Though I'm glad this day has come, I'm also disappointed the time has gone so quickly. You know it is a good place to be when you have given up your employed school's spring break and are still enjoying being at a different sort of work! I'm taking this as a sign that I am headed towards the right career!
We expected today to be a little crazy with students checking in/out books before the long holiday; however, the library was mostly quiet. Students had been checking in books they knew they wouldn't need or choosing books to check out that were a little bit longer or more complex in preparation for the ten days away from school. I have really loved to see how excited the students are about taking books home and reading them. This is so foreign from my experience of reading at the high school level and one of the most attractive things about the elementary level LMS position. I think this largely has to do with student choice. When I give my students choice novels, there do talk about the books more and actually read the books more. Less read than at the elementary level, but I am gladdened to give the high schoolers the opportunity to be engaged in reading again even just for one unit.
Even as we were completing the final evaluation and paperwork, I was still asking Cindy questions about how or why she has implemented certain behaviors and practices in the library. Especially details about finances and ordering priority are still something I am learning. As she was filling out the evaluation, Cindy said that some of the details I really won't be able to have a full handle on or a full opportunity to do until I am in the LMS position itself. Having gone through a practicum/student teaching in undergrad, I know that this is the truth. From my English teacher perspective, I learned that classroom expectations, grading on assignments, order of curriculum, and other classroom-specific details were all left to me unlike in my practicum experience. I was the end of the line in the classroom. I imagine I will feel the same way as I enter into a LMS position: I will be the end of the line! While in both situations, teacher and LMS, there are guidelines, expectations, and other decision-makers involved, the sort of daily routine and habits are really established by the teacher/LMS herself. I am looking forward to being "in control" of the library I serve but am certainly grateful for the patterns of paperwork and procedure that Cindy has shown me and that she told me to call and keep her updated!
I think I've grown the most with my understandings of procedure and protocols of the LMC. Going in, my biggest goals were to understand the catalog-circulation-ordering-weeding relationship, text selections, and financial practices. I have certainly learned about many books appropriate for elementary, both for specific titles and for how the books are supposed to "feel" in length and content. I have practiced using the Follett software to generate varied reports, update the collection, order resources, and run varied aspects of circulation. I have generated a wish list for a section of nonfiction after completing inventory and weeding the section based on age, relevance, and circulation. I have been introduced to texts the students love to listen to and are appropriate for varied seasons and ages. I have read children's books I'd never heard of and loved them. I have met with the school's bookkeeper to discuss account use and balancing. I have created an order on a limited budget, learned how a Book Fair works and affects the library, and used filing systems to maintain transparency and order in the library. I think I've certainly met my main learning goals for my library practicum and done more activities than I ever expected to accomplish in twenty days.
At the heart of the library, of course, is sharing the resources with the students. I was less worried about this aspect because of my teaching background, but I was so glad when I got to step in today to read to the kindergartners one last time. Cindy had to step out to address a teacher need and wasn't back when the first class arrived. I stepped in and pulled out the book she had chosen: Betty Bunny Loves Easter by Michael B. Kaplan. This is a story where Betty Bunny "is a handful!" She loves Easter so much that she wants to grow up to be the Easter Bunny. In her frolicking finding eggs, she realizes that her older brothers and sister help her find eggs! She had always found the most eggs at the hunt, but now realizes it was only because of her family's help! So Betty Bunny is determined to find eggs by herself, but only finds three. They "mean more to her" because she had found them on her own, and she still has the dream to be the Easter Bunny one day.
What a lesson for me to keep, too. I'm about to (hopefully) run a LMC as its leader and director. I've had help from Cindy, from Toni, from my professors, from my family...and will continue to have their support in my career. But now, I'm going to be taking a determined step and making the decisions myself. I hope that even if I have three "eggs" of success, I'll see the growth and continue to build a LMC program that best serves its school community.
I finished reading through your last couple of blogs today. It makes me happy that you feel your time was well spent during your internship. Toni and I miss you! When things happen, I often find myself thinking that I'll tell you about it when you come back to Ravenel. Then I remember... you're finished! It was a pleasure working with you!
ReplyDelete*Artists on the Green is this Friday if you find yourself available!!