Where do school libranans come from?

["Jeannine Towler (JJ)" <jjtowler@PEN.K12.VA.US>]

I began my professional career 25 yeasrs ago with a Masters
Degree in Speech Pathology.  Back in "those days" children with
speech and/or language problems were usually referred to you by
a classroom teacher who might say something like "Suzie talks
funny" or "Johnny doesn't understand things."  So, I would take
Suzie or Johnny by the hand and lead the child down to my broom
closet, or wherever that school put itinerant teachers like me,
and we would start working on the problem.

Then a few years later the federal government passed Publc Law
94.142, which basically required that any child being
considered for any area of special education must be delayed
services until hours of conferences had been held, tons of tests
had been performed and reams of paper had been used to document
all of those conferences and tests.  I wasn't enjoying my job
any more--I spent more time reporting what I was going to do or
had done, than actually doing anything.  AAARRRGGHHHHHH!!!!

BUT, I often found myself in the pleasant surroundings of the
school library as I filled out those dadblasted forms and, by
the sheer merit of observation, saw how much FUN the librarians
were having at all the schools where I taught.

That did it!  I attended night classes and got my library
certification 13 years ago.  I can't believe now that I made
such a dramatic career change then, but I am certainly glad I
did!  Now I get to work with ALL of the kids and all of the
teachers in one school--and I don't even have to work in a
broom closet anymore!

Hooray for librarians!!!

JJ
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