I kept thinking I wouldn't post to this but I finally feel I have to. I
have been on both sides of this issue also. I worked as the media center
clerk/assistant for twelve years and have been on the ceritifed side for
the last three. As I read the posts, I find myself agreeing with both
sides except for the comments about the arrogance of media specialists.
(In my years in this field, I don't think I have ever met an arrogant
person, they are unfailingly willing to help no matter who you are. (And
the profession is not responsible for the rules set up by the state for
who can take what classes))As a clerk assistant I alway said what I was
or said I was employed in the library ( as Popeye would say "I yam what I
yam" and was proud of it even though I felt that I was ( indeed ) doing
the same work as the librarian I was working with. One of the reasons
that I pursued my cerifitication was because of that very reason-- the
school system could pay me $10 something an hour/30 hours a week/ 36
weeks a year while I was doing most of the same work that the person
making the $40,000 plus was making ( she had been there many years,
didn't like to order and didn't care much about cataloging). I feel the
ideal combination is that experience plus the knowledge that you gain
from the classes ( often because it give you links to others in the
profession and their knowledge) I know I would have been pretty lost if I
hadn't had the hands on experience since the classes were not in a
particular order and often had a huge mixture of on the job experience
and people who really were just starting out. I have not seen a single
post that has put down the wonderful people who are working in school
media centers. I think all of us agree that they are doing a job that is
needed. I guess that some of us are looking for some respect to go with
the dollars and hours that we spent on our degrees-maybe because we
aren't given the repect in other ways. Mine was a forty year journey and
I feel like I've accomplished something that should be recognizable --not
recognized, you notice. Personally I think that we should encourage the
people we work with or who work by themselves to get the compensation
they deserve for the job they do wherever and however possible.
In Michigan, there is supposed to be a certified teacher in the classroom
for the "hours, minutes" to count as instructional time for the total
hours the state requires each year ( no more counting days it's down to
hours and minutes!) I know that in many districts, the library is
considered free time for the teacher and the students are left in the
library regardless of certification issues. I often wonder how the
schools are able to do this.
My principal recently asked me to rewrite the job decription for my
assistant. He says he wants her to be more involved in instruction ( at
least I think that's what he wants he has an "endearing" habit of being
about a clear as in big rock in the lake during a pea soup fog- so we are
still in the clarifying stage) The strange thing is that the job
description was taken the the state of Michigan guidelines as well as
other published sources. Assisting with instruction is already included
and she and I pretty much share duties doing whatever needs to be done.
However I had a dream last night that I think clarifies where he is going
( grin) Dreamt I got back to school and discovered that I had teaching
assignments for all six hours. Spanish 1, Spanish 3 ( I don't speak the
language beyond a few common words- figured I could stay ahead of the
Spanish 1 kids!) Economics , some kind of a tech class--as in industrial
design and a class that was set up to help a student decide if they
wanted to go into a particular narrow position in the health care field
-like caring for patients with a certain disease in a certain kind of
hospital room-- I told you it was a dream! I don't think you are
supposed to be dreaming about your job during summer vacation-- maybe
it's just the heat!
Darlene Yasick
Media Specialist
Hopkins High School
lib027yas1@juno.com
Only the mediocre man is always at his best-- Somerset Maugham
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