Tuesday morning, and I have finally gathered together all my thoughts on the CSLA conference. First, I had a great time. There is much to be said for getting together with like minded people. Just walking the halls and watching the people checking their schedules was fun. Meeting the vendors, and getting to see the products in 3D, not just catalogs, was fantastic. Meeting the SL2.0 folks in person was warm and wonderful. Hey Janet, Rob, & Kathleen, you guys are the best!
Second, I learned a lot. The money magnet session was really practical advise on how to get funding for the library. The poster sessions were really interesting, there is a lot of great stuff going on in the school libraries of California. I LOVED Kathleen Baxter, it was great to get advise on what to look for in non-fiction books. I think its a good time to weed my states books. I most likely have the Minnisota book she slammed. I now have her e-mail and after the holiday I want to get in touch with her to get more practical advise on middle school titles.
The one thing that gave me pause for concern...No youth. Where were all the young librarians? I had this idea that SJSU and was turning out some of the younger set. I saw far too many orthopedic shoes and not enough high heels. We need to start recruiting in a big way. We need to turn our attention to bringing in the harvest.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Progress, we're making progress!
All things happen for a reason.
Last summer when I was at the dump, I picked up the historical German magazines, which I blogged about on July 11th. Then in September I blogged about my concerns for a young man. All this time I have been struggling to make a connection with this boy. About two weeks ago "Aldo" and I were talking, when I discovered his interest in World War II, Nazi's, and the Holocaust. I showed him the magazines...you should have seen his eyes. He immediately understood their significance. When I had him put on the white gloves so he could turn the fragile pages, he was so respectful. I pulled out, Rose Blanche, Cats in Krasinski Square & Legend of the Yellow Star. He began to read. Connection established.
Then comes last Friday. "Aldo" comes into the library, where he is sitting drawing some stuff that could get him into trouble. I gently let him know that it's probably not a good idea to draw those particular patterns. He looks at me and says, "Can I talk to you? Can I talk to you in private?" So we step outside and "Aldo" proceedes to tell me he is having a really bad day. Some kids had been calling him names at lunch and throwing things at him. He tells me that, though he really wanted to fight, he turned and walked away. I told him that I was so proud of him. Then he says, "When those kids pulled your braids when you were little, didn't it make you want to fight?" Chills ran through me, as we talked about appropriate ways to deal with harrassment.
You just never know what kinds of things are going to affect your relationships with students. Who knew that Hitler, Carmen Deedy,and George & Dan from my youth, were all going to meet in 2007, and work to positivly influence this troubled young man!
Last summer when I was at the dump, I picked up the historical German magazines, which I blogged about on July 11th. Then in September I blogged about my concerns for a young man. All this time I have been struggling to make a connection with this boy. About two weeks ago "Aldo" and I were talking, when I discovered his interest in World War II, Nazi's, and the Holocaust. I showed him the magazines...you should have seen his eyes. He immediately understood their significance. When I had him put on the white gloves so he could turn the fragile pages, he was so respectful. I pulled out, Rose Blanche, Cats in Krasinski Square & Legend of the Yellow Star. He began to read. Connection established.
Then comes last Friday. "Aldo" comes into the library, where he is sitting drawing some stuff that could get him into trouble. I gently let him know that it's probably not a good idea to draw those particular patterns. He looks at me and says, "Can I talk to you? Can I talk to you in private?" So we step outside and "Aldo" proceedes to tell me he is having a really bad day. Some kids had been calling him names at lunch and throwing things at him. He tells me that, though he really wanted to fight, he turned and walked away. I told him that I was so proud of him. Then he says, "When those kids pulled your braids when you were little, didn't it make you want to fight?" Chills ran through me, as we talked about appropriate ways to deal with harrassment.
You just never know what kinds of things are going to affect your relationships with students. Who knew that Hitler, Carmen Deedy,and George & Dan from my youth, were all going to meet in 2007, and work to positivly influence this troubled young man!
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Integrity
The bookfair opened and two girls were immediately suspended for theft. And so the the Sword of Damocles fell. What is it about the trinket trash that causes such a stir? Have these students never seen a pen before? Are glittery pens so amazing that one needs $50.00 worth of them?
The good that came out of this is that one student, faced with the moral dilemma of staying silent, and letting her friends get away with the theft, or telling, and facing the wrath of her group, chose honesty. That choice gives me hope! Integrity, ethics, and moral fortitude are alive and well in Aptos.
The good that came out of this is that one student, faced with the moral dilemma of staying silent, and letting her friends get away with the theft, or telling, and facing the wrath of her group, chose honesty. That choice gives me hope! Integrity, ethics, and moral fortitude are alive and well in Aptos.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Book Fair Mania
Book Fairs, ya gotta love 'em. They certainly are a double edged sword. The students just love all the books & trinket trash, and I certainly love the funds they raise, but oh my gosh the stress! There's something about crowd control that drives me nuts! Being responsible for all that cash floating around is SCARY. Of course its during the bookfair that the teachers always want that special lit set that is stored out in the back of beyond. I am pretty good at multi-tasking but during the book fair I just shut down mentally.
On the positive side, this year my library club members have really taken on the fair. They made the cutest shirts to advertise the fair. The theme, "Welcome to Wondeland" supports the All School Read of Alice in Wonderland. My contest is to Make a Mad Hatter Hat. I am giving out gift certificates to the fair for the "Most Outrageous" and "Most Beautiful" hats made out of paper plates & bowls.
I hope its a success. I can sure use the money!
On the positive side, this year my library club members have really taken on the fair. They made the cutest shirts to advertise the fair. The theme, "Welcome to Wondeland" supports the All School Read of Alice in Wonderland. My contest is to Make a Mad Hatter Hat. I am giving out gift certificates to the fair for the "Most Outrageous" and "Most Beautiful" hats made out of paper plates & bowls.
I hope its a success. I can sure use the money!
Sunday, September 16, 2007
What we have here, is a failure to communicate!
I wake up in the middle of the night worrying about this kid. He is a twelve year old American of Mexican ancestry. He has been in this country since his birth, gone to my district's schools, and currently reads at a first grade level. He is proud, proud, proud, a leader, and cannot admit to himself that he has a reading problem. It is not cognitive ability either, he makes a concious choice to fail. What am I going to do with this boy? He is angry, (a bit of me says he has a right to be!)unresponsive and at a turning point. The adults on campus all know this boy and if something goes missing, his is the backpack they search first...
Every fiber of my being wants to reach out and help this kid, but HOW? Am I wasting my energy? Do I just stand by and allow him to fail, or do I keep banging my head against this wall of pride? I have no answers today.
Every fiber of my being wants to reach out and help this kid, but HOW? Am I wasting my energy? Do I just stand by and allow him to fail, or do I keep banging my head against this wall of pride? I have no answers today.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Yet another cool image generator
I was tooling around the net and found this ab fab image generator that takes a photo and creates a sketch. www.dumpr.net
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Bright, Shining, Faces
Good Morning to you,
We're all in our places.
With bright, shining, faces.
This is the way,
To start a new day!
My mother used to sing that song to me in the mornings to get me out of bed on school days. This past week, as I was going through my library orientation program with the 7th graders, I looked out across a sea of bright, shining faces, some eager to learn, some already totally jaded, and I remembered my mother.
You see, each year in my presentation I invoke the ghost of my mother. I open up and tell the kids the story of my childhood. How I was the funny looking kid in braids. How I was the kid with cooties, the awful nicknames I had, and about the physical torture I endured during my elementary school days. As I share these memories, I can tell the bullies from the victims by their reactions. I talk about the lessons I learned from my experiences, how I learned not to cry in front of bullies, and how I learned that my mother was a liar. "Stick and stones may break my bones, but names will never harm me." Mom was full of aphorisms. Why do I do this in my orientation you may ask?
In my library I have no rules. I do have three standards of conduct. For while rules were made to be broken, standards can only be met. My standards of conduct are:
1. The library is a quiet place for reading and study.
2. The library is a safe place mentally, physically and verbally.
3. The library is a place to care for and respect books.
I tell of my childhood to illustrate being safe verbally. My library is a safe place for all the funny looking kids on campus. I assure all the students, that internally, there is not a student on campus that doesn't think that they are not funny looking. I let them know right up front, that while they may get away with calling names out on the grounds, because of my personal history, they will not get away with it around me. It always gets real quiet during this part of my schpiel. It touches them. It is the beginning of relationship.
Relationship is why libraries work. You have to be in relationship to advise students. You have to be in relationship to recommend books to students. You have to be in relationship to motivate students to read. So those of you who only use your orientation time to tell kids where the fiction section is, I would advise you to be vulnerable, and use the time to establish relationship.
We're all in our places.
With bright, shining, faces.
This is the way,
To start a new day!
My mother used to sing that song to me in the mornings to get me out of bed on school days. This past week, as I was going through my library orientation program with the 7th graders, I looked out across a sea of bright, shining faces, some eager to learn, some already totally jaded, and I remembered my mother.
You see, each year in my presentation I invoke the ghost of my mother. I open up and tell the kids the story of my childhood. How I was the funny looking kid in braids. How I was the kid with cooties, the awful nicknames I had, and about the physical torture I endured during my elementary school days. As I share these memories, I can tell the bullies from the victims by their reactions. I talk about the lessons I learned from my experiences, how I learned not to cry in front of bullies, and how I learned that my mother was a liar. "Stick and stones may break my bones, but names will never harm me." Mom was full of aphorisms. Why do I do this in my orientation you may ask?
In my library I have no rules. I do have three standards of conduct. For while rules were made to be broken, standards can only be met. My standards of conduct are:
1. The library is a quiet place for reading and study.
2. The library is a safe place mentally, physically and verbally.
3. The library is a place to care for and respect books.
I tell of my childhood to illustrate being safe verbally. My library is a safe place for all the funny looking kids on campus. I assure all the students, that internally, there is not a student on campus that doesn't think that they are not funny looking. I let them know right up front, that while they may get away with calling names out on the grounds, because of my personal history, they will not get away with it around me. It always gets real quiet during this part of my schpiel. It touches them. It is the beginning of relationship.
Relationship is why libraries work. You have to be in relationship to advise students. You have to be in relationship to recommend books to students. You have to be in relationship to motivate students to read. So those of you who only use your orientation time to tell kids where the fiction section is, I would advise you to be vulnerable, and use the time to establish relationship.
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