Working with adolescents is a special calling. It takes patience, sensitivity, and the unique ability to be gracious while also holding students to the standards and work you know they’re capable of producing. To be an educator is to be a surrogate parent, big sibling, coach, friend, “bad guy,” “good guy,” and everything in between. It’s not always easy, but it is always worth it. Those who sign up for the job know the days might be long, but so is the list of rewards. It’s a role and responsibility we take seriously.
The school library media specialist holds a distinct position in the educational universe. I consider the media center to be the heart of the school—it embodies the best attributes of a successful education, the science of learning as well as the love. The media specialist is therefore a rigorous teacher, a celebrator of great literature, a champion of information and intellectual freedom, a program and school leader, and a technology whiz. We do it all. In a sense, we are the curators of what it means to develop a love of learning: Yes, learning happens in formal classroom environments, but it also happens when you chat about your favorite fictional characters between classes or explain the importance of Banned Books Week to a parent. It’s for everyone, in all situations, through both standardized tests and your latest Google binge. There’s no right way to learn, or right place. Visit a school media center, and that should be evident.
In many cases the media specialist is the forbearer of change and innovation. We march ahead with the latest technologies, teaching students and faculty alike how to use new tools and software. We model that use in the collaborative lessons we undertake, incorporating inquiry-based techniques with real-world relevance. We tweet, post, like, and tag. We take connectivity to a new level; we create content effectively and ethically and model that for our patrons. But media specialists also cherish the legacy of what has made both libraries and school libraries instrumental to the public for decades: the power of reading, the ability to find what you’re looking for, and the importance of intellectual freedom.
Intellectual freedom is perhaps one of the most fundamental jobs of the school media center. Like public libraries, we have a duty to provide resources in all content areas for all patrons in all walks of life, despite what we or someone else might personally believe. People in a democratic society have a right to information in its unabridged, uncensored form, and the school media center is perhaps the first place where young people confront this idea. Media specialists have a responsibility not only to uphold such rights but to teach children that they should exercise this right—and protect this right for others—well into adulthood.
I believe that every school lives or dies by its media center—it’s that important, and it’s a big challenge. It’s one that I’m looking forward to pursuing for many years to come.
The school library media specialist holds a distinct position in the educational universe. I consider the media center to be the heart of the school—it embodies the best attributes of a successful education, the science of learning as well as the love. The media specialist is therefore a rigorous teacher, a celebrator of great literature, a champion of information and intellectual freedom, a program and school leader, and a technology whiz. We do it all. In a sense, we are the curators of what it means to develop a love of learning: Yes, learning happens in formal classroom environments, but it also happens when you chat about your favorite fictional characters between classes or explain the importance of Banned Books Week to a parent. It’s for everyone, in all situations, through both standardized tests and your latest Google binge. There’s no right way to learn, or right place. Visit a school media center, and that should be evident.
In many cases the media specialist is the forbearer of change and innovation. We march ahead with the latest technologies, teaching students and faculty alike how to use new tools and software. We model that use in the collaborative lessons we undertake, incorporating inquiry-based techniques with real-world relevance. We tweet, post, like, and tag. We take connectivity to a new level; we create content effectively and ethically and model that for our patrons. But media specialists also cherish the legacy of what has made both libraries and school libraries instrumental to the public for decades: the power of reading, the ability to find what you’re looking for, and the importance of intellectual freedom.
Intellectual freedom is perhaps one of the most fundamental jobs of the school media center. Like public libraries, we have a duty to provide resources in all content areas for all patrons in all walks of life, despite what we or someone else might personally believe. People in a democratic society have a right to information in its unabridged, uncensored form, and the school media center is perhaps the first place where young people confront this idea. Media specialists have a responsibility not only to uphold such rights but to teach children that they should exercise this right—and protect this right for others—well into adulthood.
I believe that every school lives or dies by its media center—it’s that important, and it’s a big challenge. It’s one that I’m looking forward to pursuing for many years to come.