a checklist. When he felt that he needed a break from the classroom setting he would advocate for his needs by asking to come to the library. Often, I would deliberately mess up the LEGO station when I hadn't seen him for a few days knowing a visit was probably imminent. 

But what does this have to do with the curriculum?

Well, nothing really. But when I arrived in his classroom his teacher felt it necessary to tell me that they were letting the students talk because they just seemed to need it. They said "I know I should get them on task and doing work but if I let them talk it out for awhile they will settle down later. I promise we will do work!"

Now, I am no one's supervisor and there was no need to justify anything happening in the class to me. However, I find that many educators do this- they try to provide a rationale for their actions in the classroom to other educators when it doesn't appear as though a direct lesson is happening. 

I quickly assured the educator that I was not judging her and in fact listed off what I saw happening in her class:

• I saw an educator who was being responsive to the needs of the students.
• I saw students who were engaged in social conversations with their peers. They were making eye contact, they were facing the speaker and there was a back and forth exchange of ideas.
• The noise level was on the higher side but that's because every table group was talking. No one group was dominating the space. It was a happy hum of discussion. 
• I saw students being given time to re-connect with their peers after 2 years of separation and uncertainty. 
• I saw humans re-engaging with each other and learning social skills that would serve them throughout their life. 

And as I said to the educator,

 "Isn't Oral Communication in the Language Arts curriculum? Looks to me like a great learning activity."

This has stuck with me for a few days since it happened.

Does every "lesson" have to be pre-planned and written out in full in a day plan? Does every lesson have to be a formal opportunity to assess students? Does every lesson have to have posted learning goals to be successful?

In my opinion, no. And I believe that in the opinion of many educators I admire the answer is also no.

As educators we have been told time and again that we are not in fact experts in our field. The media tells us this. The government tells us this. Parents sometimes tell us this. 

I think this can cause educators to question themselves and their decisions even when they know what they are doing is best for kids. Did I witness a formal lesson? No. Could it have been used for a TPA? No. Was it valuable for those learners? YES!

This is where we need to hold each other up and showcase each other's brilliance. I think we need to notice and name the genius we see in our fellow educators' practice. This educator obviously had spent time really seeing the students in their class. They knew what they needed in this moment to help them focus further into the learning day. They just needed a reminder of their expertise as an educator after two long years of everything being so unsure. 

Let's do that for each other more often.  

(And the student with the LEGO? He came, helped re-sort the mixed up bins and stayed for a full period helping younger students and interacting with them. It was lovely to see.)

You're Grumpy.

 You're grumpy. A lot grumpier than you used

to be and for a long time now. 

I was told recently that I am now grumpy. And grumpier all the time. And I started to wonder.

Am I?

Am I grumpy now? The last two years have definitely taken a toll on all of us and perhaps as a society we are more grumpy now. Or maybe we are just less willing to put up with bullshit? I know I am. I feel like the last two years has helped me to see that sharing my thoughts, my real thoughts, on certain situations isn't rude it's advocating for myself and perhaps others.

I wonder, "Does speaking your mind or your truth make you grump?" Or does it just show that other people have an unwillingness to hear things that make them uncomfortable?

I find myself drawing inwards a lot more in the last few months. I want to watch TV alone. I want to read in a room alone. I want to crochet or create alone. I rarely crave being with others. Perhaps it stems from all those months of being home during the quarantine and lockdowns and then the overstimulation of being in a school filled with people all day. Perhaps it stems from what often feels like the crushing weight of the constant news cycle of a world on fire? Perhaps it's because my youngest daughter has required me (and sometimes my husband, but less often) to sleep with her for at least 95% percent of the nights since March 2020. Maybe it's because I am not even alone in sleep?

Does wanting to be alone more often make me a grump? Does recognizing that I need this time for me make me a grump?

My friend, Chris Cluff is often a source of #thoughtfuel (and that term!) for me. He recently posted this poem on his blog- And . The phrase "the burden of caretaking and releasing our stories from clenched fists" felt like he had crawled inside my brain and had seen my thoughts. 

In some ways my family has been so lucky these past two years. No one in our immediate family has had COVID, we have all kept our jobs and continue to live in a safe place. We have been able to connect more with our children as they have been home with us and we are building an addition on our home that will allow us to "escape" to the backyard for peace and relaxation. So does all that mean we aren't allowed to feel as though the last two years haven't been hard in other ways? Is there a scale of difficulty that prioritizes one person's hardship over the hardship of others? 

Do I have a "right" to be grumpy?

What is the threshold where we are given permission to be grumpy? That our burdens make it social acceptable to be outwardly grumpy? Perhaps more grace and acknowledgement that everyone's story has value and their experience can't be measured against the experience of others?

I have friends going through hard things. Very hard things. Cancer. The death of family members. Fear for their immunocompromised children and loved ones. Mental health issues. Divorce. 

All things infinitely harder than anything I am dealing with in my daily life. I would never call any of them grumpy. But I would also never call anyone just working through the daily slog of life in a pandemic grumpy either. 

Seriously. Grumpy!? Me? Maybe I am. Maybe I'm grumpier than I used to be. Maybe I'm not. 

Maybe I'm just less willing to hold back saying what I'm thinking. Maybe I'm tired of "meeting people where they are" fully knowing they never intend to put the work in to move forward. Maybe I'm not willing to let others walk all over the work I've put in to push my learning forward. Maybe I'm not willing to listen to excuses and choices that don't serve the students in our school community.

Maybe I'm grumpy. Maybe not. 

And to be honest, I don't care anymore if you think I'm grumpy.

From a mom to the teachers of #Onted

 Something to think about over the break...

As the parent of two school age children we have been talking a lot of the new routines and the removal of masks/returning to sitting in groups. Both of my daughters suffer from anxiety and are currently struggling with the thought of immediately sitting so close to others after 2 years of trying to stay distanced. There will be students in your class that feel the same way. 

Perhaps a slow transition to groups is needed, sitting in pairs first might be best? Ask students how they feel and what they are ready for. While we may be ready to return to the practice of sitting in groups and it makes teaching certain topics and activities easier, it is not about our convenience but about centering the needs of our students. 

My daughters have also asked me about masks and whether I will still be wearing one. I told that them that I will be wearing a mask at school after the break and it's for 2 reasons:

1) I want to. It's my choice to wear one as is all things regarding my body and issues of consent.

2) There will be students who want to wear a mask still and they will need to see adults in the building wearing masks and supporting them in that decision. The students who are comfortable not wearing masks may not need our support as much. And maybe students feel comfortable taking their mask off in the classroom community where they have built trust with you and their classmates but not in the hallway where they encounter more people. Again, as the adults and the educators in the building it's important to decenter ourselves and do what's best for kids first and foremost.

So as a mom of two kids scared and worried to come back to school on the 21st I am asking you to consider these things and work to help your students heal and transition as we slowly move away from COVId restrictions. 

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...

Pocket of Joy- Morning Duty (#SOL22)

Last Friday I posted this on my social media:

This week I:

-prepped asynchronous work for students in Kindergarten to Grade 5

-posted asynchronous work for students in Grades 1-5, emailed their grown-ups, and posted reminders of work

-read to an online Grade 1/2 class

-read to an in-school Kindergarten class

-read to an online Grade 2 class

-planned and designed inquiry activities related to our Blue Spruce program

-taught online Kindergarten

-supported online Grade 3

-got pulled from online Grade 3 to cover an in-person Grade 1 class

-taught online Kindergarten (again)

-curated our weekly LLC newsletter

-curated next week’s BHM “Jam or Not A Jam”

-pulled books connected to educator’s requests for in class inquiries

… and probably a lot of stuff I forgot.

Each week in #Onted is a full month. No joke.

It's a list of all the things I could remember doing at school between Monday and Friday. It's a lot. And I am just one educator in one building. We routinely have at least 5 unfilled jobs on any given day and some days it's been as high at 11 (maybe more!) unfilled jobs that need to be covered by library, ISSP, ESL or homeroom educators missing their planning times. It's an all hands on deck situation in Ontario schools right now. People are frazzled, burnout and fractured from trying to remember what they need to do while attempting to cover a different role. The system is continuing to eat us alive.

That being said there are still moments when joy is felt and celebrated in our schools. While I dread going into work each day knowing that if the parking lot is empty I may be thrust into a role that I am unprepared for or even pulled partway through the day, partway through a task. My ability to focus and see a task through to completion is almost non-existent at this point.

But every morning at 8:15 I head out to the parking lot for morning duty. For three years I was on crosswalk duty and then last year I was shifted to Kiss n' Ride and now I am stationed at the back of the parking lot.

I absolutely LOVE being outside in the morning for duty. For the last 5 years I have been the first person many families see each morning when they arrive at school. I don't know how many of you know this... but I am pretty cheerful person in the morning. I look forward to greeting the students and their grown-ups. I like to chat and make small talk. I get to know the students at little better. The students excitedly remind me if it's their library day or share which book they liked the best that we read recently.

One little girl told me this week that she loved the book that had a character with hair just like hers. Seriously. I didn't stop smiling all morning.

One of my favourite things about morning duty is getting to know the students and their grown-ups in a different light. We have a family whose child is in Kindergarten and every day since September Mom and Dad would walk the little one into school. Mom was expecting a new baby and when we returned after the shut down in January only Dad was walking. I got to learn about the new baby, the baby's name and hear all sorts of updates. Last week, I got to meet Grandma and Grandpa as they walked the little one to school.

The families and I joke about the traffic backups and headaches in the parking (seriously, some parents need to slow down and be patient). We discuss the weather. Did we know it was going to be this cold? Does it look like we are going to get more snow? People ask for book recommendations to read with their children. Newcomers share with me their stories about why they moved to Canada and what they hope for their grandchildren attending our school.

It's almost always 15 minutes of joy (minus the cars who want to park in the tow away zone no matter how many times I've asked them not to...).

It's 15 minutes of interacting with students. With people. With families. With parents and caregivers. With grandmas and grandpas. With little ones too small to come to school yet.

It's the only part of my day that remains the same from the "before time".

It's my little pocket of joy.