So many facets…

There are so many more facets to the roles and responsibilities of a teacher-librarian than I ever imagined. Even now, after a year of studying, I am continually surprised by all of the tasks school librarians are expected to accomplish. I never expected that the seemingly boring role of budget management would be one of them. Let alone that it would prove to be less boring than I always thought…

That word…

Some days I feel like I might go crazy if I read the word evaluation again… It pops up over and over and over and over again during my course readings. Its importance is emphasised and discussed almost everywhere I turn, in almost every article I read.

Then again, it may be driving me crazy, but at least I’m getting the point.

The role of the Teacher Librarian: My understanding

The session is coming to an end, and it is time to reflect on how my understanding of the role of the teacher librarian has been changed. When I first began this subject (fittingly titled ETL:401 – Teacher Librarianship), I had little to no real idea what the teacher-librarian actually did. I knew I wanted to be one, but had very little real understanding of their role and responsibilities.

I wish (it was 50 years ago)

I have wanted to be a teacher-librarian since August 2008. Shortly after returning from my very first teaching placement, I was struggling with the dissatisfaction and disillusionment of having not enjoyed the experience. I was nineteen and completely unsure of what I wanted to do with the rest of my life (in retrospect, not at all an unusual situation for a nineteen year old to be in). But I was aware that the aspect of my placement which I had most enjoyed were the hours I had spent in the school library.

There was nothing terribly special about this school library – it had a range of books, and around twenty computers scattered throughout for student use. Just like any other. But the experience of being in the library, surrounded by hundreds of books, hundreds of sources of information, had remained in my mind as a particular highlight. And that, I realised, was where I wanted to be…