What's in a name?
Saturday, January 13, 2007 at 10:27AM Fellow rabble-rouser Adam Janowski has given me permission to re-publish his LM_Net observation on collaboration here:
The word, collaboration, has been around for the last 30 years--all of my time in librarianship. I think it is time to ban the work.
No one collaborates. Especially teachers and librarians.
What we do is PLAN. Plain and simple!Teachers develop and PLAN assignments, and then they come to the library media specialist to see what we can do to help them.
- A teacher wants us to pull books on Ancient Rome because they have information that the students use. This is a teacher's PLAN. We support it.
- A teacher wants us to review magazine databases with their classes for an assignment on world issues. This is a teacher's PLAN. We do the instruction.
- A teacher want us to provide links to famous photographers. This is a teacher's PLAN. We support it and instruct the students on how to access these sites.
- A teacher wants us to cover the elements of a successful PowerPoint presentation. We do it. This is the teacher's PLAN. We do the instruction.
- A teacher requests a rubric for evaluating a presentation. We PLAN with that teacher, offering several different options.
Planning can be 2 minutes, 5 minutes 10 minutes, 30 minutes, or more. But what we do is offer teachers solutions.
But "collaboration" implies hours of work. I am sorry teachers don't have the time to "collaborate".
We are successful! We PLAN with our teachers, whatever time it takes, 2 minutes or more!
Time to dump the word collaborate! Just my two cents!
(I am not sure why the sentiment is related to collaboration, but I like it. This image is from <www.caughtatwork.net/>)
Reader Comments (2)
I just view collaboration as a martyr term for what we do as librarians. One of the definitions of collaboration is aiding and abetting enemies. Are teachers our enemies? If we do not "collaborate" then should we be considered failures. I think not!
I don't collaborate, and I am not a martyr and I am not a failure.
I run a hugely successful high school library media center program.
Hundreds of students pass through the library every day. I have them clamoring at the doors in the morning! We do a lot of instruction. We do a lot of training for both students and teachers.
We do a lot of introduction to the lastest and best technology.
We change and adapt and reflect and think. How does our school library meet the needs and teachers, both today and tomorrow.
Collaboration is a library jargon word. Teachers plan. Governments plan. Business plan. Dump the word, it just makes a librarian a martyr, because he or she doesn't feel that they have done a good job at "collaboration".
But I think the issue is bigger, and scarier than this momentary rabble rousing. I am afraid it has to do with our (librarians) own lack of self-esteem. When I started as a librarian, we had more computers than anyone in the building. So we were the technology people. We reinvented, or at least renamed, ourselves as library media specialists. Of course, technology just moves too fast for anyone teaching a full load, and managing a library collection properly, to stay on top of. If you want to have a life outside of work. And districts hired technology folks, (as they should), to handle the tech stuff. Now the phrase is becoming "teacher-librarian", it's everywhere from it's own magazine to the daily postings on LM-Net.
I've got to tell you, I have always thought that librarian was enough. It's a time-honored profession, deserving respect on its own merits. I don't need the patronizing affirmation of rotating titles to make me feel good about my job.
Like Adam, I see hundreds of kids a day. I teach a fixed schedule, which guaruntees I see all of the kids in our school on a regular basis. I doubt anyone in our school knows the general population of our school as well as I do. I am the constant in the six years the kids attend our elementary school. The kids count on that, and I like that.
Much of the jabber in library online communities and publications is about convincing others of our worth. Forget it. The teachers and administrators who have their act together, who do a good job, know what you are worth. Whether it's flattering or not! The others are so wrapped up in their own little kingdoms (classrooms) that you will never matter much in their minds. Stop wasting time on them and focus your energy and your resources on kids!
I always tell kids, teachers, and visitors in our school one thing. When I'm old and have to call for care, I want to look up and see an adult who I was a positive influence on, not someone who I brushed off or simply herded through the days of their youth.
Good luck.