Another Reason For School Librarians

I knew it would happen sooner than later...My child would be taught that "non-fiction is a genre." Argh. Cough Cough. Grunt. 

Non-fiction isn't a genre; it's a section in the library. In Spanish it makes more sense "no ficción." Simply put, books that are non-fiction are books that are just that, not fiction.

 Fiction is one of many categories found in the library. 

Fiction: Fictitious literature; comprehensively, all works of imagination; specifically, novels and romances. The office of fiction as a vehicle of instruction and moral elevation has been recognized by most if not all great educators.

- Dict. of Education. (Websters, 1913)

Books that are fiction are stories with made up characters, setting, plot, and created or written by one or two authors. That's fiction. Of course there are many fiction books based on an event or an actual person such as Al Capone Does My Shirts, by Gennifer Choldenko. 

In the Dewey system the books included in the non-fiction categories include more than books with information about people, animals, sports, arts, science, history  etc. Books that are "not fiction" also include joke books, myths and legends, books about horror and monsters, graphic novels, cartoon books, poetry books, and more. In many libraries, a book with a collection of stories written by a particular author, or book with a collection of fictional stories with a particular theme written by different authors are located in the non-fiction section.

So...do not teach kids that non-fiction is a genre. There's no such thing. If I only had a dollar for every child who I've heard say, "non-fiction is true." When students find "Red Riding Hood" in the non-fiction section they get confused because the wolf is not "real." How often have library staff get stuck in the adult discussion about fairy tales, folk-tales, and the tranmission of cultural norms, beliefs, and morals, through oral tradition trying to explain why La Llorona is in the non-fiction section. 

Teaching non-fiction as a genre confuses kids who are trying to figure out where things belong, how things can be categorized, and what makes something "true" or "false." Teach them about the different types of fiction, then help them to learn about all of the other types of exciting categories of books that are organized and easily located in print and online libraries.

Teach them where to find different topics and that information can be sorted into many different categories. Dewey Decimal is just one way books are sorted or categorized so we can find what we want quickly. 

Can you tell this is my pet peeve? 

Our Response...They are Waiting

Our students are looking to us to help them understand what's happening in today's political climate. We can take time, a time of fear and uncertainty for many, and see it as an opportunity to build stronger relationships with our students and families, to show that we can support one another and learn from each others' experiences by sharing ideas openly, and practice civil discourse when we don't, and we won't always agree. 

Here are some ideas that might help the tweens and teens in your library and classroom:

-Invite students to create and display books and resources representing their family's refugee or immigrant experience

-Post primary resource such as the Order or the (former) Attorney General's response and title the board "What do you think?"

-Create an "I Wonder" bulletin board where students and/or you can write a questions

-Journal: give students time to write down their feelings in class

-Reread the U.S. Constitution and discuss checks and balances that are in place to ensure balance and representation in our democracy

-Give students many opportunitied to practice academic and civil discourse. Provide sentence starters for students to use https://edtechknowledge.wordpress.com/tag/

and use https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/01/29/learning/lesson-plans/analyzing-trumps-immigration-ban-a-lesson-plan.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Flearning&action=click&contentCollection=learning&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&conte&_r=0&referer=

-Things aren't always yes/no, all/none, good/bad. Most of life is about negotiation, compromising, and living and working in the middle. Try this human continuum strategy to hit the idea home. http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/104014/chapters/Human-Continuum.aspx

-Listen to Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech and discuss ways that we want to be treated and how to treat others, whether we agree or disagree. http://www.teachertube.com/mobile/video/mlk-i-have-a-dream-speech-20916

-Research, interview and promote a variety of heroes in your community from a variety of backgrounds. Be sure to include individuals who were or work directly with refugees and/or immigrants 

-Review relaxation techniques and stress busters https://www.edutopia.org/sites/default/files/resources/stw-glenview-stress-reduction-activities.pdf

-Discuss the power of the media and taking charge to power off to take a break from the headlines

-Discuss and read about people http://choices.scholastic.com/story/unbreakable-4-teens-who-prove-power-resilience and characters who were and are resilient through trying and/or war-torn times. What would you add to this list? 

Homeless Bird; Outrun the Moon; What Elephants Know

-Read about characters who are complex and develop, change, and grow smarter and more open-minded over time: Every Falling Star; Touching Spirit Bear 

-Advise/Guide a group of students who've been asking to start a new club that fosters inclusion and acceptance: Interfaith Club; GSA https://gsanetwork.org/resources/building-your-gsa/10-steps-starting-gsa; Cesar Chavez Club http://www.chavezclubs.org/

Resources for Teacher Librarians, Classroom Educators, and School Leadership

-Share your story. What is happening in your school library following the anti-immigration order? https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSevyEfPw1fEgRbgRhjPsQjwFQe1bU2L3qSY2kcnTW6oCWzNcg/viewform

-Read http://www.slj.com/2016/10/diversity/a-path-forward-how-libraries-support-refugee-children/

-Read: Responding to Hate and Violence at School http://www.tolerance.org/publication/responding-hate-and-bias-school

-Build literacy based, anti-biased lesson plans with Teaching Tolerance http://perspectives.tolerance.org/

-Read http://www.tolerance.org/blog/what-do-i-say-students-about-immigration-orders

What are you doing in your libraries and classrooms? 

Will the REAL Librarians Please Stand Up

When jobs are on the line can the skills of inquiry leader, readers' advisor, resourceful collaborator, curator, promoter, event planner, independent learning expert, blended-learning educator, collection developer, acquisitions staff, indexer, evaluator, weeder, early-adopter, maker/designer, cross-pollinator, community and service-learning practitioner, etc. add value to the title of Librarian and therefore help increase the brand? Or...does sticking to a title like Librarian put people in jeopardy of being thought of as antiquated keeper of books. After all, this is what is portrayed in pop culture and sometimes reinforced by a few untrained, unwilling, or lazy bad apples right? It's hard when a school only has one and he/she fits the stereotype of someone who sits behind a desk and refers to resources as "my collection." If that's a librarian then yes, it's no surprise that the position may end up cut and replaced by more dynamic cheaper staffing with a glitzy title but little training. This has happened across the United States where we say we value literacy. Why? Is the position misunderstood? Are Librarians to busy or too humble to promote their work and the outcomes of teacher and student collaborations and achievements beyond postings and meetings with their own colleagues or beyond their schools or professional organizations? 

It baffles me that districts and schools would cut, let alone, not add more high-quality Librarians because: 

-A high-quality Librarian works with and knows every student and every teacher over time. The personal interactions go way beyond circulation numbers. 

-He/she has unique insight into each individual and understands their interests, their needs, and their skills because he/she has helped teach the students across subject areas and often knows what information and diversions the seek on an independent level through helping to find print, electronic, expert, and community resources.

-Today's Librarian has a multitude of skills and is open-minded and excited to develop and grow with new students, new knowledge, new understandings, new technology, and new strategies for how, when, why, where and what humans learn and teach. 

-Librarians are lucky; their approaches to teaching and learning are untethered by a textbook and a classroom roster with one set of students and curriculum. 

-Librarians are connected with a multitude of patrons and potential resources. 

-Their teaching and learning skill sets involve working in and knowing and supporting everyone in the school, and connecting and helping them make sense of, evaluate, organize and utilize resources, ideas, and communities at an individual and global level. 

-Opening doors to the world through ongoing inquiry develops, uncovers, and hopefully challenges subject-area knowledge by encouraging teachers and learners to venture beyond the day to day didactic curriculum, to question, to push, and in turn apply their learning to create, make, and develop new ideas, strategies, models, systems and/or products and solutions. 

So should high-quality Librarians move beyond or embrace the title? What do you think? What's in a name? 

(inspired by Adventures in Libraryland blog)

IB Community Project Idea

Have a library monitor looking for a great idea for discarded books? What about a Little Free Library at school or at home? Check out these fun an inexpensive ideas. http://littlefreelibrary.org/little-free-libraries-shoestring-budget/. What are your ideas for designing a LFL in your community?

Comparing Holocaust to Native American Genocide

Helping students to make connections is so important. As a member of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's teaching fellows program, Robin Levin is completing a curriculum that draws parallels between the Nazi’s systematic extermination of the Jews during the 1930s and 1940s with the U.S. government’s treatment of Native Americans. Read the article in School Library Journal: