While I also found Sharon's post very thought provoking, for me it serves as
insight into an opposing viewpoint. I'm very excited about the new standards and
looking forward to sharing them with faculty and adminstration over the next
semester.
For me, the standards seem visionary, not vague. After all, the future of learning
(technology, knowledge, skills, etc) is constantly changing, and specific standards
can quickly become antiquated. Specific standards need to be devised at the
building or district leven and reviewed and revised frequently.
Listening to education/tech gurus like David Warlick or Ian Jukes and witnessing
what happens every day with my students has convinced me that education needs
to/will change, and I think the new standards are the start (just the start) of a
new road map for school libraries. Am I doing everything suggested by the
standards? No, but I can envision it, and I'm seeing glimmers of it throughout our
school. I think the new standards expand information literacy beyond the school
library in a positive new way. And if I do my job well, I'll be an integral part
of the future of learning for our students. I think the new standards fit well
with what educators/adminstrators are hearing and seeing in their own professional
development, and they can become a basis for discussion of the evolving role of the
school librarian. Who knew school librarians were such visionaries? (Alright, we
did, but now let's show them!)
As for the old standards vs the new, why does it have to be either/or? I recognize
the continued value of Information Power, which, I will admit has much more
"practical" (less visionary) standards. I'll still teach these standards/skills,
but the vison of the new standards will inspire me to teach them always in new
ways. I think the power of the new standards is that they ask us to move beyond
the traditional roles we have played, and the traditional skills we have taught.
What is the new definition of information literacy? Who knows, yet? It's ever
changing in today's world, and the point is that we need to teach our students to
continue to be information literate, even as what that means changes.
I'm teaching a class on Information Literacy for school library certification
candidates at our university this semester, and I've organized the syllabus by the
new standards - 16 weeks allows for a week or two of introduction, then we'll study
a common belief or standard each week. I'm excited about delving into the
standards with my students and hearing the discussion (good and bad) they will
provoke.
I'm sure some of my students will feel as Sharon and many others do, that the
standards are not what they'd hoped for the profession. However, as a group, I'm
hoping we can flesh out what the new standards mean for each of us, and for our
schools and students. I'm hoping we can identify some agreed upon skills, targets,
benchmarks, etc. that will be relevant to us in this time and place.
I'm hoping the new standards will inspire each of my students to write her own
future as a school librarian, and help her see all the possibilities in the future
of our profession.
Anita Beaman
________________________________
From: School Library Media & Network Communications on behalf of Jacqueline Henry
Sent: Thu 1/3/2008 8:32 AM
To: LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Re: Reflection on AASL's new standards
I must say that Sharon's post has really made me think & has helped me to
understand why I feel so uncomfortable with the new standards. I expected to LOVE
them, because of their emphasis on twenty-first century learning. Instead - they
feel very "slippery" to me. I have assumed the problem was because I have not yet
studied them as thoroughly as I should - but perhaps there really IS little to grab
onto.
Of course I plan to study the standards more carefully. But what if I decide that
I prefer the "old" standards? Do I continue using the standards which have been
serving my program so well? Or am I somehow obligated to use the new standards? I
tend to be an early adapter - so I feel really out of my comfort zone with this
whole issue.
I hope this post will generate a lot of discussion. I particularly look forward to
hearing from people who really like the new standards and have ideas about how to
translate them into practical teaching techniques and curriculum frameworks.
Jacquie
"The Librarian, whose job is to heal ignorance, to keep life safe for poetry and to
put knowledge smack dab in the middle of the American way."
From The Philadelphia Inquirer, 9-20-03
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jacquie Henry, MLS
Ruben A. Cirillo High School (GHS)
Gananda Central School District
3195 Wiedrick Road
P.O. Box 609
Macedon, NY 14502
315-986-3521 x 3144
jhenry@gananda.org
Library Page: http://www.gananda.org/library/mshslibrary/indexgcl.htm
Blog: http://nlcommunities.com/communities/wanderings/default.aspx
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