BFTP: Are "they" your scapegoat?

A weekend Blue Skunk "feature" will be a revision of an old post. I'm calling this BFTP: Blast from the Past.  Original post Novemeber 19, 2008

I too often hear comments like this:

"They" are blocking access to YouTube.
"They" cut my budget.
"They" don't think we need a library.

Who the hell are "they"?

Can you name "them"? Or are "they" just a convenient scapegoat for poor policy decisions? Are you attempting to influence the "they" and working to change such decisions from being made by "them" to being made by "us"?

If not, you should be. It's your professional obligation.

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And another pronoun problem from "Who doesn't get it?" LMC, Oct 2011

“My principal just doesn’t get it.”
“The teachers just don’t get it.”
“Bobby’s mom just doesn’t get it.”

I always shudder when I hear anyone say that someone else doesn’t “get it.” Why might a person, “not get” something that seems obvious to the one expressing frustration?

• That the person is stupid. (Amazing the blockheads that get through graduate school.)
• That the person is being willfully ignorant. (Devious people exist, now if I could only figure out their motives.)
• That the person has not been properly educated. (Just frightful the number of people who missed the lessons on the goodness of libraries and technology in their parenting and education programs.)

Here is what I think is more likely - most people get “it” just fine - they just have a different reality that makes our “it” less important to them than to us.

The only “it” some principals get is how to raise the reading or math scores of certain groups of kids. The only “it” some teachers get is how to deal with 30 kids with different needs and abilities. The only “it” some parents get is that school may not be serving their own children adequately.

As librarians, we can offer the very best hammer in the world, but if your principal, your teachers or your parents really need and want a wrench, a screwdriver or a hacksaw, having a hammer, no matter how wonderful, is simply immaterial. They get “it” that you have a great hammer - it just isn’t relevant or important to them. Even if you think it darned well should be.

Comments

[Nathan Mielke]

Thanks Doug - last paragraph is the best for me. Very relevant to me.