BFTP: Is subversion the only way?

In Rethinking the Library Annual Report II, Jeri Hurd asks a question I've asked myself time and time again:

In a response to my earlier post, Doug Johnson says "The key to a successful report lies ... in its direct correlation to district goals."  He's absolutely right, but for someone faced with putting that document together, it's not all that helpful.  How do you DO that?  What kind of data do you need to gather?

Just as importantly, what if the school's goals aren't yours?  [Empahsis mine] I left a completely wonderful school, partly because my principal and I had completely different visions of what a library should be, and mine didn't involve green lampshades. 

As a professional educator - be it administrator, teacher, technologist, or librarian, a person has three choices when one's organizational goals and values are in conflict with one's personal professional goals and values.

1. Quit. This is the honorable thing to do in many people's minds. You and the organization aren't simpatico, just leave and find - or found - a new school that fits your world view. Easier said than done, of course. We are often tied to a geographic location. A variety of schools or job openings may not exist in our region. Starting a school is probably more effort and risk than most of us are willing to expend or accept. And then there are all those poor kids one is leaving behind who will suffer from misguided educational policies in your old school ...
2. Suck it up. Just go along to get along. Practice saying, "I was only following orders." Rationalize that the administrators/politicians/businesses/consultants are much smarter than you so they know what is in the best interest of children despite what your head, heart and experience tell you. Keep paying the mortgage and buying groceries for another 20 years while turning a blind eye to situations that are not good for children. 
3. Or.... be subversive. Stick around, but do what you can do that keeps within your value system without being openly insubordinate. Having nearly memorized Postman and Weingartner's Teaching As a Subversive Activity back in my college days, I've always viewed subversion not just as a survival technique, but as a moral imperative. Do EVERYTHING you can get away with that is good for kids despite the official program. Sleep well at night. (See also Librarianship as a Subversive Profession)

Let me give you an example. I think high-stakes state tests in reading and math are bad for kids, bad for teachers, bad for public education, and bad for society in general. They are simply a fairly transparent attempt to discredit public schools so (primarily) rich people can use public monies (via vouchers) to fund private education for their children, scew poor kids, keeping the rich, rich and the poor, poor, and the middle class confused. 

But my department is in charge of making sure online state testing goes well. And I do my very best to make sure it does, despite the fact I don't think the testing is good for kids.

But I spend a lot more time on these kinds of things:

• keeping an open and accessible Internet for all kids
• using the budget to put as much technology in kids hands as possible
• keeping library programs and collections strong and professional librarians in place
• encouraging professional development opportunities that stress students using technology to engage in higher order thinking skills, collaboration, and creativity
• sending articles, blog posts, and other resources about progressive educational practices out to all staff
• writing and speaking publicly on topics that reflect my own educational values in the hope of persuading decision-makers

In today's atmosphere that seems to value a student's ability to pass a test as the only mark of an "effective school," any librarian who gets a kid to read for pleasure, any technologist who finds an enjoyable tool that teaches a skill, or any teacher who gives students a chance to use their own brains to creatively solve a problem is subversive. 

It may be the subversives who change the world. I hope so.

Of course, this doesn't help much in trying to determine the contents of the library's annual report. Sorry, Jeri.

Let's all sing along with What Did You Learn in School Today by Pikku Myy:

What did you learn in school today, dear little boy of mine? 
What did you learn in school today, dear little boy of mine? 
I learned that I must pass a test 
To sort the learners from the rest 
That winners win and losers lose 
And TAKS test scores is how they choose 
And that's what I learned in school today 
That's what I learned in school 

What did you learn in school today, dear little girl of mine? 
What did you learn in school today, dear little girl of mine? 
It matters what my parents earn 
I'll get better grades with cash to burn 
If I don't speak English I can't be smart 
And no more music and no more art 
And that's what I learned in school today 
That's what I learned in school 

What did you learn in school today, dear little boy of mine? 
What did you learn in school today, dear little boy of mine? 
Workbooks fill my empty mind 
So that I won't be left behind 
I'm learning how to play the game 
And all right answers look the same 
And that's what I learned in school today 
That's what I learned in school 

What did you learn in school today, dear little girl of mine? 
What did you learn in school today, dear little girl of mine? 
Learning's just a job I do 
From seven thirty til half-past two 
And all my interests have to wait 
'Til I drop out or graduate 
And that's what I learned in school today 
That's what I learned in school 

Original post June 6, 2013

Diversity spreads in Minnesota

 

Early in my speaking/consulting days, say mid-90s, I was accused of giving a racist presentation. Now while I have never claimed to be a particularly culturally proficient individual, I never considered myself to be racist. Ignorant, lacking in experience, and insensitive perhaps - but not racist. So I was taken aback.

"What did I say?" I asked the librarian who had confronted me.

"It's not what you said, it's what was on your slides. You only had photographs of white children throughout the presentation!" 

And on review, I had to admit I was guilty as charged.

I always illustrated my slides with photos of students from my district's classes and libraries. I would run them through a photo filter to make the students unrecognizable and make me look artistically talented. Seeing actual HPLUKs added cred - that I was walking the talk. I had also read that in showing pictures of happy children, you were more likely to be liked as well since subconsciously the listeners would credit you with their happiness. 

Anyway, the comment was a wake up call to be more inclusive in my subjects. While the other-than-white population was a small percentage of my rural Minnesota community, it was present and I gladly snapped photos of a wider range of ethnicities for my talks. 

I was reflecting on this experience after reading the following story: The number of majority-minority school districts in Minnesota has doubled in the last five years, Minnpost 7/23/18. The district in which I am currently employed has a "majority-minority." Administration has led and continues to lead a very purposeful cultural proficiency initiative to raise awareness and understanding what a large minority population means in a district comprised primarily of white teachers and administrators. 

As are most changes, this increase in minority students has made some people unhappy. Some families open enroll their students in districts with a larger white student population. (Personally, I see this as doing a disservice to their kids since they will be living and working in an increasingly diverse society and should experience this diversity as learners.) Teachers have had to change their mindset from having students adapt to traditional teaching practices to having to adapt teaching practices to better meet the needs of today's students. And for those of us in technology, we have now made equity and access for all students a primary factor in planning and budgeting.

Personally, I like living in a diverse community, a diverse state, a diverse country. I like walking through the halls of our schools seeing lots of skin colors and hair styles and clothing fashions, especially when the common denominator among all the kids is their smiles.  

What the Public Library Could Learn from Barnes & Noble revisited

An editorial in Forbes magazine (now withdrawn), suggested quite seriously that public libraries be replaced by Amazon bookstores in every community:

Amazon should open their own bookstores in all local communities. They can replace local libraries and save taxpayers lots of money, while enhancing the value of their stock. 

The article was countered by a lots of fervent public library advocates and users. (Nate Hoffelder on The Digital Reader, for example.) And quite rightly so - it was an ill-conceived editorial and Forbes should be embarassed for lowing their standards for having published it - even as click bait.

The article did remind me of an editorial I wrote for the local paper way, way back in 1996, soon after a Barnes & Noble bookstore opened in our community. While I would have never suggested that this shiny commercial bookstore replace our somewhat dysfunctional and underfunded public resource, I did believe then, as I do now, that public services can learn from the business community.

Oh, I got a lot of heat for this piece, especially from the retiring library director who was our guest speaker at Kiwanis the day it was public. Talk about good timing - not.

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What the Public Library Could Learn from Barnes & Noble
Mankato Free Press, June 3, 1996

My 10 year old son gave me pause the other day. He asked to if I’d take him out after supper to see if the latest book in his favorite Goosebump series was out. Normal kid-type request. 

But then he added, “While we’re at Barnes & Noble, I want to ….”

I don’t think it even entered his mind that the first place to check for a book would be his public library. In fact, it didn’t occur to me either until we on our way home full of cookies and cappuccino, and twenty bucks or so lighter in the wallet.

What has happened that this career librarian (and life-long library lover and supporter) would head to a bookstore instead of the public library to satisfy his family’s reading needs?

Maybe a comparison between Barnes & Noble and the local library would be useful?

1. Hours
My son wanted to get his book on a Sunday. B&N is open in Mankato every evening in the week - Sunday’s included - 95 hours a week. The public library is only open until 8PM four nights a week and on Sundays not at all. 38 hours less than B&N. Sort of convenient having a place to get a book beyond the workday.

2. Selection
If I want old stuff (which is sometimes exactly what I want), I’ll hit the public library, no hesitation. But try to find anything new at the library:
    Best sellers - out, and a long waiting list. 
    Travel guides - 3 to 4 years old. 
    New video tapes, audio-books, computer games - forget about it! 
B&N not only has plenty of the newest stuff, they promote it. They revel in it. And when it gets old and stale, like bread, it gets discounted and never comes back to clutter the shelves. At B&N, I don’t have to wade through 8 old copies of Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide to get to this year’s edition.

My next experiment is to request a book inter-library loan on the same day that I order an out of stock item from B&N. Who will get the material to me the fastest? Oh, and I have to fill out my own loan form at the library; B&N requests the book for me.

3. Service
I’ve got to admit most of our public librarians know their stuff. And they are friendly, tenacious and willing to help. The fact that only a couple may be on duty during busy times does tend to diminish their effectiveness. B&N clerks are nice enough, and since they tend to be readers themselves, can sometimes recommend a romance or thriller. They can usually get you to the cookbook or auto repair section, but they have difficulty when you don’t know if the book might just as easily fall under the category of education, current issues, or political science. And they don’t do reference either.

The one terrific thing that the B&N could learn from the library is its catalog. Big bookstores really need public terminals which serve as guides to their stock. I get jealous when the clerk gets to use the computer, and I don’t.

4. Costs
Ah, you’re saying, now the real advantage of the library will shine through. Those books at B&N are at least $20 a piece, even $10 or more for a paperback. Library books are free, or more accurately, paid for indirectly by my city, county, state and federal taxes.

Library books are free when they are available (see above). What the public library really ought to do is charge patrons about $3 a week to read the latest pot boilers, and take that revenue and buy (here’s a concept) multiple copies. Sort of like at the videotape store. After the newness wears off, the novel goes back to the free shelves.

Library books aren’t free unless you return them on time. I hate due dates on books. Once upon a time I had a life which allowed me the leisure to read two or three recreational books a week. I never got a fine. Now I am lucky to get through one “pleasure” novel a month, and I am always getting fines. Still cheaper than shucking out a Hamilton, right? Yes, but along with the fine comes a little humiliation, a feeling that you just aren’t quite the citizen your momma raised you to be. If my novel of the month costs $20, so be it. I’ll be careful not to dogear it so I can give it to my brother-in-law for Christmas.

5. Ambiance and location
Here’s the place that the public library needs to sit up and take notice! Where do you go not just to read, but to sit in fine comfortable, clean chairs? Sip a cup of coffee and eat a cookie while reading? Hear a live string quartet softly play in the background? It ain’t my library! No food, no drinks, no noise, no nothing. Would it kill those librarians if I brought in my own thermos of coffee or can of pop? B&N owns its books. Why does its manager trust me not to slobber or spill there?

Our B&N is close to our Walmart, K-Mart, discount grocery store,and shopping center - places I get near to at least a couple times a week. Our public library is in our rather dead downtown - where I go on purpose once or twice a year. The library requires a special trip. B&N is handy.

6. Programming
Well, the public library still has a story times for children, I believe, but I don’t know exactly when. B&N, the flyer they send out tells me, this month alone has children’s stories, a children’s play, poetry readings, author signings, a singer, a storyteller, a book discussion group, and experts talking on subjects as diverse as women aviators and divorce. The technology side of the store holds computer game days, a Q&A session on Windows 95, and seminars on connecting to the Internet. 

One of the primary missions of the public library in this country has been adult education. The public library, like the public schools, has been an educational equalizer between the economic haves and have-nots. B&N seems to taking on an educational mission as well - and the opportunities it provides are relevant, valuable, and (gasp) fun! And it doesn’t do it passively - it reaches out and grabs the public. Take notice, public library - just letting the books sit on the shelves until a patron is motivated to come and learn doesn’t cut it anymore, if it ever really did. You need an active, exciting, educational program, and offer, not just resources, but skills if you want to stay viable in this information-glutted society.

Poor financing is only one reason our public libraries have lost their eminence as the cultural and education hub of the community. Other reasons may include a lack of vision, imagination and willingness to serve the public in critical ways. Maybe the library board doesn’t need to do a nation-wide search for a new administrator. Maybe it only needs to see if it can recruit the manager from Barnes & Noble.

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Is the contest for user now between the public library and Amazon? What could libraries learn from Amazon? Data-driven readers advisory? Readily available best sellers on a subscription basis? 

I use our fine Dakota Country Library quite a lot, but I rarely darken their doors. It's their electronic resources, especially downloadable audio books, that I take advantage of. Good job. Now let's do more.