I like to think I am a honest person - but I perhaps deep down I am not.
I tell lies. Not life shattering lies but the little white lies that I like to think are harmless - you know the ones - "No - your bum doesn't look big in that" or the sucking up to your boss ones "Brilliant staff development meeting today" etc.
So in this blog I am going to attempt to tell the truth - from my perspective - about the role teacher librarians have played in my teaching career. And it is a bit disappointing. As Derryn Hinch would have said SHAME! SHAME! SHAME!
My first real block of teaching was on a senior IO (intellectually moderate) class. Unlike other mainstream classes in the school we were not given an allocated weekly spot anywhere in the librarian's timetable. I am sure there were reasons but to me it was just plain unfair. Unfortunately my supervisor was in the same boat - noone dared question the librarian. Instead we had to sneak in during her admin time and much to her disgust I would read several books to my class and let the kids borrow. I hated going - I felt so uncomfortable - I was a beginning teacher in her library - I ignored the digs and the stares because I believed (and still do) that everyone regardless of academic ability should have access to a school library.
The following year we got a new principal and I was on mainstream year 5 class. It was a tough gig - not only was it was my first time starting with a class from the beginning of the year -the grade had some major behaviour problems. BUT on the upside we did get library time - althought my past "crimes" of using the library with my unit class were obviously not forgotten.
Being a new teacher I didn't know that to be a teacher librarian you had to do another course at university. In fact from my past experiences I didnt think too much of librarians (maybe because I was always getting told to be quiet by one of them) Anyway I thought that a teacher librarian was just the name for the teacher that worked in the library - similiar to how we call other teacher's by their job title - ie...reading recovery teacher.
Then it dawned on me that perhaps to be a teacher librarian you may of needed to do an elective subject during your bachelor of teaching at uni to learn the dewey decimal system and how to catalogue books etc.... I guess I thought anybody could be a teacher librarian just like any K-6 qualified teacher could teach say a year 1 class.
The teacher librarian's job from what I could tell was to read to the children, show them how to locate books in the library, teach students how to use computers and then the internet, return and borrow books with the students, collect resources (books, posters, videos) for teachers related to units being taught in class or prepare a list of what resources the library had available, organise book week, complete stocktakes and purchase resources.
Like I said before, the teacher librarian didnt really like me so we didnt do any team teaching or planning for my classes. We did it her way - perhaps the old fashioned chalk and talk way. I did respect her and the role she played in our school. I knew she put in long hours and was held in high esteem by the rest of the staff. When she retired I must admit I was looking forward to a fresh new start with a new teacher librarian.
Due to numbers dropping in my school - the Teacher Librarian position was reduced to only 3 days a week.
As a full time classroom teacher I thought the TL had it pretty easy.
When I went to the library with my class for our allocated lessons I maintained the discipline, I would read to them, i would plan the activities and then the kids would borrow. At report time whilst I was frantically trying to get 30 comments finished - she didnt have to write any. When I had 22 parent interviews until 8:30pm at night - she was skipping out the door at 3:30. There was no accountability - if the students can't read the parents are not up blaming the librarian.
Our library was closed for the first week (sometimes longer) and last week of every term ( longer in term 4) so resources could be collected and stocktakes done. Even after having all this time off I had to get the resources myself after waiting weeks and weeks for them.
so from my limited experience i believe some Teacher Librarians do have it easier than classroom teachers and perhaps they could get away with being a little bit slack or lazy - I saw no real accountability.
And there it is - the truth about why I found the TL role appealing - shocking but true -
Now I have started my little family - I don't want to work fulltime, I can't stay back at work until six o'clock everynight, I don't want to spend my nights/weekends and holidays preparing lessons and trying to be a perfect little teacher like I did prior to having them.
But after looking at the course outline for this subject I have started firing up - I have been inspired and I already know that my perception of what a Teacher Librarian's role is has certainly changed
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