Grassroots Education

I am really excited about this week's topic! Before I knew that teaching was what I wanted to do with my life, I knew that I wanted to do something to make the world a better place. I graduated with a degree in International Studies and Political Science from UNBC. I was always interested in grassroots initiatives in developing countries and hoped to work for an NGO. After graduating, I went on the JET Program to teach English for 1 year while studying for the LSATs. I ended up falling in love with teaching. I stayed in Japan for 3 years, upgraded some courses, and applied for my BEd once I returned to Canada. I am still very interested in politics and the international relations. I consider my switch into BC Education to be a personal grassroots initiative. Our school system is not perfect and many teachers are working hard to make changes for the better.

I want to start off by sharing the book The Beautiful Tree by James Tooley. The subtitle of the book explains premise perfectly: "A personal journey into how the world's poorest people are eduating themselves." I found this book during my research. I have added it to my reading list, but have not yet read it. You can find a summary here.

Liah Shonhe holds a Masters Degree from the University of Botswana in Library and Information Studies. In her 2019 paper A Consolidation of Challenges Faced by School Libraries in Developing Countries, Shonhe states that "a school library is vital to the learning and teaching activities of any school as it acts as an information hub and an innovation centre. A school library is a place where sustaining literacy, self-education and lifelong learning is inculcated and nurtured to children, pupils, and students." (2019) Table 1 of her paper lays out many of the downfalls seen in school libraries in developing countries.

She gives a very well-researched list recommendations from other academic studies as well as a list of her own recommendations. Many have to do with policy changes at various levels from local to national, but one of Shonhe's recommendations stood out to me: "developing countries should consider embracing technology and fast-track rural network connection. This will ensure that school libraries provide access to the internet and up-to-date information to students." (Shonhe, Page 9)

Books are a wonderful source of information, especially when the internet is not readily available in all parts of the world, but books take time to publish. New research and new points of view come to light that change everything. Mobile devices provide access to a plethora of information at your fingertips. In places where wifi is spotty, having a hub like a public or school library with a good connection is key to ensuring people stay educated and up-to-date. 

The question of whether or not libraries in developed nations should rely on donations and weeded books from developing nations is a no-brainer to me. Why would they want what we don't want? The west has a "white saviour complex" with many real life examples here and here as well as in film solidifying the notion into western society. According to Witten, Loots, Trujillo, and Bainbridge in The Promise of Digital Libraries in Developing Countries, "notwithstanding and often rudimentary computing environment, users in developing countries should be empowered to produce digital library collections themselves, not just consume information produced elsewhere." (Witten et.al, Page 84) This doesn't mean that anything we shouldn't be global citizens and that we shouldn't offer our help/research/information, but we need to remember that it is a two-way street. Education isn't about giving information, it is about facilitating learning for all parties involved. The context of education in Canada is not the same context for education in India or Norway or even the United States. Having access to technology means we can all learn from and share information with each other. 

References:

Bakar, F. (2019). What is a White Saviour Complex? Metro News UK. Retrived on October 26, 2019 from https://metro.co.uk/2019/03/06/what-is-a-white-saviour-complex-8793979/

Coughlan, S. (2019). JK Rowling Calls for End to "Orphanage Tourism." BBC News. Retrieved on October 26, 2019 from https://www.bbc.com/news/education-50174587

Jay, P. (2018). Here's Where Your Donated Clothing Really Ends Up. CBC News. Retrieved on October 25, 2019 from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/donated-clothing-where-it-ends-up-1.4662023

Shonhe, L. (2019). A Consolidation of Challenges Faced by School Libraries in Developing Countries. Library Philosophy and Practice (E-Journal), Retrieved on October 24, 2019 from https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5867&context=libphilprac

Tooley, J. The Beautiful Tree. Washington DC: Cato Institute, 2009.

Wikipedia: White Saviour Narrative in Film, Retrieved on October 26, 2019 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_savior_narrative_in_film

Witten, I. H., Loots, M., Trujillo, M. F., and Bainbridge, D. (2001). The Promise of Digital Libraries in Developing Countries. Communications of the ACM, 44:5, Pages 82 - 85.

Here are some other interesting articles I found on the topic that did not make it directly into my post:

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA). https://www.ifla.org/about

Tarimo, R. and Kavishe, G. (2017). Internet Access and Usage by Secondary School Students in Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania. International Journal of Education and Development Using Information and Communication Technology, 13:2, Pages 56 - 69.

What Am I Doing Here?!

This is my very first class in the Teacher Librarian diploma and I have only TTOC'd in a library a handful of times. I don't quite understand the full capacity of the position of Teacher Librarian just yet. I was worried I would have nothing to contribute to this week's topic of "On-Going Professional Development" and hesitated starting this blog post. I've really enjoyed reading and commenting on my colleague's blog posts and learning more about what the next step in my career will entail. One thing that I know for sure is that when I do have my own library someday, it will be a place that I want students and teacher's alike to come to and enjoy learning in. A Library Learning Commons is not a space just for the students, it is a space for the whole school, and I want that space to be welcoming. I took the above picture at Chilliwack Secondary School on September 23, 2019. These students stood outside every day (that I was there) for the month of September. Feeling welcome in a space really does make a difference.

Writing this blog has really helped to keep me focussed on my learning at this busy time of year. Reading my colleague's blogs have expanded my knowledge more than I had expected. In my own library someday I would love to keep a blog to keep the school community (students, parents, and teachers) up to date about what is happening in the school library and beyond. I would love to use a blog for unofficial professional development and letting teacher's know about the resources available in the library. In last week's topic, a few of my colleagues and myself had a discussion about making connections as TTOCs and one thing that came up a few times was informal get-togethers or "coffee connections" (as mentioned in the comments section by Kaitlin). I love this idea and would like to see something similar happen within the smaller school community as well. Hosting monthly coffee connections for teacher's to come in to look at resources and discuss what they are doing in their classrooms would be a fun and casual way to share professional development strategies.

I am excited to continue learning from my colleagues through their blogs and from Teacher Librarians in my school district while I visit various schools as a TTOC. I have enjoyed looking through the Professional Development section of the BCTLA website to see what will be in store for my future and add more tools to my toolbox. 

Hashtag, Hashtag, Hashtag!

This week has been a week. My goal as a TTOC this year was to work as much as possible in as many classes as possible and have as many new experiences as possible to help facilitate my learning, while also still having time for my family and my first course of the Teacher Librarianship Diploma. For the past 2 weeks I have been thrown out of my comfort zone. I am a trained elementary school teacher who specialized in Early Childhood Education. I have TTOC'ed mostly at elementary schools. I have been in a high school resource position since September 30 teaching life skills (cooking) and some academics to a mixed group of students from grades 9 to 12. This position has checked off all of my boxes for what I wanted this year and in just a few short weeks I have made some amazing connections with students, EAs, and fellow resource teachers. I am glad that the position has now been hired for, and that the students will have someone who is more equipped to be their resource teacher (and will actually have access to their files and be able to understand their needs more), but I will miss them! I have been staying much longer hours than I do as a TTOC, much to my son's dismay, and have been doing work and planning at home after bedtime. I don't know how you full-time classroom teachers/teacher librarians do it! I am exhausted! You are all amazing! The bittersweet end is in sight, though, and my last day is October 21. I am so happy for the connections and experiences I have had the past couple of weeks and I will miss this position greatly, but I will be glad to have a bit more time on my hands.

That being said, on to this week's topic: Developing Your Own ICT Skills and Technology!

One big thing I have learned about myself these past few weeks is that I can do anything! Another thing that I already knew about myself is that I need to work on my time management. This time, adding parenting to the mix. One thing I always find time for is Instagram. I've followed the hashtags #teacherlibrarian and #teacherlibrariansofinstagram and have perused a plethora of resources! Through these hashtags, I have learned that October is Cyber Safety Month and found the blog The Book Bug: Tales of a School Library Media Specialist.







I find using google to search for blogs is a big task. There is so much to search through, link by link, to find out if it will be a useful or up-to-date source. Social media is such an amazing visual tool to narrow down searches and find ideas. Having these online social networks are such a blessing, but having in-person networks are just as important.

The Chilliwack Teacher's Association has so many options for meeting new teachers. They have a mentorship program, schedule walks on local trails, and even schedule movie nights. On October 29, the CTA is hosting a "social" specifcally for TTOC and Early Career Teachers. I have found it difficult in previous districts to meet and make connections with fellow TTOCs, as we are always at different schools and might not get the chance to see each other again for months at a time. I am excited to go to my first social even this year and hopefully see some more friendly faces around my district.

Bibliography:

Instagram: #teacherlibrariansofinstagram, Screenshot on October 13, 2019 from https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/teacherlibrariansofinstagram/

Nase J. "October is Cyber Safety Month." The Book Bug: Tales of a School Library Media Specialist. October 12, 2019. Accessed on October 13, 2019 from http://mrsnthebookbug.blogspot.com/2019/10/october-is-cyber-safety-month.html

One Book, One School

I first learned about One School, One Book last school year. I was teaching at a high school and in my first block Spanish class, I was told to read Harry Potter and the Philosophers's Stone for the first 30 minutes of class. I double checked that I wasn't supposed to read in Spanish (as I do not actually speak Spanish, but I get called in to teach it quite often), and they told me about the program. The entire school reads the same book at the same time. There were trivia questions asked during the announcements during block 2, and students were allowed time to answer these questions and submit them to the library with a runner from each class. Maybe it was the idea of a school-wide, collective activity, maybe it was the chance to win free prizes, but the school was more aflutter than the Owlery at Hogwarts. The library was decorated with "Restricted Sections," cobwebs, and broomsticks. Staff photos in the hallways were "wanted posters" a la Sirius Black. There was even a Platform 9 3/4, but of course the day that I finally remembered to bring my phone with me during my hallway walk was the last day of the book and they were taking it down.

In the next few months and into the end of the school year, I encountered a few more schools doing similar reads. One elementary school doing Harry Potter and another reading Charlotte's Web. Both of these schools had the students read the book at home with parents, as opposed to reading it in class. It seemed like such a wonderful way to bond as a family, class, and school. Kindergarteners who were still learning letter-sounds were sounding out words to try and answer the questions themselves. In a few short days, I saw students gain confidence, try things they were uncomfortable with, and open up and talk in class when they usually don't. That's when I decided to look it up and found out that it was an actual program that schools can opt into.

There are a few "One School, One Book" Programs out there, but some noteworthy ones include:

• Read to Them is a "non-profit organization promoting family literacy" whose main goal is to "create a culture of literacy in every home. (readtothem.org/about) They are out of Richmond, VA, but their program has garnered attention across the United States, Canada, and the world. The video below explains the reasoning behind "One School, One Book" and can be found on the "Resources" tab on their website or on youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl3CJznL5Z4)

Read to Them - One School, One Book. Retrieved on October 2, 2019 from https://readtothem.org/programs/one-school-one-book/

• Penguin Random House has their own version as well, with my favourite feature being "Books Set in Canada." They also have the option of having the author of your chosen book come to the school as well as recommending various Grants to help cover the costs of hosting an author.

Penguin Random House - One Book, One Community. Retrieved on October 3, 2019 from https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/program/425/one-book-one-community

The local high school that I originally learned about this program from also has the option of listening to the chapters via their school website. There are MP3s to download or stream, for those students who either don't have time to or are not at the same reading level as the rest of the school. I am currently in a short position teaching high school resource, and I love the inclusivity that this fosters.

https://gwgss.sd33.bc.ca/one-book-one-school

I am really looking forward to asking more questions to Teacher Librarians now that I have some ideas of my own and I hope to see this program in schools again this year. I would love to know how many books per year they do (one per year? one per semester or term?). How do we ensure that all students have access to the book - either paper copies or audiobooks? What are the start-up costs and budgetary concerns in starting this program from the beginning? How can we make this program more inclusive to our students? What differences have you seen in the years since you have started the program?