Library workload vs. Teacher Workload

[Bonnie Fulmer <GBF1@MARISTB.MARIST.EDU>]

     Since Sylvia posted her comments to everybody, I thought I'd
share my response to her with everybody, too.  I DON'T want
to start a librarian vs. teacher flame here; our "Where do we
come from?" thread has proved many of us have been on both
sides of the fence.  We have to remember that everybody's
job is a challenge, just in different ways.
     I'm having soooooooooooo much fun on LM-Net now that I
have the luxury of summertime to spend here.  Let's keep
these neat exchanges going in a friendly fashion!

--------------------------- Original Message ---------------------------
Dear Sylvia,
     As a person who has taught high school English for 10 years
and has now been a high school librarian for 9 years, I feel
qualified to respond to your reply to Roberta's posting.  And I can
say that I unequivocally agree with BOTH of you.  You are right in
saying that both jobs require a tremendous amount of work.  I do not
think Roberta meant to imply that librarians have no work responsi-
bilities beyond the school day.  However, the KIND of work varies
tremendously.  I know whereof she speaks when she moans about the
papers to grade, particularly essays.  Reading 30 (or more likely 130)
papers on the SAME topic is boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooring, even if
they are masterfully written.  I used to try to come up with interesting
assignments, (read the Ann Landers column on "Love or Infatuation?" and
use her criteria to convince me which Romeo and Juliet truly felt),
but after the first 10 or 12 papers, the rest become drudgery.  I tried
to assign one a week.  At 5 minutes a paper, that meant 10 hours and
50 minutes of grading for that one measly assignment EACH WEEK.  And
it really took more like 10-15 minutes apiece.  Then there
were the worksheets, quizzes, vocabulary assignments, tests, etc.,
etc., etc., etc. on top.  Oh, yeah, and lesson plans.  And every
student was required to do a major research paper every term.
Let's see, 130 kids times 10 pages each, at 30 minutes (minimum)
apiece..... ARGH!!!  But at least for these, the content varied.
Some were VERY interesting.  Let's see, one of my most memorable
thesis statements was "Burials at sea usually take place on the
water."  Duh.  (Comment not actually attached to student's paper).
There was supposed to be a tie-in with "Rime of the Ancient
Mariner," but I don't remember precisely what the point was
supposed to be.  I only wish the other 64 1/2+ hours of grading
for that one assignment were as chuckle-inspiring.
     ANYWAY, you're right when you say there's an equivalent
workload for librarians.  But I don't find THIS type of
work to be "work."  Yes, I spend hours on Internet preparing
for classes, but it's more like a treasure hunt.  It's FUN,
not something I dread.  It's fun to track book prices over
the last 10 years (NYT Index has gone from $90/vol to $750!
can you believe it?!?!?!) to develop a rationale for
increased funding.  It's fun to search out secondary fiction
set during the Revolutionary War for a collaborative unit,
or to locate reviews to prepare for specific purchasing.
And it's fun to spend money on all those neat books and
dig into the packages when they arrive.
     So, I do agree with you: there's just as much to do
as a librarian as there is as an English teacher.  However,
like Tom Sawyer's friends, I guess I've just been tricked
into not seeing it as "work."  But there's no way Tom can
trick me into grading one more research paper and liking it!

                                   Sincerely,
                                   Bonnie


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                     ||        Bonnie | Fulmer       ||
                     ||   Spackenkill | High School  ||
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