Totally divorced from reality?

This response to my blog entry "Why librarians should be in charge of educational technology" summarizes feelings I hear a lot:

I think that the person you describe should be determined by the characteristics not the job title. If a person has all of the characteristics you describe, they are perfect for implementing technology.

There are unfortunately, some librarians who are so difficult to work with and short sighted that they will not implement a new technology until it was written about in their favorite library journal five years a go.

I agree with your characteristics but not necessarily the job title assigned with those characteristics. I'm sure in your school, it is you. However, in my school it wouldn't be.

Quite a few people had a similar response - "You sure aren't describing MY librarian as a potential tech partner!" I hear this a lot when talking to teachers and administrators. Obviously my experiences and perceptions of school librarians aren't the same as others. Am I totally divorced from reality?

 The librarians I work with are probably among the most competent, caring, progressive, and tech-savvy people I know. Granted, I DO only work with the ones in my district (who I have helped hired), the ones who attend my workshops, and ones who I meet and work with in my professional organizations. The creme de la creme of the library field, perhaps? I can honestly say that most of the librarians I know are, well, hot!

So here is my question: Is the library field, more than any other, divided between the  competent and incompetent? It's not like if I said, "My dentist is really good since he uses anesthetic" that people would respond, "Yeah, well maybe your dentist does, but ours still gives you a slug of whiskey and pulls the tooth with a rusty pair of pliers." Or if I said, "My account files my taxes online," you'd say, "My accountant? He doesn't even own a computer!"

So why do I think "competence" when I think "librarian" and the rest of the world thinks I'm insane?

I Will (as a librarian)

If you haven't seen it, Jacquie Henry has continued the "I Will.." series on her new (and very good) Wanderings blog.

This is how it goes so far.

• I Will (as a student)
• I Will (as a teacher)
• I Will (as a librarian)
  

Great fun, and thanks again, John Pederson, for getting the ball rolling and Jacquie for keeping it rolling. Where else might this go? I Will (as a parent), I Will (as a school administrator), or even I Will (as an engaged member of society)?

Reminds me a little of an early poster to LM_Net who made the comment: computers won't replace librarians, but librarians who know how to use computers will. (If you remember who first authored this, please let me know or I will keep claiming it as my own.)

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Thanks to the great educators in Indiana who attended the ICE Conference this past week. I had great fun and hope you did as well. 

While at ICE, I got to sit in on the last bit of Annette Lamb's session on blogging and grabbed a handout that pointed to the fabulous school blogging resources on her escrapbooking website. Generous soul that Annette is, she gave me permission to point other people to this resource that she shares.

This was the first time I've had the opportunity to watch Annette at work. She is one of the liveliest and best organized presenters I know, and is extremely practical in her approach to the classroom use of technology. A genuine delight. 

Annette is also teaching an online class on blogging. I'm sure if you e-mail her <eduscapes@earthlink.net>, she'll send you more information.

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I loved the entry Imagine: Blogging for People Who Don't Read by  Christian Long over at think:lab. He writes, in part:

"Learning without passion is not learning.  They make velcro-closure sneakers and spell check for all the rest.  Or they simply outsource it (skill, knowledge, 'fact') to India or via TurboTax. Period.  Without something profound pushing your soul, without a journey, without a Bilbo returning the ring, without a blind turn in the woods, without finding your absolute best self facing the blind trust fall of adventure, there is no learning worth fighting for that should divide communities based on bond increases or place technologists against administrators within the professional debate hamster-wheel or incite home schoolers to mock public schoolers (vice versa) or to ask anyone to worry about 21st century skills (and the tests that will get you there).  No, until the 'epic' is returned to the learning experience, until we all become part of the Story, until it matters more to the learner than the Superintendent, until learning answers the 'why do I need to know this?' quandary, it's all velcro-enclosure sneakers."

I am such a sucker for passionate writing and articulated epiphanies, such as this. Somebody besides me, gets it! How exciting! I am a firm believer that you gotta have your own aha! experience, your own moment of zen, your own conversion on the road to Damascus - nobody can have it for you and then tell you about it.  Nobody can teach the same awakening an epiphany brings. But it's cool reading about them anyway.

Enjoy your weekend.