Blog Archives

College Ready – Childhood Lost

I am appalled. The Education Life section of the February 8 New York Times has a feature article on first graders becoming college ready.  This is not about study skills, although I am sure it is part of it.  These

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Posted in General, Librarian Life

Defining and Supporting Literacy

It once was simple in the days before apps and the Internet. When all information came by way of books, magazines, and newspapers. Literacy was easy to define. It meant you were able to read and understand printed matter.  Functional

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Posted in Librarian Life, Uncategorized

To Create a Learning Environment – Support Students’ Self Esteem

School is back in session.  From now until spring break the greatest amount of learning for the year occurs. However, how much students learn depends on several factors.  The least important is their individual intelligence. The teacher counts for most

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Posted in Career, Librarian Life

Rejoice, Relax, Reflect, Re-focus

The holidays are over. The mad scramble is past. I hope you rejoiced with family and friends.  Facebook was filled with greetings exchanged with those too far away to see over the holidays, and it was good to see us

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Posted in General, Librarian Life

Finish Line? Not Really

I am a committed Weight Watcher member.  When I set out on my weight loss plan almost eleven years ago, I couldn’t imagine I could lose close to fifty pounds.  I expected that on reaching “Lifetime,” I would indulge in

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Posted in Career, Librarian Life

ThanksGIVING

With Thanksgiving Day approaching, I am focused on the second half of the word.  One of the best ways to be thankful is to give back.  As educators we do this every day. We work hard to reach as many

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Posted in General, Librarian Life

Emotion “sells” better than Logic

The most supremely logical Mr. Spock, from the Star Trek series I adored from the very first, says in one episode, “It’s not logical, but it’s true.”  As librarians we need to take those words to heart in order to

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Posted in Issues, Librarian Life

Stop, hey, what’s that sound… Maker Spaces are Going Round

Makerspaces have been around for a few years.  For much of that time, the public libraries had them and few early-adopter school librarians started them in their libraries. Their existence continues to grow, but many librarians are hesitant to start

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Posted in Career, Librarian Life

Developing Essential Or Guiding Questions

Nearly a year ago (January 6, 2014) I blogged on Questions and Answers, pointing out that good answers showed understanding of the topic covered, while good questions demonstrated the ability to take the concepts learned and seek to explore it

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Posted in Librarian Life, Professional Development

The Power of Literacy

Until the middle of the 20th century, Literacy meant one thing – you could read.  It sometimes was modified with the word “functional” to indicate you were capable of reading at a sufficient level to survive in our society.  Today

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Posted in General, Issues, Librarian Life