Re: [LM_NET] TAR: Opinions about policing our profession

[Julie Dahlhauser <juldahl@GMAIL.COM>]

Nancy, and all,

I don't think you're talking about someone who is capable of being effective
in the right setting but is temporarily negative because of having a bad
year or a bad interview.

What I see as a problem is the type of school librarian that everyone seems
to tell horror stories about. The one who spends her days obsessing over
keeping books in perfect order and doesn't want actual children to come in
the library and mess them up. The one who tracks down overdue books so
zealously that parents wince when they see her number on their caller ID
during Thanksgiving dinner (true story!). The one who appears to have lots
of free time and a cushy job because he has scared the teachers away from
trying to work with her. The shusher. Some of these people have left deep
scars even with professional educators, even with principals and
superintendents.

When I think about my job, and all the people on LM_NET, I have such a
positive mental image of all the good we're doing, and all the energy we
bring to our schools. We're teaching kids to navigate Web 2.0, lighting
fires under reluctant readers, slipping dynamite lesson plans to newbie
teachers, graciously incorporating the "literature" from these
reading-as-decoding programs, offering cutting-edge services like podcasting
and web-mastering, doing public relations and inservice presentations, and
reaching out to give teachers reasons to collaborate with us.

When we advocate for our profession, we are talking about the latter image,
not the former. We may not realize that the stakeholders in our schools may
see the librarian as dead weight -- mean old Mrs. Grinch who sits around
drinking coffee and complaining all day and looks pained if you actually
want her to do something.

I think we are working on our image, thanks to some very dedicated and
energetic individuals, LM_NET, the AASL, (and TASL, for us). The role of the
dynamic librarian needs to be promoted in teacher, library science, and
administrator training programs. Any job-seeking librarian needs to make it
clear in the interview that he/she will bring energy, a spirit of service,
and a desire to collaborate. We have to show how we can help increase test
scores or go down with the ship. Then we need to make ourselves
indispensable, as Doug Johnson says.

Although it can be frustrating when we hear about, or have to work with, the
Mrs. Grinches, I don't know about counseling them to find another profession
or retire. At least in my part of the world, this is happening anyway.
Teachers are bailing out left and right thanks to NCLB -- retiring early,
leaving teaching altogether after a couple of years, and/or taking up other,
better-paying professions like truck-driving. Has anyone looked at
statistics? Surely turnover is at an all-time high.

Let's just continue to hold up high standards, promote best practices, and
let our lights shine. If we have the opportunity to work with negative
librarians, we can treat them as we do the negative classroom teachers in
our building, by accepting them where they are and then offering support.

I'm off to a High Schools That Work conference in New Orleans. I'll try to
find out what that group thinks about school librarians.

Julie Dahlhauser, librarian
Jackson Central-Merry High School
Jackson, Tennessee
juldahl@gmail.com
jbdahlhauser@jmcss.net



On 7/7/07, Nancy Dickinson <dickinson1@k12tn.net> wrote:
>
> OK, I'm not sure "policing" is the word I want to use, but I am curious
> about your opinions about whether or not you think it might be time for
> our profession to find a way to dismiss rather than defend people who
> really should find another job.
>
> Do we really want people who are negative and feeling victimized by life
> to be school librarians? Or teachers for that matter? I confess that I am
> a member of NEA, but sometimes I think tenure is not good for our
> profession. Do other professions have the equivalent of tenure? I know
> it's impossible to get rid of all the bad lawyers, doctors, and teachers
> in the world, but couldn't something change in our profession to help us
> better ensure the quality of our colleagues? I'm curious to know if
> academic libraries and public libraries are better able to weed out the
> people who should look for another profession.
>
> Just thinking....
>
> Nancy Dickinson, Librarian
> Hillsboro Elem. School
> Hillsboro, TN 37342
> dickinson1@k12tn.net
>
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