Day 2 was much more relaxed than the "jump in" mentality of yesterday. My first goal today was to introduce myself to the faculty as a whole, requesting to visit classrooms tomorrow and offering a collaborative unit for information literacy. I spent the first hour or so sending out the email, updating Cindy's webpage, and looking through the typical schedule of the Ravenel library.
Even though Oconee County uses Google for mail, the web pages are supported through Canvas. The biggest downfall of this program is a required sign-in to the county system before being able to access each website. This means that parents and students must have log-in codes and passwords in order to even see their student's teacher's websites. I have a hard enough time with my students logging onto my website in class! Additionally, Cindy noted that she can't even see her peers of media specialists at other schools due to the restrictions set on the site! This is a new program for Oconee this year, but clearly is not a very effective or efficient model.
If I were planning a long-term career with Ravenel, I would likely contact the district-level director of Canvas to ask about manipulating permissions, sharing/copying basic format, or other sharing techniques that the system does not allow at the time. Cindy said she has not had much time or experience with developing webpages, so I would like to offer my help if we have time and opportunity. Today, I already took a quick moment to explain the basics of Google Drive's Sheets and the equations it offers! I hope that I can continue to be a meaningful benefit beyond an extra pair of hands in the library!
One of the teachers that rotates with gifted 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders cancelled his "classes" for today to reschedule for tomorrow. This meant today was the perfect day to set down some solid plans on the calendar to complete my assignments and internship. We started with my more rigid dates, due to my own employment approved leave. Though at first it seemed impossible to plan all the activities and student engagement, I think we came up with a solid plan for the rest of the semester. You can find that plan documented here. Cindy was exceptional at both being flexible and suggesting concrete ideas that would be necessary, fitting, or beneficial to the specific culture of Ravenel. I do not feel like I will be overwhelmed or surprised by the grit of my objectives based on a pretty thorough discussion of expectations, community, and goals. I am so grateful for her clarity of communication because so many partners and colleagues can often be more ambiguous! When I serve a school of my own, I hope that I can maintain the precision, leadership, and kindness that Cindy has already shown in these two days.
Speaking of character, the relationship between Cindy and Toni is one I can only hope to imitate in my own position. Though Toni is her assistant, Cindy has strong trust and balance that shows in responsibilities, student interactions, and everyday conversations in the library. Though they couldn't decide quite how long they had been together (I think they chose at least 12 years...), the mutual respect for each others' abilities and roles is a well-established rhythm. Though I consider myself a compassionate person, I know that I am also extremely driven. This drive sometimes translates to a perceived callousness or the inevitable "b" word: "bossy." I have been trying to work on this almost all my professional life. It is my hope to watch these two professionals interact and learn the cues, communication devices, and other practices they use to build a mutually comfortable relationship, as well as their processes to students and other faculty with library needs.
No comments:
Post a Comment