LM_NET: Library Media Networking
Hi, this is Pam Williams and I have received some wonderful responses to
my dilemna concerning whether to move from my present library media
position in elementary to a library media position in middle school.
Thanks so much to all of you who showed interest and took the time to
write me. Although many of you wrote responses similar to my own
initial thoughts, I was thrilled to hear about your experiences and
advice. I believe I know what to do now, and in fact my heart was
already leading me to give the middle school position a try. I just
needed evidence and moral support to be confident enough to make the
move. To those of you who have requested that I post this HIT, I have
tried to organize the responses into 5 categories: Advantages for
Middle, Advantages for Elementary, Disadvantages for Middle,
Disadvantages for Elementary, and General Advice. I hope this helps you
as much as it did me.
Advantages for Middle:
1. The children are calmer and more on task. They enjoy reading and
the LMS enjoys building up the fiction collection and talking books with
them.
2. The LMS has more time to do clerical work such as processing,
cataloging, and making web pages.
3. Advanced technology and the LMS is a real resource for kids and
staff with a flexible schedule.
4. More opportunity to become involved in teacher collaboration and
curriculum involvement.
5. The LMS can interact with the kids in a way that is immediately
important to them and their assignments.
6. The challenges and trying to open the kids up to research is
wonderful.
7. It is much easier to sell them on flexible scheduling
8. With a flexible schedule the LMS sets up programming and scheduling
classes/events as he/she sees fit. LMS feels like more of a team
teacher, rather than a prep. period.
9. LMS feels the job is easier because he/she doesn't have classes
every single day, every single period.
10. Teachers sign up to come to media center as needed and LMS works on
projects from beginning to end. In between sigh ups, there are periods
with nobody when the LMS can do cataloging, ordering, etc.
11. Kids can do more research, LMS likes the reading materials better
and likes working with teams on integrated units.
12. Middle school students can be fun.
13. LMS prefers teaching style that works with middle school.
14. Intellectually LMS can take middle schoolers in wonderful
directions and they still have great enthusiasm.
15. LMS enjoys the literature level and research related activities.
16. LMS likes the middle school personality which has a lot of humor and
allows for delving into deeper issues.
17. LMS has formed friendships with particular readers and students who
need the library as an alternative to regular classroom relaationships.
18. More interesting and challenging projects.
19. Rewarding to do one-on-one instruction
20. Successes are much more rewarding.
21. LMS is able to do much more for the kids from an educational
standpoint.
22. Skills are not taught in isolation.
23. More opportunity to work with teachers.
24. More auxiliary help.
25. It is fun to work with teachers and students on projects that
require a little more maturity and knowledge.
26. Students are more independent, can do more in depth research,
complex literature and the LMS can carry on better conversations with
them.
27. LMS enjoys teaching Big6, literature, book talks, research skills,
reading motivation, etc. LMS plans lessons but when teachers have
special topics they want covered, he/she works with them. Library is
often open for classes to come in and do research.
28. Middle school students carry on great discussions, know what they
like, and share their favorites.
Advantages for Elementary:
1. Elementary kids love their teachers and the LMS.
2. Elementary teachers are easier to get to know and share the LMS
concerns for the students.
3. It is easier to keep up with the reading for the elementary LMS
position than middle school.
4. The activities for elementary are fun and the stress is lower.
5. The kids are pleasant and the teachers are willing to help.
6. Elementary behavior is easier to handle.
7. Young children have likable personalities.
8. Elementary kids are so enthusiastic about everything.
9. The LMS feels more needed in elementary than middle.
10.The LMS loves elementary because of the students' enthusiasm. She
also loves reading and telling stories, dressing in costumes, and having
special promotions and reading incentives.
11. The LMS enjoys the elementary atmosphere, programs, teachers, and
parent involvement.
12. Little kids are fun because of their excitement at discovering new
things and the quantities of books they read.
13. LMS enjoys elementary children's literaturs.
14. LMS likes younger students being more attached to her.
15. Younger children are sweeter.
16. The little guys give more hugs.
17. Students really look up to you. The librarian is a cool person who
can tell great stories. The students are easily enthused about coming
to the library.
18. LMS has complete freedom in what she taught.
Disadvantages for Middle:
1. It's hard to get to know the faculty in middle school because only
the language arts teachers are concerned about what the students read.
2. LMS found it was like pulling teeth to get teachers to use the LMC
resources because they had little time to plan library lessons.
3. The LMS got fed up with the attitude of the age group and the
practice of teachers sending kids to the library to work knowing full
well they weren't going to work, but just wanted the problems out of
their hair.
4. LMS misses reading fun books like Junie B. Jones to the students.
5. Students don't check many books out and aren't enthusiastic about the
library.
6. LMS misses the hugs and laughter of the little ones.
7. LMS misses getting to read and share new picture books.
8. LMS misses the fun of holiday activities at elementary level.
9. A LMS who feels it is important for the students to like him/her
should not do middle school because in groups even the nicest kids will
show their least attractive characteristics.
10. Discipline can be more of an issue than in elementary.
11. Students are not very responsible and they tend to lose a lot of
books. They can be sarcastic and can be catty. Some students have not
been raised to respect rules and this gets worse as they get older. It
is harder to motivate older students to read.
Disadvantages of Elementary:
1. The kids seem like such babies. They don't know anything.
2. Inflexible schedule and no aide.
3. Stuck in the same schedule day after day with no breaks.
4. Teaching classes takes up all of the LMS time and there is no time
for other work.
5. Too much work.
6. The LMS couldn't take the work load in an elementary school anymore.
7. The students are more demanding.
8. Because of a fixed schedule there is little or no time to collaborate
with the teachers.
9. LMS was bored in elementary. The kids didn't get her humor and she
was tired of reading the little stories.
10. The staff in the elementary school wasn't as close as the staff in
the middle school.
11. Some students still have accidents and the librarian is also the mom
for the kids this age.
12. The week is so full of teaching library skills, research skills,
authors, book talks, reading stories and shelving books that there is
little time for ordering, processing, mending, inventory, and other
administration duties.
General Advice:
1. A lot depends on the school climates and the librarian you are
following.
2. "My advice is to follow your heart....If you LOVE middle school then
I bet you would be a FANTASTIC resource for the teachers and
students...not to mention your enthusiasm for the books for kids at that
level. Look around and think about where you could build the strongest
program, most exciting and rewarding program. Of course I realize that
the "situation" has a lot to do with decisions made."
3. What really matters is the support around you and the administration.
4. consider what you love most about the job you do now. Can you have
that if you move?
5. "It takes special people to work with middle school kids... and if
you were in the MS before and liked it it would be a real shame not to
have you go back and work with these kids."
6. Choose the job not because of the level but because of job stability.
7. "Both groups are great to work with...but if you have the ability to
work with MS students (which many teachers/librarians don't have) you
might consider that change."
8. "You have to go with your own feelings."
9. "I seriously believe if you love middle school students then that is
where you should be. There is no best level in any school. The best
level depends on the teacher, the librarian, the aide or whoever. Each
person is better for whatever level is theirs. No one can tell you that
but you. So, if you love them, go for it!"
10. "The most important criteria, though, for working in a middle
school, is to LOVE middle school kids."
11. The biggest difference is the administration.
12. "IF you love working with kids and you love books and you love being
a librarian, you will be happy no matter what age you are working with."
13. The administration must be supportive. Compare budgets and
principals. Compare teacher support.
14. What about the technology in each building? The atmosphere is also
important.
15. "I think in the end, you should think about what age of kids you
really love to be with and probably that's where you should go in spite
of the good/bad about how it's organized."
16. "It really comes down to your personal preference and the quality of
the schools you are comparing."
17. "It makes all the difference in the world when you have a staff and
principal who share your goals. Whatever level you choose, flexibility,
the ability to share your love of literature and learning, and a sense
of humor are helpful to your sanity and enjoyment of the job."
18. "So much depends not on the level but how each individual school
works. The bottom line is what do you like to do and which school gives
you the most opportunity."
19. "If you loved middle school as a teacher, then you'll love it as a
librarian. The age group presents the biggest challenge, and if you can
deal with them and enjoy the kids at this age, you'll do ok in the
library."
20. "It comes down to what you like to do most. Do you prefer the
research and teaching of middle school or the story programs in
elementary? When you examine what you like most about working with your
students you should be able to decide fairly easliy."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=
All postings to LM_NET are protected under copyright law.
To quit LM_NET (or set-reset NOMAIL or DIGEST), send email to:
listserv@listserv.syr.edu In the message write EITHER:
1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL or 3) SET LM_NET DIGEST
4) SET LM_NET MAIL * Please allow for confirmation from Listserv.
For LM_NET Help see: http://ericir.syr.edu/lm_net/
Archives: http://askeric.org/Virtual/Listserv_Archives/LM_NET.html
See also EL-Announce for announcements from library media vendors:
http://www.mindspring.com/~el-announce/
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=
LM_NET
Archive Home