Bravo to Carol Simpson for her editorial that challenges teacher-librarians
to speak up and out for the fact that information literacy standards exist
and that they are taught through the library program:
http://www.carolsimpson.com/
Thank you to Mike Eisenberg for getting the conversation started on LM_NET
(http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/LM_NET/2007/Apr_2007/msg00063.html)
and to Deb Logan
(http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/LM_NET/2007/Apr_2007/msg00138.html)
and Tom Kaun
(http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/LM_NET/2007/Apr_2007/msg00139.html)
for sharing their work.
I only partially agree with Mike that "library and information programs are
not 'just' supportive of other areas." As Mike says, "We have a learning
agenda - it's information literacy.. and reading advocacy."
What is also true is that information literacy standards ARE part of the
standards in every content area, including the national standards promoted
by NCREL (mentioned on LM_NET by Deb Logan) such as these for historical
understanding: conducting historical research, evaluation of historical
resources, and the influence of ideas on society
(http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/SubjectTopics.asp?SubjectID=3)
It is also true that in the Age of Accountability, "reading advocacy" is not
enough - especially when information literacy is meaningless if students
cannot read and comprehend what they read.
A Local Experience:
In the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD), the teacher-librarian cadre
debated for years about whether or not we should have a separate
"curriculum." Many of us felt we should not. We felt that by keeping our
focus on the information literacy skills that already existed in the content
area standards we would be assured of a place at the table - as
instructional partners.
A few years ago, after my tenure in the district, the teacher-librarian
cadre developed an extensive curriculum at the elementary level (with plans
to develop one through grade 12). The curriculum was based on IP2 and the
content standards. It was voluminous. It was published on the district's Web
site and remained linked for two years. The teacher-librarian cadre promoted
the standards with their classroom teacher colleagues and principals. The
standards were presented to the school board. They were integrated into
lesson plans.
Three years later, the questions are: Did having a curriculum ensure that
library positions were viewed as central to the academic program of the
schools and that full staffing was retained? Did it ensure that
teacher-librarians were viewed as equal partners with classroom teachers in
teaching the information literacy skills and strategies found in this and
the classroom curriculum? Did it give teacher-librarians the status to move
TUSD's central administration to reinstate the library director position and
invite that person into curricula decision making at the district level?
To all of these questions, the answer is sadly an emphatic "no." Three years
later, the library information literacy curriculum is no longer accessible
from the district Web site.
A State-level Experience:
Last year, when the state of Arizona released the new social studies
standards (aligned with national standards), I was teaching social studies
methods for preservice classroom teachers. I was horrified by the changes.
This coming fall, Arizona educators will be required to teach the new
standards. Check out this example. The kindergarten social studies standards
expanded from one page ("Old") to eight pages ("New"):
http://instech.tusd.k12.az.us/Core/kinder/corek.htm
In the fastest growing state in the nation, where the fastest growing
segment of the population is young children, where a growing number of these
children are English language learners, one has to wonder what the Arizona
Department of Education was thinking. Surely, these standards were not
written to help classroom teachers and students succeed!
Clearly, classroom teachers' plates are filled and overflowing with
standards. I doubt that any classroom teacher, any school or district
administrator, or any state-level education official will welcome adding
ADDITIONAL standards to the menu.
A National View:
Carol Simpson suggests we are "so intimately familiar with these standards
that we assume all other stakeholders know about them." I cannot agree that
we are ALL that familiar with information literacy standards because "our"
standards do NOT share the vocabulary of the classroom curriculum standards.
For example, search the 19-page 9th grade history standards for Tucson
Unified School District/the State of Arizona
(http://instech.tusd.k12.az.us/Core/highschool/ss/sshs.doc). You will find
the word information mentioned eleven times, but you won't find it
associated with anything called "literacy." It is associated with terms
these terms: "relevant," "comparing current events and historical events,"
"interpret," "GIS," "access" (one time in 19 pages), and "using information
wisely."
If there were a separate information literacy curriculum and all the info
lit standards were teased out of all the high school content standards,
would the Sabino High School teacher-librarian staff of 1.5 professionals
for 1650 students and 85 content-area teachers be able to successfully teach
all these standards to all students? Would they be expected to take sole
responsibility for these standards as a separate discipline? Would they
teach these standards in isolation from the classroom curriculum? There are
many unanswered questions about having a nationally or state-sanctioned set
of information literacy standards.
And although we may have been preaching to the choir about information
literacy standards for ten years, many in the choir do not know how to
locate our standards within current classroom curricula. Many of us do not
recognize teaching reading comprehension as foundational strategies for
information literacy skills. Many among us do not agree that the most
effective way to teach information literacy standards is through
classroom-library collaboration and through open-access, flexibly scheduled
school library programs. And as Carol notes, many of us are not serving as
teacher leaders within our schools so that when curriculum discussions are
being held and decisions are being made information literacy is not central
to the conversation.
Bottom line:
Although I agree that we are part of the problem, I do not agree that the
problem is solely ours. I agree that information literacy standards MUST use
the language of classroom content standards. So far, as Carol's article
suggests and as the TUSD experience shows, having separate information
literacy standards has not ensured that library programs are viewed as
central to the academic programs of our schools.
The standards movement is clearly out of control. There is no way that
classroom teachers can teach the standards they are expected to teach in
today's classrooms.
If we want to be instrumental in the ICT (Information and Communication
Technology) success of students, then, from my experience and perspective,
we need to locate our standards within the current curriculum standards and
to collaborate our socks off to help classroom teachers and students meet
THEIR agendas and help them reach the critical goal of being 21st-century
information literate.
Best,
Judi
Judi Moreillon, M.L.S., Ph.D.
Literacies and Libraries Consultant
Author: <http://tinyurl.com/yzvy5g> Collaborative Strategies for Teaching
Reading Comprehension: Maximizing Your Impact
<http://storytrail.com/> http://storytrail.com
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