HIT: Library elective

[Wanda Cuniff <wcuniff@TENET.EDU>]

Thanks to all the supportive librarians out there who emailed me their
comments and recommendations after my principal asked me to teach a 6th
period elective. I will attempt to summarize the responses I got.

5 people said, no way, don't do it.

1 person sent two commiserating notes, good moral support, but advised me
to do it or I might be seen as someone who is not a team player.

The following ideas were sent as suggestions for curriculum for the elective:
book binding, write a book with the class, video production,
storytelling, publish a magazine, mythology, hold a literary fair,
Reader's Theatre, critical viewing, independent research and writing,
research and production with Hyperstudio, teach genres, net exploration.

Four people suggested variations on the theme of training a class in
research skills and media production, then using the students as trained
library aides.  I neglected to mention in my original target post that I
already do that, and have two to three student aides per period.

What did I decide?  I took my last year's desk calendar, and tallied up
all the classes I taught during 6th period last school year. They
totalled 98 of 174 instruction days.  I wrote my principal a letter
respectfully declining the job, based on that fact that I already teach
during 6th period over half of the school year, in addition to
supervising and training all the student aides, running a flexible
schedule open library, administering the Unison database and the AR
program, and coaching Academic Pentathlon during the Spring semester.

My principal found another person to teach the 6th period elective he needed.

Wanda Cuniff, Librarian      Rusk Middle School
wcuniff@tenet.edu            411 N. Mound Street
409-569-3123                 Nacogdoches, TX.  75961
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