Re: Teacher damage

["Peter G. Mohn" <pmohn@foxinternet.net>]

Dear LM_Net,

I've always believed in modeling good deeds for students and treating students
the same way we treat adults, therefore I always charge teachers for lost
items.  In 24 years of teaching I have had only one teacher complain.  My staff
is very good at checking out materials and returning them.  If they check out a
classroom set of books they keep excellent track of who is using them in class
and they make sure all the books are returned to them at the end of each
period.  They do this because they know other teachers and students will need
these titles for their lessons and we have limited resources.

Also, teachers wait in line for their turn to check out books.  When students
see adults being polite by not "cutting" in line, or being courteous toward
staff, parents and students, then they begin to realize the importance of being
a responsible adult.  I can't tell you the number of times students waiting in
line come to the realization that they are treated with the same respect as
adults in the library/school.  When they see a staff member wait their turn to
check out materials they stand up straight with the realization that they are
as important as any teacher in the building.  And I've had teachers catch on
quickly to this teachable moment and when the student asks them if they wish to
go first they reply either, "No thank you. You were first." or "No, I'll wait
my turn because I know you need to get back to class."  The student asking the
question and all the students around them realize this teacher respects their
rights and in turn they treat that teacher with respect.

Too many times students feel they are treated as second class citizens in
school.  It's nice when this assumption by students changes when all adults and
students are treated with the same respect.

Peter G. Mohn, LMS
Snohomish Freshman Campus
Snohomish, WA
pmohn@foxinternet.net

Lisa Von Drasek wrote:

> This is a very interesting topic. We are fortunate to have an extensive =
> collection and are able to lend hundreds of books to each classroom for =
> which the due date is the end of June. We do not charge teachers. I would =
> much rather have a teacher who had five lost books a year than one that =
> has not visited or taken a book out of the library all year (yes we had =
> one like that) At the end of the school year the I present a report by =
> classroom of the number of books lost or damaged and the replacement cost  =
> to the principal. Funds are usually provided to me in the fall. I also =
> pass out composition notebooks the first week of school and request that =
> the teachers ask students to signout classroom library books. This has cut =
> down on the number of missing books and teachers can follow up with their =
> own students.
>
> Lisa
>
> Bank Street School for Children
> Prek-8th grade
>
> Lisa Von Drasek, MLIS
> Children's Librarian
> Bank Street College of Education
> 610 West 112th St
> NY  NY   10025
>
> lisav@bnkst.edu
>
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