Sowing the Seeds
Recently, a school library friend asked if I had submitted myself for an award from our state organization. I laughed – “Why would I put in for an award? I’m not doing anything special.” They looked back at me, agog. And while the conversation quickly moved on to other topics, it did plant a seed of self-doubt – was I doing anything worth noting?
Completely coincidentally, I shortly after received an email saying someone had nominated me for a national award.
And the seed sprouted as I realized that how I saw myself was not how others might see me.
Evasive Maneuvers
I am always surprised when I am at an event and someone stops to say, “Oh, I love your KQ posts!” “I follow you on social media!” “I really like your podcast!” “You inspired me to…” I usually blush and deflect any incoming praise, then try to steer the conversation in another direction.
I think I am pretty typical among educators in general, and school librarians in particular, in that I am somewhat averse to seeking out praise or thinking that what I’m doing is great (or even good enough!). Although I’ve been working on accepting when folks have nice things to say, I’m still a work in progress.
But although I’m sure many of us feel like we’re just kind of “doing what we do” and that it’s “nothing special,” I bet every one of us knows at least a dozen people, either in our daily lives or online, that we admire and respect, who have made our lives, and the lives of their students and staff, better, simply by being there.
Giving Grace (Literally)
You may be familiar with Dr. Chris Harris’s We the Librarians program, which provides librarians with cards and envelopes to send to other librarians to give them a little long-distance hug, particularly those who are facing challenging circumstances.
This is an incredible, wonderful idea! Who wouldn’t enjoy getting an affirmation they can put on their tack board?
Thinking about Dr. Harris’s project, and some of my conference interactions, and the start of the school year, and the upcoming gift-giving season, it occurred to me that we all have several great opportunities to put some more good into the world.
Notes to Colleagues
Every so often, I get a note in the mail from friends like Courtney Pentland and Amy Hermon. They just drop a “Saw this, thought of you” message in an envelope and send it off. And every time, it brightens my day.
When most of my physical mail is advertisements, getting an actual letter from someone is always a nice moment. Someone cared enough to take the time to fill out an address and put a stamp on an envelope! That alone is enough to induce a smile. And the notes inside, whether a single line or a couple paragraphs, are always a welcome treat.
I’ve also gotten several notes and emails from school colleagues this past year. Each one put a smile on my face for the rest of the day, and were greatly appreciated!
Nominate Colleagues
A great part of any conference is the awards ceremony. Seeing people honored for their contributions to the profession is always wonderful. And what a great opportunity for the winners to be able to share that recognition with their school communities! This truly elevates the profession, which benefits all of us.
Nomination processes are usually pretty straight-forward. They usually require that the nominator put together an explanation of why they think the selected professional deserves the award.
Regardless of whether or not someone wins an award, being nominated is, in itself, truly an honor. And whether or not they win an award, nominees would absolutely LOVE to see what nice things others had to say about them!
Nominate Ourselves
Sometimes we may feel like there aren’t folks around who see what we do in our libraries and the many ways we’re improving our school communities. But guess what? We don’t have to wait for others to recognize that we’re making our schools better.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with nominating yourself for an award. At the very least, putting down the reasons you qualify can provide you with a different perspective on what you do.
Taking Amy Hermon’s advice, I decided to self-nominate for an award this past year. Writing out the journey of my library over the past few years – from an empty conference room to a bustling and well-outfitted library – helped me take a step back and see that what I’ve accomplished is actually pretty great.
Send Notes to Bosses
While there are awards to recognize lots of aspects of our profession, they only cover so much ground. And while there are a lot of awards out there, there are even more folks who deserve some recognition.
The great thing is, we don’t have to limit our praise to award applications. We can share our positive reactions to our colleagues directly with supervisors and administrators.
It only takes a couple minutes to dash off a quick email to point out one of the ways a colleague has improved things for students, staff, or both. CCing the colleague in question is also nice – then they can have that note added to their personnel file. And having some “positive press” in one’s file is never a bad thing.
The best part about this idea: It’s not bound by time! It’s not holiday-specific! We can send notes of appreciation any time!
Giving Others Their Due – And Taking Credit For What We’ve Done
I often feel like I’m bragging if I talk about my accomplishments. But when I shift gears and document projects I’ve completed, I don’t have that same emotional reaction. This is purely a matter of mental framing.
When I look at a list of what I’ve completed and start to feel self-conscious about it, I try to remind myself that if someone else handed me a similar list of accomplishments, I’d rightly give them lots of praise. So I need to give myself at least the same praise I would give a stranger.
Even while you’re reading this, I can feel some of you thinking, “Well, sure – but I don’t have any kind of accomplishments.” And that’s bogus.
Over the years, I’ve come to see what I do as “just what I do.” But so often, what I’m doing is making the school a better place for both students and staff. Each new idea adds new options, new resources, new ways the library can help meet everyone’s learning needs and fire their interests.
So imagine that what you have done lately was done by someone else. Would you give them some praise? Then take some for yourself!
And maybe take a minute to send some praise someone else’s way, too!
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