Stewing, mulling and/or half-baked?

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Stewing, mulling and/or half-baked?

I've been thinking and thinking and reading all of the articles coming out (studies and exemplary library program descriptions) and after being told that I get to continue running 3 libraries for 2 more years and at that time the district would evaluate whether or not to see if they want a full-time T-L on every campus - I really think I'm coming to the conclusion that...

It doesn't matter how much soul and effort and knowledge the T-L, has - it really is dependent on the culture and expectations the Principal of that campus has of all staff.

I get evaluated on working collaboratively with the teachers, but when I ask, NONE of the Principals ask the same question of the classroom teachers. (Isn't it like the tango?  Takes at least two to collaborate?)  Aren't the principals the leader of the band and we all dance to the tune they choose?

Have any of you that have thriving library programs, collaborations and infusion of 21st century information skills in a bunch of your subject areas throughout your campus done that on your own?  Out continually pounding the pavement getting into classes and setting up collaborations with teachers? Or are you working for a Principal that has and expects that of all staff? So not only are you working for this, but the teachers know it is an expectation and are coming to you for assistance and working collaboratively to ensure their lessons have more and more digital content and 21st information skills embedded into the research and the final product.

Nothing can kill a library program faster than a Principal (adminstration) who believes libraries are obsolete - doesn't it stand to reason that the best way to grow a thriving library is to have a Principal who believes it is the center of the school and requires all to be using it, the resources and they have on staff a T-L who is collaborating to enfuse the curriculum with 21st century information skills?

The half-baked - am I just a grumpy frustrated old woman, or have I finally figured it out in my old age and really need to be working on the Principals - showing them how to be the leader of the pack?

Jean

You can create a valuable library program with your administrator - or despite your administrator. 

I've written a lot about making your principal your ally:

• No principal left behind
• Who doesn't get "it"?
• Starting off on the right foot
• Transparency and trust

The short answer: Figure out what the principal believes is important for you to do - then do it. This means creating a program that helps meet the goals and solve the problems in your school, NOT creating a program that meets AASL standards necessarily. It means deliberately learning what is important to your principal and then effectively communicating how you are contributing to those important issues. I don't know of another way to get a principal "on your side." Too many principals have worked with librians who have their own agendas which are viewed as irrelevant. 

If you have a truly impossible administrator, you can use an advisory group that consists of important stakeholders - parents, students, teachers, community members - to write goals for you and your library and advocate for a strong library program that the principal might respect because of the committe make-up. Sort of a risky power play, however. And of course, subversion can be satisfying.

I sympathize with many in our profession who work with administrators who seem uncaring or even hostile to library programs. And I agree that educating such individuals will be the only long-term solution to school libraries being seen as a costly anachronism.

But the profession cannot rely on university administration programs, library association advocacy campaigns, or wishing and hoping. Principals will become knowledgeable about good library programs only when they experience them.

But once a principal has a great librarian, they will always want one.

 

Google Image search on "school principal"

Just what are districts looking for in ed tech staff?

This came via my LinkedIn account a couple days ago...

What skill set would would be required of someone at entry level in your department?  I'm trying to figure that out, but upon many interviews, I still lack the skills and dispositions sought for "Educational Technology" after achieving my master's.  Is there a severe job description gap, or do the administrators not know what they are asking for? - Corey

Corey is not the only person interviewing for jobs this spring and wondering why he or she was not hired. So just what are districts looking for when it comes to technology staff?

 

Both ISTE (The ill-named NETS for Coaches) and CoSN (Framework of Essential Skills of the K-12 CTO) have been trying to answer the question of what skills a technology leader should have. Not a bad starting point. Review their rather general and idealistic sets of standards.) You might also see my recent Educational Leadership column, The Changing Role of the CTO" for what I see as the trends of skills need to be a tech director in education.

 

But truth be told, I don't know that there is a single good answer to your question. Smaller districts will want a Jack/Jill-of-All-Trades who can do everything from fix a projector to write a technology plan to do staff development to run the student information system. I don't envy people in these positions. The maintenance stuff usual takes over leaving the curriculum and PD stuff neglected and progress in such districts is slow. Smaller districts will look for "hard" tech skills including network management, but possibly be unwilling to pay the cost of a secure, adequate and reliable infrastructure. Be careful.

 

Larger districts will specialize looking for experience in particular areas. When we look for folks who specialize in PD, I want experienced classroom teachers. When we need a systems manager, we look for that specific skill set even if it is outside education. For CTO, I guessing, one would look for someone who is certifiably insane but not yet institutionalized.

 

I really don't know what any individual district might be looking for since each has its unique needs. Read the job description accompanying the posting and be selective about what job you consider. And yes, there are districts that I am sure don't know what they want or need. That would not be my first choice of employer, although it may be an opportunity to create one's own job description which can be fun.

In any case, I would make sure I had a good list of completed projects, could articulate a philosophy/vision of how technology could make education more effective, and exhibit great interpersonal skills. (See my advice to library position job-seekers "Getting the Job You Deserve" since much of this applies to anyone looking for a job.)

 

Hope this helps

 

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Big enough to matter, small enough to win

Emotions ... are what get practitioners, not policymakers, over the inevitable potholes on the road to reform success, not whether it is scientifically proven, logical, or even efficient. Larry Cuban

I've read Larry Cuban's wise and sober post, "Education Will Break Your Heart" about three times now. In it, he repeats what he tells students about "the history of failed reforms, exaggerated policy talk, and repeated cycles of reform" and how little true progress ever seems to be made in education. Cuban's advice for those who attempt reform only to fail:

Will working on school reform ... “break your heart?” Perhaps. But I hope not. Broken-hearted reformers are a sad lot who too often turn their backs on revitalizing a core democratic institution.

My preference is for those who believe in the small projects ... and stay in the work of school improvement even after experiencing defeats. I have high regard for those who have learned much from the pitfalls of organizational change; they understand that school organizations have plans for reformers.  I honor those who respect the men and women who do the daily work of teaching and choose to work closely with them. I admire and recognize those who have the courage to keep pushing on after disappointment and heartbreaking failure. Persistence is what matters, not a broken heart.

Cuban's remarks echo a sentiment that I've long held - that real genius isn't in espousing a new educational theory, but in actually putting that theory into practice. And in order to this, a person now and then needs to examine or re-examine Stephen Covey's Sphere of Influence. In a nutshell, Covey says that the most effective people are those who focus their energies on changing things that are actually in their power to change rather fuss about those things over which they have no control.

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And that's not as easy as it sounds. (I wonder if there is a direct correlation between the perceived size one's sphere of influence and the size of one's ego?) See also, Picking Your Fights.

I believe my department and I have influence, but not control, over how technology is used in our schools. (I am perhaps more optimistic about this after yesterday's fantastic day-long PD workshop for middle school teachers that got our 1:1 initiative rolling.) In many ways, this influence revolves around simply making resources available, helping teachers learn to use them, and sharing how they can be used to support learning. Ultimately, it is the teacher who decide if and how much classroom practice will actually change. I feel good about what I see in our district and optimistic about coming transitions.  I do keep my expectations somewhat modest, celebrating the incremental but real and lasting changes that I know are helping both kids and teachers.

But there is also still a bit of the windmill-tipper in me as well, as I suppose there is in anyone who writes or presents outside his own school. I have two big windmills are:

• To ensure school libraries remain vital, meaningful resources for all children, worldwide.
• To see that technology in all schools is used to empower students and staff, not to contol or categorize them.

And yes, Mr. Cuban, my heart gets broken on a regular basis when I read about school librarians being fired and test-makers dominating the educational technology scene.

I hope most educators concentrate on change within their spheres of influence, picking battles per Kozol's advice below. But something in me also wants all of us to also work in small ways to influence the world. You never know...