Superlatives

Greeting from Denver and the ISTE conference. I've been too busy attending sessions and drinking vendors' free beer to get much writing done, but I am skipping the Tuesday keynote to get caught up a little. Here goes...

This trip seems to have a been trip filled with superlatives.

Driving the highest paved road in North America that leads to Mount Evans. (Funny how roads hugging sheer cliffs tend to diminish the LWW's sense of humor.)

We're staying right next door to The World's Largest Discount Laundromat (with free wi-fi!) on East Colfax, Denver.

On our road trip here from Minnesota (ignoring both Google's and Mapquest's advice), we visited:

• the highest point in Iowa (Hawkeye Point, 1670 ft)
• the Ice Cream Capital of the World (Le Mars, Iowa)
• the town "Too Tough to Die" (Cody, Nebraska)
• the highest town in Nebraska (Harrison, 4865 ft)
• the site of my silage truck accident that changed my life in Vermillion, SD (I was fired and moved to Colorado.)
• the aquarium and Gavins Dam outside Yankton, SD

It's hard to keep the excitement contained!

Back to the conference. More experience await on the drive home.

Ruts

Don’t mistake the edge of the rut for the horizon.

Ruts carved into stone by the passage of wagons on the Oregon Trail - near Guernsey, Wyoming.

I was struck by the power of getting into a rut when visiting this site on the road trip to Colorado. Countless numbers of pioneer's wooden wheeled wagons carved this cut, these narrow ruts through solid rock.

I have nothing profound at all to say here. I only marveled at the power of following the known path. I thought about the difficulty of breaking out of our easy routines and understandings. How challenging it is to create a new path.

Oh, and how tried and true methods can move a lot people a very long way...

Would you qualify?

Secondary School Librarian Job Posting

SPECIFIC QUALIFICATIONS

• A Secondary Education degree from a recognized university with a major in Library Science and/or the equivalent training and experience in a secondary school library
• Knowledge of applicable literacy training to support school goals including digital citizenship, online safety and productivity applications.
• Support and foster a collaborative environment that enables cooperative learning activities and project based learning
• Ability to perform duties of information specialist, teacher and instructional consultant in learning resources and strategies for information location with particular reference to the use of online applications and data retrieval, information technology, evaluation, and usage. 
• Ability to build, organize and supervise a Library Resource Centre program and staff in order to effectively meet the needs and goals of the school and the Resource Centre. 
• Knowledge and understanding of the application of relevant computer technologies to teaching and learning.
• Ability to maintain a sophisticated and ongoing web presence (for example: a Twitter account, web page, a blog, a wiki, social bookmarking, Facebook)
• Able to demonstrate how to use and leverage educational media for use with/by students and teachers.
• Able to use the practical and conceptual tools of information technology and to adapt to emerging technologies.
• Can articulate the leadership role teacher-librarians take within their school and district.

GENERAL QUALIFICATIONS, ATTRIBUTES and EXPERIENCE

• Strong commitment to excellence in teaching and demonstrated teaching ability.
• Comprehensive understanding of curriculum coupled with the ability to interpret curriculum appropriately to accommodate individual differences.
• Ability to design and implement a variety of assessment practices to measure and monitor student progress effectively.
• Ability to organize for instruction to maximize student potential.
• Confidence and proficiency in using instructional organizers, concepts, and strategies that actively engage all students in learning.
• Knowledge and ability to structure and organize instructional strategies to enhance academic learning time.
• Practical knowledge of district initiatives in reading so that reading skills and strategies can be taught explicitly across the curriculum to insure reading success.
• Strategies to identify learning difficulties early, understand obstacles to learning, and implement effective intervention to maximize academic success.
• Knowledge and understanding of the application of relevant computer technologies to teaching and learning.
• Excellent written and oral communication.
• Evidence of personal initiative and strong work ethic.
• Demonstrated successful and creative classroom experience.
• Ability to demonstrate flexibility and responsiveness to the needs and demands of the profession.
• Willingness to be involved in professional development, with an ongoing commitment to learn and implement new methodologies and strategies.
• Ability to work collaboratively with students, parents, and staff to enhance the school as a learning community.

This job posting (the sender OKing its unattributed publication) caught my attention a couple days ago. The items in bold both delighted and frightened me a little. But mostly delighted. These are the attibutes that will keep a teacher-librarian relevant in today's schools.

Here is the reaction the author from others with whom she shared it:

 I have received much comment and interesting feedback from colleagues who say that there is no one who can do all this.  I disagree,  and feel that the important issue here is that the bar has been raised.

The bar had indeed been raised. Are schools of library science sharing this sort of information with candidates for the profession?

Oh, I found only two attributes missing from the list: ability to walk on water and to turn water into wine.

What would you add to the list - as a teacher, administrator or parent who wants a teacher-librarian that truly supports the mission of the school?

http://www.vagabondish.com/