The last two weeks of school are hard. We see the finish line in sight, but there are so many steps to reach it. Our classroom teachers feel the same way. This is a great time to encourage others and… Read More ›
advocacy
Inquiry Framework: What Makes Sense?
I’m on a quest to refine my teaching to be both student-centered and relevant. This has evolved over time to mean that I talk a lot less now, and put more effort into the design of the learning experience. How… Read More ›
Ask the Hard Questions
Not quite a year ago, I saw a Twitter post by our state commissioner of education. The post was not out of the ordinary. He was sharing information about updates to state standards of accreditation. As I read through… Read More ›
Teamwork: Advocating for School Librarians & School Libraries
There seems to be an ever-increasing movement across the nation to do one or more of the following: Reframe the school librarian position as something less than a teacher. Do away with credentialed school librarians. Do away with school libraries…. Read More ›
Open Door vs. Out The Door Policy
The best administrators are those who welcome conversations and new ideas, collaborations, and support. Many school administrators accomplish this lofty goal by instituting an “open door” policy where teachers and students can feel free to come in if the door… Read More ›
Wikipedia and Advocacy
The High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia, is hosting an Art + Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-thon. The event is designed to train interested people to edit Wikipedia pages with this stated goal: to edit, update, and create Wikipedia articles related… Read More ›
More Support for Ending School Library Fines
A couple of blog posts ago I wrote that I was evaluating my stance on school library fines. Since then my co-librarian has warmed up to the idea, and we’ve been planning how we are going to phase out fines…. Read More ›
Advocacy Toolkit: Library Reports
Get the Word Out! “They won’t know what you’re doing unless you make sure they know. And if you don’t, your job will eventually end up on the chopping block and no one will know why you’re worth fighting for.”… Read More ›
Circles of Concern, Influence, and Control
Everything we do in our work is an opportunity for advocacy, and we should take full advantage of each opportunity. Every email we send, every conversation we have, every resource we curate, and every event we plan all have an… Read More ›
The Ready to Code (RtC) Collection
There are 450,000+ open computing jobs across the United States, but only 35% of high schools teach computer programming (code.org, 2019). The American Library Association (ALA) wanted to understand and support libraries with information and resources related to computer science…. Read More ›