Connect!

Working with teachers that are fired up about their subject is a joy! Amanda Reynolds teaches a high school course on Asian Studies. Here are her goals:

 

When looking at China , we frequently have a discussion about how a Second World Nation can rapidly industrialize- usually at the cost of the environment. Specifically, the class looks at why China was willing to destroy her environment in order to become a First World Nation.

To do that, she wanted to step outside the textbook and as we collaborated, we found the book “Coal – A Human History” was a good fit. She uses the last chapter.

We read the last chapter of the book "Coal: A Human History" to "visualize" the process of industrialization in a modern nation. The Chinese government has set up a Fossil Fuels Committee and also created Environmental laws, but there are very few sanctions for breaking them.

The class enjoyed using the book. By reading "Coal," the students saw industrialization as a MODERN or CURRENT phenomenon instead of something that occurred in the 1800s under Carnegie and Vanderbilt. The book allowed them to visualize an event that Americans tend to think of as historical in a contemporary light- italso set up the struggle of economics vs. environment. Which side takes precedence and why? How can that relate back to their lives or the US ? How does that choice impact China 's relations with other nations, including the US ?

That connection – knowing the curriculum, knowing some good books or materials and getting them into the hands of teachers and students keeps you challenged and has you reading differently.

I know the "vertical file" is out and yet I keep clipping articles. I found one Saturday for Amanda. In the Burlington Hawkeye, the article was “China's exports go beyond cheap toys”, where I read “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that on certain days nearly 25 percent of the particulate matter in the skies above Los Angeles can be traced to China”. It fits perfectly with her work. In today's digital age, I can also point out to her that the photograph is from AP and can be found in Multimedia Archive and the article may well be in EBSCO from another newspaper.

Every possible way we can connect with our teachers, we must explore. Keep your eyes open for connections!

"Researcher Steven S. Cliff checks his monitoring site Thursday atop Mount Tamalpais State Park, Calif." - AP

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Notes from our members -

The Front Page gives me a chance to share some ideas and information with you, but I still firmly believe that we will get our discussion board going. You have lots to say and I've enjoyed reading your e-mails and comments..

Steingreaber, Anne Sushko and Mary Wegner
at DMACC Information Literacy Conference - June 14, 2006

• We sent out an electronic member certificate for your use in portfolios in June. You wrote back -

  "Thanks. Hadn't thought about having one to put in my portfolio
  until now; great prompt!" Barbara Glasener - Teacher Librarian - Jesup
  
  "Thank you! How very nice. I will upload the certificate and believe I will scan and upload the documents showing all of the library professions to which I belong.
  
  I cannot believe the low percentage in the virtual stats on the State Library Home page for current membership in our library associations." Carol VanHook - Teacher Librarian - SE Polk

• If you didn't get your certificate, please click on the instructions on the IASL website to have one sent to you.
• Want to see the stats on the State Library website from our survey results? Click here - Statistics bottom right.

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• Discussion groups or listservs are getting to be a part of modern day classes. I had the good fortune to be a participant in the DMACC Information Literacy class this summer and really appreciated seeing the comments. What I hope to see with our discussion board is a place for people to focus on a topic and not have to search through e-mails to find. We will reopen the Discussion Board this August. Please find it on the IASL website and register.

Here are some sample discussion postings from our members this past summer::

The 4 secondary teacher-librarians meet on
a regular basis – and have for years! This opportunity to discuss common
concerns and to share information on projects provides a vehicle for both
personal and professional growth. We used to meet on a regular basis with
the elementary teacher-librarians. For a variety of reasons this fell by
the wayside for a few years. However, this year a concerted effort was
made to reinstitute K-12 meetings at least 4 times a year. People were
very receptive – and we have plans to continue this next year. Peer
support – a knowledge of what is being taught K-12 in the areas of library
and research – discussion of K-12 standards and benchmarks – all make for
a powerful program." Anne Sushko, Teacher Librarian - Dubuque

In the Ankeny district we also do a good job of collaborating within our department. The elementary media specialist meet once a month and K-12 we meet probably 3 times a year. But, like you, I have often thought we needed more collaboration between our school librarians and our public librarians. I've been in the district 3 years and I am not aware of any efforts made between our two groups to discuss what's happening in our programming. The only contact I've had with the public librarians is hanging up their summer reading posters in my hallways in May. I would like to see us move beyond that. Jenny Wirtz, Teacher Librarian - Ankeny

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• Some of the IASL members are serving as Board members this year including Marcia Jensen. Marcia represents IASL on Intellectual Freedom and she has also posted some important information that I'd like to share.

Marcia Jensen, Teacher Librarian - Davenport.
In light of our current difficulties, I’d like to encourage all of you to join ALA, AASL, and IASL. Yes, it costs money. However, there is strength in numbers, and regardless of outcomes, it is important for us to know we have done our part to impact the situation. Beyond this, the Iowa Teaching Standards ask that we be professionally active. Below is the latest work of AASL on our behalf:

AASL's Board of Directors appointed the Task Force on Instructional Classification during the ALA Midwinter Meeting in January, in response to the concerns of members over the proposed "65% solution" legislation.   The legislation, being considered in many states nationwide, mandates that 65 percent of all funding for schools be spent on "direct classroom instruction."   This presents a problem for school library media programs and staff, when the proposed legislation uses the current definition from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) classifying school library media services as "non-instructional."

http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2006/may2006/AASLinstructionalclassif.htm

Direct Link - http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslproftools/positionstatements/instclass.htm

Link to other position statements from AASL. http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslproftools/positionstatements/aaslposition.htm

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