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Forgive me as I geek out for a second, but I really have to bring up The
Matrix. One of my favorite quotes from that movie is "There is no spoon."
Our dashing hero, Neo, is trying to wrap his mind around reality and has an
encounter with a young boy and a spoon. Neo is told not to try bending the
spoon, as that would be impossible. Rather, he must realize that there is no
spoon: "Then you will see that it is not the spoon that bends--it is only
yourself."

Paula is right, this is all about challenging the accepted concepts of
reality and finding ways to remove limits by removing preconceptions. Do
school administrators face a huge job on a daily basis? Yes. But that is a
bit of a red herring, because so do teacher-librarians and everyone else in
schools. Let's face it, we can only "do more with less" for so long. Knowing
administrators are busy, let's turn that to our advantage.

Don't give standards to your principal, give them solutions. Ask for 10
minutes during which you can share with them how your program is continuing
to focus on student achievement as you re-align with new national standards.
Then go through the standards, and all the discussion about them, and come
up with a one page executive summary in 14pt. font with lots of bullets and
a picture of smiling students in the library. Finding the standards that
align with testing is critical...and luckily very easy as well. Read for
information? Answer questions? Sounds like a test to me! The key is to be
positive and focused on solutions.

I love the quote Paula shared. The problem though, is that perception and
reality work both ways. If you go in to this thinking that the standards
suck, and your principal doesn't care, and none of it matters anyway then it
won't matter.

Disclaimer: I too am a library administrator. I have 0 years of experience
in a school library, but I do have a positive attitude, some ideas for
change, and a complete willingness to help you find solutions that work.

Christopher Harris - infomancy@gmail.com
Coordinator, School Library System
Genesee Valley BOCES - Le Roy, NY
Vote Chris - ALA Council Candidate 2008

On Jan 6, 2008 10:40 PM, Paula Yohe <paula_yohe@yahoo.com> wrote:

> I am just getting around to responding to this --
>
> While the idea of sitting down with an administrator in a constructive
>  atmosphere sounds wonderful -- in reality it the vast majority of cases --
> it isn't going to happen - Does that sound negative -- perhaps so -- but
> unfortunately you sometimes have to accept reality.
>
> Now before someone sees that I am the Director of Technology and dismisses
> me as an ivory tower person.
>
> I spent 23 years as a building level media specialist and moved to the
> district office so that I could fight more for media specialists and the
> importance of their role.  but I have learned some hard lessons -- and
> unfortunately this discussion on standards is going to be based on those
> lessons.
>
> 1. Building level administrators -- have too much to do. They are dealing
> with problems that the majority of faculty members have no idea about --
> meetins, phones calls, irate parents, upset teachers, budgets, broken
> equipment, upset teachers, test scores, new mandates from the federal
> government or state, test scores, attendance issues, discipline issues,
> special education students, lunch problems, bus problems, etc. etc.
>
> Believe me -- go in and tell them you  want to discuss these new standards
> -- then if they read them -- do you actually think they will make sense to
> them? That is not an insult to the building administrator -- but a statement
> of fact -- any standards should be written so that anyone can understand
> what they mean -- and what they are supposed to do... And I just don't think
> that is the case with these standards.
>
> The principal then will say -- are they tested? -- is there any funding
> tied to this?
>
> Enough said --
>
> 2. District level administrators -- you can use pretty much the same list
> as above -- but make it more global -- then add lawyers, NCLB reports, a
> whole variety of other paperwork that will make your head spin, and more..



> Folks this is not to be negative or defeatist -- but we have to accept
> reality and then try to move from there -- Take the standards and make them
> more readable for the end user --
>
> Find the standards that are being tested and see how you can fit these
> standards into them.
>
> There are just too many standards out there -- ISTE standards, Math
> standards, English standards, the list seems to go on -- and I think if I
> read one more set of "standards" I will scream --
>
> There are just too many things for everyone to do --
>
> One question I always ask media specialists when I talk to them --
>
> If a principal could only have one position -- a technology coach,
> literacy coach, or a librarian -- which would your principal pick... If it
> isn't the librarian -- find out why -- do you support teachers -- are you a
> leader in technology? what are you doing to promote literacy and get kids to
> read?
>
> If you are the stumbling block -- you will be gone



> Stop and think the next time you get angry that "your" standardsd are not
> being used - or when you won't let kids check out books because they owe a
> fine -- (do you realize that's why some people have put in classroom
> libraries -the media specialists don't want kids to read -- they are too
> worried about fines) or I don't have time to help that teacher with that
> computer -- they should know how to use it...
>
> If you want change -- sometimes you have to change.
>
> My former principal used to say to me
>
> "Their perception is their reality and it is your job to change their
> reality"
>
> I have used that premise for everything I do -- Think about it
>
> and as we hash these standards -- keep this thought in mind
>
> Do you want to create life-long lovers of libraries? or Do you want
> library haters?
>
> Food for thought..
>
> Paula
>
> Paula Yohe
> Director Of Technology/Library Media Center
> Dillon School District Two
> 405 West Washington Street
> Dillon, SC 29536
> Phone: 843-841-3604 Fax:843-774-1214
> paula_yohe@yahoo.com
>
>

-- 
Chris Harris - infomancy@gmail.com - http://schoolof.info/infomancy

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