Wow, Robert! If Readers' Workshop (reading aloud and then having the kids
read silently) were the only strategy in a fixed-sched environment, then
tens of thousands of Australian primary school students would have very
limited library sessions because fixed scheduling is the norm here in that
sector. Few government schools, particularly, have the staffing budget to
enable the teacher librarian to have flexible scheduling and collaborative
planning and teaching - most are part of the 'specials rotation' which is a
once-a-week (not once-a-day) session with each class to cover teachers'
planning time. (We plan with the classroom-based teachers at a different
time.)
And I can assure Ms Jones and anyone else in this situation, that there are
a trillion things you can do so the kids have a meaningful, in-context
learning experience that builds their literary, literature and information
literacy skills.
Over the course of their primary school career here, students can have about
280 'library lessons' and if all of these were RW, what would they have
learned about the connection between libraries and their learning? Like
everything RW has its place, but to suggest it should be the core of the
program in a fixed-schedule program denies students the opportunity to learn
and do so much more.
I am very aware that the Australian situation is very different from the US
but being a teacher librarian in a specials rotation is not the dead-end
hole Ms Jones portrays - while it may not be ideal, it can be made to be
very successful and offer students access to opportunities they might not
otherwise get. Some of my best work has been done independently of
classroom-based programs, particularly travel buddies, book raps, and other
inter-school connections.
Please feel free to post this onto wherever the original source of this
message was, if you deem that an appropriate course of action..
Barbara
Barbara Braxton
Teacher Librarian
COOMA NSW 2630
AUSTRALIA
barbara.288@bigpond.com
Together, we learn from each other
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