Blog Archives

College Ready – Childhood Lost

Posted on February 8, 2015 by RonaGofstein — No Comments ↓

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…

Tagged with: common core, education, high stakes tests, Hilda K Weisburg, Hilda Weisburg, librarian, librarians, students
Posted in General, Librarian Life

To Create a Learning Environment – Support Students’ Self Esteem

Posted on January 12, 2015 by RonaGofstein — No Comments ↓

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…

Rejoice, Relax, Reflect, Re-focus

Posted on January 5, 2015 by RonaGofstein — No Comments ↓

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…

Finish Line? Not Really

Posted on December 22, 2014 by RonaGofstein — No Comments ↓

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…

Hello? Are you listening?

Posted on December 15, 2014 by RonaGofstein — No Comments ↓

We live in a noisy world. Until the power goes out we don’t realize how much background noise exists in our everyday life. Our brains have become skilled at blocking most of this out to preserve our sanity. Not hearing…

Tagged with: Hilda K Weisburg, Hilda Weisburg, librarian, librarians, libraries, listen, listening, pay attention, school librarian
Posted in Career

ThanksGIVING

Posted on November 24, 2014 by RonaGofstein — No Comments ↓

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…

Tagged with: community, connection, giving, Hilda K Weisburg, Hilda Weisburg, librarian, librarians, libraries, library, thanksgiving
Posted in General, Librarian Life

Emotion “sells” better than Logic

Posted on November 17, 2014 by RonaGofstein — No Comments ↓

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…

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

Posted on November 10, 2014 by RonaGofstein — No Comments ↓

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…

Developing Essential Or Guiding Questions

Posted on November 3, 2014 by RonaGofstein — No Comments ↓

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…

You Must Be Visible To Be Valuable

Posted on October 27, 2014 by RonaGofstein — No Comments ↓

In 1997, Gary Hartzell wrote an article for the November issue of School Library Journal entitled “The Invisible School Librarian: Why Others Are Blind to Your Value.” Seventeen years have passed and little has changed for many – and there…