Competency 2

I used the search engine GoogleBlog: http://blogsearch.google.com/ to find a blog about a school librarian. I used a few other search engines, but the results on google appealed to me more. The site I went to is:

Musings of a Middle School Librarian by Deb http://bulldoglibrarian.wordpress.com/2008/12/21/10/- I am a Teacher!

All of my experience has been in the elementary school, so I wanted to research about a middle school librarian. I liked how Deb stressed that she does not just check out books as a librarian. She is probably the most important teacher in the school. My plans are to work as a librarian in either the elementary or middle school. I found her blog and post very relevant. I have subscribed to it.

I tailor my lesson plans to meet the needs of these students. I spend hours teaching how to find the best information, print or electronic. I tailor the search for information to the individual class. I teach through modeling ethical behavior. I teach by recommending websites, activities, books, magazine and journal articles. I teach by opening the library to the students of staff. I teach through collaboration. I teach the other librarians in the district, all of them. I teach through emails. I teach through district staff development. I teach through blogs and wikis. I teach the parents of my seventh and eighth graders. I send home a library column in the PTA newsletter. I invite the parents to the library. I share what I am reading, what the students are reading, and about intellectual freedom. I am a member of the PTA advisory board and I attend the meetings and participate.

Deb gives many examples in her post on how she works with students, faculty, other librarians, administration, parents, and the community daily. She uses up to date technology to accomplish many of her tasks. She has been a teacher for 31 years, but only a librarian for 5 years. She has no desire to retire any time soon, because she loves her job! She seems to have a renewed passion for her job. That is what I hope to find in working in the library of a school.