What makes you hard to replace?

From  Star Trek Inspirational Posters (initially found in a Stephen Abrams PPT)

Uh, our state's budget deficit is projected to be $2 BILLION next legislative season. School buses cost more to run. School buildings cost more to heat. School employees cost more to insure. Our special education and ELL populations are swelling. Tech Director salaries are expected to increase by 50%. (I wish.)

Ya think there might be some program and position cuts in Minnesota schools coming?

Schools will have higher expectations made of them to teach more children to higher levels, to reduce the drop out rate, to teach HOTs, to supply a stream of future engineers and scientists, to keep children safe and healthy - and all with fewer dollars.

Ya think there might be a reshuffling of how money is spent in Minnesota schools coming?

Librarians, who would suffer and how if you didn't come back this fall? What critical jobs would go undone - or be badly done? Who would miss your professional services? (We know everyone would miss your charming personality.) Why might the administrator who cut your job suffer and rue having made the cut?

I would work right now to:

• Be your building's webmaster.
• Be your building's network administrator.
• Be your building's staff support for the student information system, online testing, and new technologies.
• Be your teacher's support system for all things inquiry-based.
• Be your students' go-to person for the next great book to read, hard to find information, guide to completing complex problem-based assignments.

That's my short list. What is on yours? Find jobs that need doing that no one else can or is willing to do. (Sound familiar?)

Don't be your school's Ensign Ricky.

_______________________________________

This was my original post. But another side of job security haunted me as I wrote it. The companion piece is next.

Comments

[Ernie Cox]

Of course being the webmaster, system administrator, and school information system support staff will improve your value to the administrator. However, will it make you a techie in the eyes of teachers, rather than an educator who knows technology. I find that each support event can be turned into an opportunity to connect with students and teachers educationally. A teacher's question about entering grades can become a conversation about what/why/how we are grading. Don't loss sight of the big goals - mentioned in the next post. If the support becomes your only focus a technician can do your job.

[Tim]

This is exactly the kind of thing we talk to our school-based tech trainers about.

Some of them, especially when they're new, do everything possible to make the people on their staffs love them. Most of it, however, involves addressing immediate, concrete problems like fixing hardware/software.

Beyond the fact that it's not part of their jobs, those are relatively easy problems to solve. And there are many others who could do it (probably for a lower salary).

As Doug alludes to, what they (and really all of us) need to do is create a situation where they are indispensable assets to the teachers and administrators at their schools. That's accomplished through leadership, new ideas, and a unique approach to problem solving, all much more difficult than changing the print cartridge.

Thanks for some great ideas, Doug. I will probably be stealing a few for our training sessions next month. With attribution, of course! :-)

[Ann Oro]

I found your post in my reader this morning via a shared item. I am not a librarian, I am the K-8 computer teacher, but I find your suggestions a very good way to stay in business at the school. It is our personal business to stay employed after all. If you like the position in your school, it makes sense to be the most useful and helpful resource available.

The thing that brought me here to comment, interestingly, was your image. I'm sure other people have thought of this by now, but what a great vocabulary lesson! I never thought to use those poster programs in this manner. Give the students a word, let them define it and choose an appropriate image. I can use this with my middle school students when we work on the concept of creative commons images this year.

Thanks.
Ann

[Doug Johnson]

@ Thanks, Ernie. This is a good reminder. Your advice also applies to doing too many clerical tasks, running the risk of being replaced by a paraprofessional.

Perhaps a bit ironic that professional duties are seen as less important than clerical/technical ones. But that's the reality in many places.

All the best,

Doug

@ Tim,

You are welcome.

Doug

[Sherri Guerra]

It seems this thread is one that I read about 8 years ago when I first started as a Librarian. How do market ourselves within our schools. I wonder if "reading teacher" blogs or "math teacher" blogs have the same discussions. Maybe instead of waiting for them to come to us, we need to go to them. Instead of waiting for a problem, or question, or challenge to arise. Put ourselves in there discussions, planning meetings, and classrooms. When an opportunity arises, jump on it.

Sherri Guerra
Elementary Technology Facilitator

[Doug Johnson]

Hi Sherri,

This has indeed been an ongoing discussion among the professions who are often considered "support" - librarians, tech facilitators, counselors, art, music, PE, etc. I expect the discussion will never completely die out.

Your points about not waiting are valuable. Thank you for sharing them Blue Skunk readers.

All the very best,

Doug