[LM_NET] Excellent service, yes that's most of us everyday!

[Lisa Hunt <lisa3moon@YAHOO.COM>]

I invited teachers to plan with me as the 3rd quarter ended.  My email suggested 
they could plan with me for literature/author studies, research to support their 
classroom efforts, students needed lessons to navigate the new layout for fiction 
(we moved lots of stuff AND weeded), and I offered "test taking" lessons to prepare 
for CRTs.  My school is PreK-6th grades.  I got a mixed bag of response to my 
email.  Here is one example...
   
  We have 4 first grade teachers.  One of them responded to the email I sent to all 
staff. 
   
  This teacher and I planned really great stuff and one thing was the 
"encyclopedia" intro lesson that would begin her class with research skills.  I 
have completed 3 lessons with this teacher now since March 1st.  One other 1st 
grade teacher came and said, "Will you please schedule the "encyclopedia lesson" 
for my class.  I engaged her in dialog that opened the door to what she really 
wanted.  She had no idea I could/would plan such things for her class specifically. 
 She thought I had to do the same thing for each class.  Well these 4 ladies all 
teach very differently.  I have a personal belief that "cookie-cutter" library 
lessons just aren't good.  I never want to do them, and only schedule that way if I 
must to get the job done.  So, now I have 2 teachers on a roll!!  The 3rd keeps 
passing me in the hallway saying, "I really want to schedule that "encyclopedia" 
lesson that you did with Jan's class."  We probably never will get to that one, but 
I did squeeze in folktales
 and a weather lesson with her students.  Then, there is the 4th teacher.  She just 
isn't interested in anything more than coming in to pick out her own materials.  I 
have seen her students 4 times this year.  Don't get me wrong they come all the 
time independently to check out books, and I teach a few skills all along when I 
can grab 'em.  Even when that 4th teacher comes in I meet her with a smile and ask 
if she needs help.  No, but I still offer new materials that have come in and I 
know we like one another.  She is just a solitary soul.
   
  Shonda, we all beat our heads against this wall.
  I don't do cookie-cutter lessons unless I have no other choice.
  We provide such great service all day every day.  Most of the teachers love us.
  We have a bulletin board right now for School Library Media Month "What does your 
School Library do for you?"  Every time we hear "You gals are..."  I grab our 
chosen icon, an Ellison cut out of a bunny, and write that down.  Our bulletin 
board has 5 bunnies already and it's only April 4th.
   
  Enjoy your work.  Smile every day.  Be happy.  Always focus on the students' 
needs.
  This will make you and your program invaluable!!
   
  Shonda Brisco <sbrisco@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
  I posted earlier and stated some of the concerns that I had about this
type of "last minute" requests and how it is viewed by others if we
say "no"...but I have to add more to the conversation only because the
situation happened to me again just recently. After spending several
hours working on a project for a teacher (who made a request to
collaborate with me two weeks in advance of the project taking
place--- which I greatly appreciated), I had compiled several
different types of lessons on topics that related to the project. As I
continued working on the project, I was actually looking forward to
working with this individual and the students.

Then during the week of instruction with the class, I had another
teacher pop-in to ask if I had a lesson about a similar topic. I
explained that I had written some lessons on the subject and the
topics being researched by the first teacher's class and had created a
wiki with all of the resources on it for the students, but that the
contents would not match exactly what she would be teaching. The
second teacher then told me that if I would "just give her the
materials" that I had created, she would adapt them to her class. I
asked if instead we might set-up some time to schedule her classes in
the library so that I could show the students how to use the resources
and how to complete the assignments. She declined--- "just give her
the lessons" and she'd teach it in the classroom. I told her that I
could give her some of the information to create her own lessons but
that I would have to bring it to her the following day because it was
at home. Initially I was frustrated when she declined my offer to
work with her students....but when she came back the next day to ask
once again for everything that I had used with the first teacher's
class, I became mad. Not because she wanted the materials but because
she wanted the lesson ---- she needed it to begin teaching the unit
that day!

I'm sorry...but I declined. Aside from the fact that I had spent time
customizing the plan for another class to use, I was really miffed
because this teacher wanted to circumvent the research process and the
library instruction. "Just give her the lesson." Because this lesson
included evaluating resources, using databases, and citing the
research, I felt that the lesson definitely belonged in the library
and with the librarian (me).

Later I learned that this teacher came by to ask the library
assistance for all library materials on the topic that might be
available (she needed to know what materials had I used to create my
lesson plans). They found nothing in the library that seemed to
relate to the lesson that I had described....why? Because the lesson
plans, the worksheets, and much of the instructional content had been
created or compiled by me. Much of what I had put together had been a
result of experience, previous instructional content that I had
created years ago, and new information that I had based upon my own
research on the topic.

Although I had spent hours of my own time to work on the project for
the first teacher, I knew that I was not being selfish by saying
"no"...and yet, the impression that the second teacher had was that I
was not helpful to her because she could not have my materials to use
in her class without any involvement with me. Could I have pulled
together resources for her to use to create her own lessons?
Yes...but when she told me that she needed to teach the lesson
"today," I realized that she had failed to prepare for her own classes
and she wanted someone to do it for her. The content was beyond what
she knew she could teach and she had procrastinated---instead of
asking ahead of time like the first teacher she wanted me to give her
the lesson (the answer).

Yes, there is a difference between pulling materials from the shelf
and giving away lesson plans, but it all goes back to being prepared.
I have definitely gone "above and beyond" for many teachers who have
needed help--- I've pulled books, looked for online resources, shared
websites, and provided supplemental resources that the library had
available (often working on some of these things long after school was
over and during the evening). But sometimes you have to draw the line.

My husband is my strongest advocate when it comes to my work as a
librarian, but he is also my toughest critic. When I spend an
enormous amount of time working after-school, during holiday breaks,
weekends, and during the summer on compiling resources, creating
lesson plans, or researching ways to help teachers, he asks if the
teachers realize the amount of time I've spent to help them. Most do
not...most don't even think to ask. Some do...and for them, I would
climb mountains to help again because they truly appreciate my
assistance. However, I think it all comes back to the APPROACH....how
does the teacher make the request? What are the conditions that are
offered to share in the responsibility of the fulfilling the request
(in other words, if a teacher would like to find the best resources
for a project and wants me to provide them for them at the last
minute, will I be allowed to teach the class in how to use those
resources effectively or will I have time to teach the students more
thoroughly at a later date?) If so, then I'm happy to help----and I
will be at their doorstep with arms filled with resources to share.
But it's all in the approach taken by the teacher.

We are in a service-provider business and I love that aspect of my
work....but there is a difference between being a service-provider and
an indentured servant.

Just some thoughts....

~Shonda

-- 
Shonda Brisco, BA Ed., MLIS
Library Media / Technology Specialist
Weatherford, TX 76086

Digital Bookends wiki / blog:
http://digitalbookends.pbwiki.com
http://shonda.edublogs.org/
sbrisco@gmail.com

Resources for Texas School Librarians:
http://txschoollibrarians.ning.com/
http://txschoollibrarians.wikispaces.com/

"Digital Resources" columnist
School Library Journal

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law.
You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings
by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book.
To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu
In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL
3) SET LM_NET MAIL 4) SET LM_NET DIGEST * Allow for confirmation.
* LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/
* LM_NET Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/
* EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://lm-net.info/
* LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html
* LM_NET Wiki: http://lmnet.wikispaces.com/
--------------------------------------------------------------------



        Lisa Hunt, NBCT 2005
  School Library Media Specialist
  Apple Creek Elementary
  Moore, OK
  lisa3moon@yahoo.com 





       
---------------------------------
You rock. That's why Blockbuster's offering you one month of Blockbuster Total 
Access, No Cost.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law.
  You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings
  by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book.
To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu
In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET  2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL
 3) SET LM_NET MAIL  4) SET LM_NET DIGEST  * Allow for confirmation.
 * LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/
 * LM_NET Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/
 * EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://lm-net.info/
 * LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html
 * LM_NET Wiki: http://lmnet.wikispaces.com/
--------------------------------------------------------------------