Re: Good Behavior Incentives

[Madeline Buchanan <DEMS105%UABDPO.BITNET@suvm.acs.syr.EDU>]

   I was very interested in Judy Brough's questions about discipline in K-5
schools.  As an experienced librarian in both elementary and middle schools
I find that the older the students get, the worse they act.  I find that
the majority of discipline problems in the library are a result of the
following:

1.  Librarians are not allowed to give grades; therefore they have nothing to
    hold over students who misbehave.  Even if they give written tests over
    the skills they teach, there is no guarantee that the grades will be used
    as part of a language arts or reading grade by the classroom teacher.

2.  Many teachers see the weekly library period as a "break" for them.
    This is a problem that is sometimes encouraged by the attitude of the
    administration.  They view this time as a time to be free of their
    students and feel that the librarian is totally responsible for discipline,
    even to the extent that they are insulted when the librarian tries to talk
    with them about a problem student.  Other teachers work well with the
    librarian, giving support when students misbehave.

3.  There is no way that librarians can learn the names of each and every
    student in a school.  Unfortunately, librarians learn the names of the
    problem students because they are the ones who seem to get the most
    attention.

4.  There is no correlation between regular classroom activities and library
    activities; therefore many students see the library as a place to play
    instead of viewing it as a learning experience.  Library skills are
    taught in isolation at a time determined by the librarian instead of
    in correlation with classroom activities that would be much more meaningful
    to the students.  Many teachers still do not see the relationship between
    the library and the classroom.

5.  Last, but not least, the attitude of the classroom teacher toward the
    library and librarian determines fully the attitude of the class when
    visiting the library.  If the teacher views the library as an integral
    part of the learning process and discusses with the librarian beforehand
    meaningful activities for the students, the students will view the library
    as an important part of education.  If the teacher sees no need for a
    library except as a break, and does not work with the librarian to
    plan meaningful activities, the students see the library time as play time
    and act accordingly.  This is distressing because many students, even in
    this type of class, are interested in getting the most out of the
    library time and cannot because of the behavior of the others.  I find
    this especially true when several students do not want to check out books
    and misbehave while I am working with those who do.

    I know I get on my soapbox about such things, but I am distressed when I
cannot even read a story for 5 minutes without a student deliberately
interrupting me for mundane reasons that have nothing to do with the story
being read.  One of the things I was taught in library school was that
librarians should work with classroom teachers to provide meaningful
experiences for the students.  But if there is no cooperation, what are we
to do? Misbehavior in the library seems to be a problem in not only the
inner-city school where I work, but also the schools in more affluent
neighborhoods and rural schools as well.

---------------------------------------------------------------
   MADELINE L. BUCHANAN           DEMS105@UABDPO.DPO.UAB.EDU
   LIBRARY MEDIA SPECIALIST       PHONE (205) 838-7644
   BARRETT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
   7601 DIVISION AVENUE
   BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA  35206
---------------------------------------------------------------