I am grateful
for the time to reflect this week; it is providing me with the opportunity to
look back at what we have covered so far in the course and really think about
it. Most weeks, I feel like I am just keeping
up with what we are doing, so it’s nice to have some time to reflect before
moving into our final assignment.
For me this
course has really opened my eyes into the role of a teacher-librarian in the school
beyond the traditional expectations.
When I made the decision to apply to a teacher-librarian job last spring,
I was excited about the potential opportunity, but also a little wary as I wasn’t
totally confident in the expectations of my new role. I had my ideas about what a teacher-librarian
could do at a school with co-teaching, but never having experienced working with
a teacher-librarian in this capacity, I was unsure how it could unfold. Fast forward to this fall where I am currently
working in the library part-time and teaching part-time; I am learning on-the-job
and from my co-teacher-librarian. It’s
been an exciting fall as I’ve discovered that I really do love being in the
library and working with others in this capacity. In
addition, it’s providing a really nice balance to my life and giving me the
opportunity to grow and push myself as a learner.
This course
has been great for introducing ideas and acting as spring board for
conversations with my co-librarian as we discuss ideas and moving forward in
our library. I am fortunate in that I
arrived at a library which is already a very active and well-designed space. My
co-librarian has put a lot effort into updating the furniture and the collection
and creating a happening place in our school.
The library is always busy with students and teachers and I feel a real
hub at our school. My co-librarian has
also really worked hard to develop relationships with staff at the school and
has co-planned and taught lessons with many teachers. That being said, I’ve been able to bring some
news ideas to the table through this course.
I’d say the
week that really resonated with me and pushed me to think was when we explored
the topic of facilitating ICT pedagogy and development in our schools. I don’t think that I’d ever really thought of
a teacher-librarian as being a leader in a school and even less so in this
regard. Again, it’s not something that I’ve experienced at previous schools. But, seeing my co-librarian in action has
given me a great role model to look up to in this regard. She’s not a technology expert, but has
developed skills and familiarity with programs so that she can help staff at
our school. She trouble- shoots problems all
the time for students and staff and has helped play a key role at our school in
introducing the Google Suite of tools, along with some other teachers. Working with her has shown me that being a leader in our school doesn't necessarily mean being the one at the front of the room all the time. This is great news for me because although I am totally confident in front of a classroom of students, I like presenting to teachers way less. I can do it, but it's not my ideal!
Moving
forward, I’d like to try and develop relationships with staff at my school so
that I can become a go-to-resource as well.
I feel my strength in this area would be helping to facilitate moving
learning forward with ICT pedagogy. I
don’t see myself as the sole teacher or expert, but rather someone who can
guide others and link people with others who are like-minded. Being in the library part-time has shown me
that I have a lot more opportunity to see what’s happening in our school than a
regular classroom teacher. I would
really like to be able to foster a network of sharing in our school which
highlights great things that are happening. Teachers are always short on time;
if I can help spread the word and show case what staff and students are doing,
I think this could go a long way to developing a collaborative atmosphere.
I'd also like to draw upon the expertise of staff at our school. As I said in a previous blog, there are certainly staff at my school who are more tech savvy that me. I'd like to harness their knowledge and connect other
These two ideas are only the start of what I'd like to do. This course has helped generate a lot of ideas for how to continue to update our library to become the best LLC it can for our staff and students. Each week I've come away with a new idea, but not the time to put into action. I am looking forward to using our final project as a way to implement one of my ideas.
All photos taken from Pixabay and used under the CCO Creative Commons.
Bibliography
EdTechTeam.
(2017). Developing and Delivering Effective Professional Development for Educators
- EdTechTeam. [online] Available at:
https://www.edtechteam.com/blog/2017/11/developing-delivering-effective-professional-development-educators/
[Accessed 5 Nov. 2017].
Your thoughts on being a leader really stuck out to me. I found these lines from your post to be really true: "Working with her has shown me that being a leader in our school doesn't necessarily mean being the one at the front of the room all the time. This is great news for me because although I am totally confident in front of a classroom of students, I like presenting to teachers way less. I can do it, but it's not my ideal!"
ReplyDeleteI'm kind of shy by nature so the idea of being a leader is pretty daunting but, like you said, there are other ways to be a leader than standing at the front of the room all the time. And I agree, fostering a network of sharing is a great way to help get ideas/strategies out there. I think the TL can really help foster for this. A lot of great things that are going on around the school can be put up on display.
Good reflection on our course so far and the key learning for you as you figure out your new role. You are very lucky to work with another T-L in a space that is designed for learning and collaboration. It also sounds like a very receptive and support staff and school community. Your discussion of the role of a T-L as leader, while uncomfortable, is essential as the T-L provides a perspective and role that is not duplicated anywhere else. I appreciated your reflection and discussion of your own feelings and apprehensions.
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