I think our discussion last week was great and very helpful. I think it was obvious that we all agree that inquiry based learning is the best way to create life long learners. Yet from our discussion, there are many obstacles that we as librarians face. The major one seems to be to get other teachers on board with inquiry based learning.
As a CPS librarian, I thought we were in bad shape. Not that I am happy there are struggles elsewhere, but it made things more real to hear the obstacles that others outside the city also face. As I mentioned before, I am working on an inquiry question (How to get others to collaborate using inquiry based learning?)One of the things that I got from our discussion is that it is going to take time and that I must take small steps. Therefore, I walked out of class thinking about how to get started.
I did not have to think about it too much because the answer came to me at the end of the week. A coworker called and needed some help. She is going to be the new seventh grade language arts teacher and is looking to change the current reading list. I listened to her with a grin on my face. She is going to become my new best friend. With time and small steps I will hopefully get her on board with inquiry based learning.
One of my first small steps is to give this teacher a list of possible books that she may use in the curriculum. I really want this to be an exceptional list. If anyone has suggestions, please send them my way.
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A blog for Ruiz's students to use
6 comments:
I think it is funny sometimes how we all think that what we are experiencing is unique or unusual but it is comforting to find out that many of us are in the same boat. Kind of makes you feel like your not alone. It is great to hear that you have a "first customer" to share your new goal with. I would be happy to share the reading lists from our middle school. If you are interested, I will bring them to class. The document is several pages and nicely laid out by literature levels and grade levels. Congrats on the new best friend!
Congratulations on that call from the new teacher! I don't work in a school library yet, but I can imagine how exciting it would be to have someone contact you with questions and asking for assistance and looking to collaborate. Is the teacher new to your school or new to teaching? Maybe as the next generation of teachers are graduating, we'll find that they're a crowd that will be more open to collaborating since collaboration and team projects will have played a heavy role (hopefully) in their learning experiences growing up. You never know...
I just finished listening to Small Steps on CD! (It's a follow up to Armpit and X-Ray from Louis Sachar's book, HOLES.) Taking small steps is the theme of the entire book and one I need to work on myself.
It sounds like you've got your first small step ahead of you as well as a great contact! Good luck!
Yeah Ibett! It's funny, I had a teacher friend ask me for my opinion on some collaborative things, since her librarian isn't very into it. We will be the ones to change!
This response is in response to sryan's response! Is there a better way to do this????
sryan said, "I think it is funny sometimes how we all think that what we are experiencing is unique or unusual but it is comforting to find out that many of us are in the same boat. Kind of makes you feel like your not alone."
The feeling that we're the only ones is so strong! It's a good reminder that we need to stay in touch with other librarians. At least as a classroom teacher, I had someone next door that I could talk to if I was frustrated or confused. As the lone librarian in my building, it would be easy to feel isolated. Luckily, in my district, we have librarian meetings once a month where all the librarians get together to discuss issues and concerns. I'm also looking forward to using the internet more as a way to contact other librarians and share ideas. So far, I'm not following any blogs, but I hope to do more of that once I graduate. I think the more you connect with other people, the more you realize that others are often going through the same struggles. Plus, why re-invent the wheel?
Any genres or themes you are interested in pursuing with your recommended books? I'm happy to help brainstorm with that.
It is certainly a different perspective and sometimes an isolating job being in the library & being the only one of our kind in our school. I would recommend working on building your network, staying in touch with those you've connected with at Dominican, in your district as that is so helpful!
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