How about starting the new year with a presentation at your school's
next faculty meeting by sharing with them your education and
credentials, even it you've done it before.
My experience is that many teachers think that anyone not assigned to
a classroom with a full complement of students has a job that is
easier than theirs, less stressful, and that every other job in the
school is less important than theirs. I know, I know, many of those
same teachers would not and could not survive in a support position,
but I think if we can educate and partner with them, then we remove
the "them vs us" mentality. I used to be totally shocked that
teachers sometimes behaved badly. It just didn't occur to me that
people in a profession as noble and sometimes selfless as teaching
could behave badly and insensitively, but then I remembered that they
are human beings with all of the foibles and idiosyncrasies of the
species. I was the naive one.
It's sad that we have to advocate and justify our positions to our
teacher colleagues, but, like many, many administrators they did not
go through their own educational journeys with a school library-media
person at their site. They just don't know what it is that we can do
for them, and we find ourselves in the position of educating them over
and over again. Even if they do take advantage of the library and
staff, many times they just don't see what it is that we do,
especially if the library time is considered prep time for them, or if
they send groups or even entire classes to the library unaccompanied
by them. Many teachers who do come to the library with their classes
spend that time correcting papers, or making phone calls or dashing
about trying to finish up something they need or forgot to do. They
are a harried lot!
Post ALL of your credentials, diplomas, awards, certificates in a
prominent spot in your library, maybe next to the circulation desk.
Do the same for any aides or clerks you might be fortunate enough to
have working with you.
Our jobs are not only to educate, but to be a PR expert in our field,
and it never, never ends.
Kathy Graves
Retired IMC Director/Librarian
Siskiyou County Office of Education
Yreka, CA 96097
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