Hi LM_Netters,
I just want to weigh in on the subject of fixed vs. flexible scheduling. I have
been a K-6 elementary librarian for 8 years. (Library is a second career for me
after high school L.A., elementary ESL and Title 1.) For the past two years, our
district has lumped Library in with other elementary special areas to provide
teacher prep time. I now have a very fixed schedule of 8 classes a day in a 4-day
cycle. That's 600+ students every four days, all grades scheduled for 35 minutes
except kindergarten (2 sessions) meeting for 20 minutes each. My schedule has no
flexible times in it unless I give up my half-hour prep time after lunch. I have a
very capable assistant who keeps circ. processes humming, and a fleet of parent
volunteers for every day of the week who help keep up with shelving books. The
4-day cycle, linked to teacher prep time descended upon the elementary librarians
in our district last summer ('07) in July during teacher contract negotiations.
Having seen the effects of NCLB and its effects on teachers' work loads, and having
been on the classroom side myself, I understand some of the desperation that drove
our union local to push for this scheduling pattern.
Last fall, I was a mixture of incredulous (How could this have happened so
suddenly, without considering librarian input?), angry, and wistful about the
service side of Library that suddenly appeared to be lopped off my job description.
I also keenly missed doing collaborative teaching projects with my faculty and
students who came to the library in small groups to research and work on projects.
I especially missed doing special projects with gifted and special ed. students who
came for book- and research-related activities presented in active and engaging
manners to fit their needs.
However, this fall I prepared to reinvent my position and create a simple library
that meets my needs for creativity in lesson-planning, and the students' need for
integrated activities instead of tiny snippets of info. that they receive in their
core subjects. I engaged a local woman who is a gifted storyteller to model and
coach me in her craft. (I have never been offered instruction in storytelling as a
teacher or SLMS student.) I kicked off the fall with a unit on the ancient Silk
Road (from Persia to China) which links with 6th grade standards in Social Studies.
I jumped into storytelling with a two-episode story of Ali Baba and the 40 thieves
(Persia) and the legend of Tikki-Tikki Tembo (China). I set up a Silk Road trading
simulation that allowed 5th and 6th grade students to experience the rough and
tumble of ancient trade routes along with a bartering system using natural fabrics
and marbles. The top student traders from each class came for a chinese checker
tournament over several lunch periods. I got swept along in the excitement of
learning about and experiencing a slice of ancient civilizations along the Silk
Road and so did my students.
I still have days where I grieve about the contraints of my extremely fixed
schedule. I would certainly welcome suggestions from other librarians who find
themselves in a fixed rather than flexible schedule. You may reply to me directly
or reply to the list. If I get enough responses, I'll create a summary of
findings. How are you making your case to administrators and district decision
makers? How are you making your case with teachers and union representatives? I
hope my teachers miss (some have told me privately that they do) the teamwork and
materials gathering that I used to provide for them. But they still contend that
most of all, they need me for covering prep time.
Thanks for providing this forum for discussing large and small issues that affect
librarians.
Mary Ebersole
Librarian
Lititz Elementary School
Lititz. PA 17543
mebersol@dejazzd.com (home)
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