November 2009 Archives

It's the long Thanksgiving weekend, and so natually I decided to write about what I am thankful for. I'm not going to write about the usual things I am (and should be) thankful for, such as my children, my health and my good friends. I try hard to be grateful for these things all year long and not just on this holiday.

Since this is a blog by leaders for leaders, I want you to think about the things you are thankful for in your leadership position. Maybe this is your first year as an administrator or maybe it's your 30th year. It doesn't matter. I am sure you can think of five things that you are thankful for.

Here is my list of five things I am thankful for while in this position:

1. Working with people who enjoy their job and have a positive attitude. Especially those folks who are over 40 and aren't counting the years outloud until they can retire.

2. Connecting with kids. To be honest, I couldn't work only with adults all day, every day. I need the challenges and rewards that kids bring.

3. Parents who are supportive and don't leave us alone in the village to raise their child.

4. Creative and collaborative thinking that solves problems.

5. People who make me laugh. Really laugh. I couldn't do this job if laughing was prohibited.

Ok, it's your turn. What five things are you thankful for while in your leadership position?

Reggie Engebritson

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The family is the cornerstone of most communities and civilization in general. It is what binds humans together and brings us peace and comfort. Family is there for us in times of happiness, hardship-- through good times and bad. Jane Howard writes, "Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one."

This quote applies to the school community which is a one kind of family that most of us spend more time with than our real families. Unlike many organizations, schools embody individuals who have dedicated their entire careers to one district, and, in some cases, one school. Throughout the years, our superintendent has taken polls asking teachers and administrators to raise their hands to show how long they have been employed in the district. "One to five years?" "Six to ten years?" "Eleven to twenty years?" "More than twenty years?" The number of hands that continue to raise for each grouping of years is astonishing. Every year at the orientation dinner for new hires, the teacher's union president tells the audience, "Now that you're here, you'll never leave. You have just landed your last job."

Is this type of bond to one district really healthy? The injection of new ideas and personnel helps an organization grow. Therefore, although the family atmosphere is probably stronger in the field of education more so than any other field, it also means that new ideas may not be shared or introduced. The "group-think" phenomenon exists too frequently in organizations such as schools and feelings of complacency are likely to arise. On the other hand, however, the family bond can create a comfortable and secure environment where people are more willing to take risks and less afraid of rejection.

In order to provide both the emotional support as well as an environment that promotes growth, an expectation of constant growth and learning needs to be communicated by the leaders. "The family" has to have a common goal that helps them produce for the organization. They have to want to learn from their mistakes, regroup, and move forward.

So what kind of family does your school district have? How do you promote growth as well as stability?

James Yap and Teresa Ivey

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It was revealed on the evening news that there were multiple warning signs that the shooter at Fort Hood might have been mentally unstable and capable of violence. Last month I wrote about the precautionary lockdown we experienced due to a disgruntled, mentally unstable former employee. While that article focused more on the information disseminated to the public regarding the situation, this article addresses the actual events that led to the lockdown and the subsequent actions taken by the school district in response to the "warning signs."

What led to this lockdown was a series of events, all of which were documented and taken seriously. The employee showed up at the school after he had been reassigned to another workplace because of his erratic behavior. He was talking nonsensically to a staff member and when he left, he said not once, but twice, "don't underestimate me." The staff member relayed this line to me, and I in turn relayed it to the district security office. It was taken seriously as a threat and we were given a plain-clothes guard for 4 days. A week or so after the guard was pulled, this employee showed up at the district offices acting erratically and volatile. While ranting to employees at the district he mentioned our school. Immediately we were alerted and told to assume a lockdown. His behavior escalated to the point that he had to be taken out of the building by police.

Following the lockdown, we were given a guard again, this time for three weeks. I thought that three weeks was quite excessive, but decided to accept whatever security the district felt was necessary. Even the guard made a crack, somewhere in week three, that the district must have money to burn. In light of the shootings this week at Fort Hood and the one in Orlando, Florida by a disgruntled employee, I applaud our district for taking the better-safe-than-sorry route. Obviously, cost was not an object; our safety was. Mental illness, a human resources employee told me, is the number one reason for medical leaves in the district, for the first time, ahead of cancer. No one can predict what a mentally ill person is capable of doing, but in most cases, there are warning signs, and as I, as well as anyone who has watched the news lately, can see, they have to be taken seriously at any cost. The headline in today's paper on the Fort Hood shootings read, Looking for clues in small details. And it is the small details that we all have to heed in the name of safety.

Nancy Flynn
November 2009

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What happens to Attention Deficit Disorder when it grows up?

Sometimes it is channeled into extraordinary gifts. So

Michael Phelps
Picasso
JFK
James Carville
Robin Williams...

...are all reputed ADHD guys. This is hardly an exhaustive list but it's enough to give you a flavor. I think if they named every person ever diagnosed with ADHD we would be surprised by some of the folks that were on the list-- and yet not surprised at all. We would recognize the extraordinarily talented individuals who have managed to channel the annoying distractability, the daydreaming, the incessant fingers tapping on the desk, the wild-eye passions that seem fueled by IV bags filled with Red Bull.

Jack Nicholson? Paul McArtney? Ellen?

The names give me pause. And patience. So many extraordinary and talented people that it is less of a pejorative label. Or it should be.

But I wonder how we channel the energy of our ADHD kids in the current climate of standardized testing which doesn't care much about piano players or actors or artists or craftsmen or dancers or point guards or revolutionaries.

Ernest Hemmingway was supposedly an ADHD student who-- like Mark Twain and Thomas Edison and Albert Einstein-- probably would have tanked on the California Standards Test... right after the whole process tied him in knots and drove him to intentionally fall out of his desk and onto the floor. When the art of writing is reduced to multiple choice writing mechanics... real writers are more likely to implode.

I notice that every year we seem to have a kid throw up on his California Standards Test. I feel for our students who have to carve what they know about math and language arts into tiny black bubbles at the end of a number 2 pencil-- when all the while they are jumping out of their skin. I admire their accidental irreverence. I get it.

As we march toward the steadily unachievable AYP benchmarks established by NCLB, I fear that "school" will get more and more difficult for students whose learning styles and interests and modalities do not lend themselves to test prep; and for students who are not particularly strong in- nor interested in-- math and language arts principles that can be freeze-dried into multiple choice questions. I fear that English language learners and children with learning disabilities and learning differences will continue to languish even though they are the very kids we supposedly are trying to not leave behind.

As a school leader, I want to know that we are striking the right balance between excelling on the standardized tests and accelerating authentic learning. I want to match the time we spend conducting formative assessments and spiral reviews and test prep strategies with opportunities for children to play and perform and draw and jump in the air and dive out of their desks.

Kids are good at different things, So at El Milagro we honor what they are good at and try to help them find their way to their innate talents that make them feel whole.

Maybe that is why I have such an appreciation for individuals who channel their creative high-energy into gold. In spite of us. Like Alex MacDonald, the washboard player for Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers.

I first saw Alex perform last Spring on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Since then they have traveled throughout Europe bringing their Creole rhythms and uniquely zydeco sounds to bars and blues festivals around the world. They are all wonderful magicians. But Alex is mesmerizing. Electrifying. His non-stop energy reminds us that at one point he must have been very interesting to have sitting in the back row of your third period American History class. Somehow, he seems like the kid that would throw up on his California Standards Test.

His school probably didn't have a washboard department, so how he found his way to the Zydeco Hellraisers is anybody's guess. Nor do I know where he gets his stamina or his lightening fast hands. He defies our labels as he should. He is simply a young man that absolutely revels in his very unique gift.

Perhaps it requires some zydeco hellraisers to remind us to find the balance between the core disciplines that matter for standardized test scores... and the multiplicity of intelligences that matter to our students. Stop and admire their talents even if they struggle with dividing fractions... at least the way we teach it.

Our children learn in different ways. Different styles. They have talents that we can't even fathom. They will abide our lessons and content standards and standardized test regimes until the moment they are free to dive out of their desk and explode across a zydeco stage.

Kevin W. Riley
El Milagro Weblog

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I heard the CEO of a Fortune 50 company speak about what the organization expects of senior leaders. One of the points he made was that once you move to an executive role, you are expected to be able to dig into deep issues that will affect the organization both in the short term and the long term. His next comment struck home: "You MUST make time in your calendar to think. That is what the organization expects of you. If you simply move from event to event, you are doing yourself and your organization a disservice."

I'm sure I'm not alone in that I am guilty time to time of moving from one meeting to the next, scheduling them back to back and not making the time to do my homework to dig into the issue. As I looked at my calendar this week, I found myself in the rut that the CEO mentioned. Monday and Tuesday-Meetings back to back to back all day. Wednesday-clear but have 20+ tasks that HAVE to be completed that day. Thursday-onsite with a colleague working with a client on a research project on Senior Leader Transitions. Friday, early morning meeting followed by unscheduled time to catch up and get set for the next week, which (oh by the way) is a short week. How do I get it all done?

Last night, I went back to my notes on effective personal priority management. It's ironic that I've collected and used all of these techniques before, but if I don't discipline myself, I get wound up completely around the axle and go round and round (one of my friends in the Navy calls it "grind without gain". I find I have to go back to the fundamentals periodically and remember some keys of effective personal management.

1-Prioritize: It's the 80/20 rule. What will give you the biggest bang for your "Time" buck?
2-Build Think Time. I have a 30 minute commute daily-I've found myself listening to radio stations, rather than making intentional decisions on this 30 minute block of time twice a day. I'm reminding myself to use the commute time to think through a knotty problem or listen to a podcast on a topic of interest. I'll do the same on the way back from my meeting on Thursday. I'll turn off the radio on the way down and walk through final prep. This morning I turned off the radio or iPod and simply thought through what was critical and important to get accomplished today.. Decreasing the white noise and clutter that swirls around inside myhead is an effective way to get some clarity, focus, and attention.

I also made an appointment with myself to prep before going into each meeting this week. I'm again) using that 15 minutes on my calendar and hold that time as being as important as an appointment with another person.

It's early AM today, I revised the post (yest, on the way in, I reminded myself that my commitment to Scott was that I post today). The day and week will be crazy, but I'm already seeing a little more clarity and focus for my day and week. One day at a time.

Question for you: What tools and strategies do you use to keep yourself sane in our world that has as the "new normal" 75-125 emails daily along with all of our other responsibilities?

All the best,
Chris

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(Cross posted at drjansblog.com)

Well, as I have mentioned before (yes, yes, I am proud), I get to teach (adjunct) for Kaplan University.  Now it's been more than a couple of years since I got my doctorate from Vanderbilt (1986, to be specific-- I was a child).  Now, I am teaching graduate students in education about the incredibly wonderful field of education. 

And, in the time honored graduate exercises requirements, my students have to write research papers and do it RIGHT.  At Kaplan, that means no plagiarizing and always using APA formating and referencing.  I have had more than a few quick study sessions on APA, and I was bemoaning my fate to son Bo (a University of Oklahoma freshman) who told me about EASYBIB.  You gotta love 2009, if you are quickly stepping up to citing references and bibliographies in APA or Turabian or even MLA.  (And, if you don't know what all those things are then just forget about this post because it's something you don't need.) 

EASYBIB is this cool site (www.easybib.com) where you can go and type in the ISBN or titles or numerous ways to get your source and then bingo-bango, it gives the reference to you in the right format and even will prepare it for you to download to Word.  I am so tickled that some genius minds came up with this.  Now, I can write and research without the pain staking process of figuring out the nasty little details of correctly citing a source.  I can even check the sources that my students are using for accuracy.

I am one happy chick (or old lady depending upon your context).  Guess what it costs?  Nothing for MLA or just about $15 a year for APA (and you can switch among all the styles depending on what format you need). 

Here's to you EASYBIB!  I hope you guys are extremely successful and stay that way until I no longer need you.

Jan G. Borelli, Ed.D.

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A teacher's language is a powerful teaching tool. Our language can build children up or tear them down. It can model
respectful and caring social interactions or just the opposite.
Effective language encourages and supports students in their learning,
rather than criticizing them for their mistakes.  Effective teacher language also:

• Is clear, simple, and direct


• Is genuine and respectful


• Gives specific positive feedback rather than general praise


• Focuses on the child's action or behavior rather than generalizing about the
  child's whole person


• Avoids qualitative or personal judgment


• Showsfaith in childrens abilities and potential
  

Once, I began to use the encouraging
phrase "I notice" every time I saw appropriate behaviors, specifically
identifying what I saw. Other encouraging phrases that I wrote in my
plan book were "I hear..." and "I see..."

I also put key phrases up on the wall to help me remember the language I wanted to use. For example, I posted empowering phrases such as "Show
me...," and "Remind me..." I involved the children in this process by telling them I was trying to learn a better way to talk to them and how the phrases on the wall were like notes to myself.

I encouraged the children to help me during this period of change. I
said, "You can use these phrases with each other and remind me when I need to use them." I also tape-recorded myself and reviewed the tapes, analyzing my tone and words and the responses. In other words, I became proactive: I thought before I spoke, I practiced, reflected, and self-corrected.

The comment centered on my favorite quote from the movie Shall We Dance [I just noticed the subtitle: "A new comedy about following your own lead"], uttered by the character Susan Sarandon as Beverly Clark (emphasis mine):

"We need a witness to our lives. There's a billion people on the planet... I mean, what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage, you're promising to care about everything. The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things... all of it, all of the time, every day. You're saying 'Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go un-witnessed because I will be your witness'."

Although the quote is referring to marriage, I think the need of a human being to be noticed, to be witnessed, to matter, is behind much of the popularity in all social media, and is captured - or projected - most acutely in Twitter. I don't mean to equate the Twitter follower / followee relationship with marriage - indeed, with most Twitter users having multiple followers and/or followees, this would be akin to an extreme case of polygamy - but I do believe that this quote captures the spirit of the ambient intimacy afforded by Twitter (and intended by its designers).

T.S. Eliot, sums this up in a quote that is short enough to fit in a Twitter post (or "tweet"):

To be of importance to others is to be alive.

Use your eyes. Say "I Notice" you. Watch kids come to life.

This post also appears on Angela Maiers

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As we explore the design and application of formative assessments, it is important that we look at the culture of the classrooms in which they will be administered. Formative assessments will increase their effectiveness when they are administered within a supportive classroom culture. When individual students - and the class as a whole - understand the benefits of assessment, the value of those measurements is increased significantly.

The real purpose of assessment is to improve individual learning results and not to raise test scores for campus or district accountability ratings. The history of test results being used primarily to hold schools and districts up to public scrutiny and accountability has created a chill factor within classrooms. Teachers - and even students - are understandably skeptical about the entire subject of assessments because of how results have been misapplied in the past.

It is unfortunate that the assessment process has evolved into a high stakes accountability game and a means by which the press reports and communities then judge the quality of entire districts. However, it is equally unfortunate that teachers too often misapply the assessment process.

In a recent article, James Popham makes the comment that "Most teachers in America use their classroom assessments either to assign grades or to motivate students to study harder." ("Six Curriculum Mistakes" by James Popham in American School Board Journal, November 2009 [Vol. 196, #11]).

In reality, most assessments have become tools that are misapplied by being used to manage data or student behavior through the use of grades as punishment or reward. These traditional uses of assessments miss the mark when it comes to more fundamental and meaningful applications of measuring progress and guiding student efforts to re-evaluate their level of understanding and mastery of lesson objectives.

When properly applied, assessment data provides meaningful feedback to both teacher and student. At a minimum, teachers can discover gaps in their lesson progressions, identify areas of strengths and weaknesses in their presentation of the material, and identify students struggling with specific parts of a lesson. Students - when taught how - can use assessments to help them identify areas they need to review, discover methods of learning that are not effective in certain situations, and try different approaches to mastering the lesson.

Regardless of widespread misapplication, effective assessments can provide useful information that improves both the teaching process as well as student learning. The benefits of well-designed assessment instruments and methods are widely documented. However, we often focus on the assessment tools without paying adequate attention to the importance of the classroom environment in which the assessments are being administered. When discussing the measurement of student learning with staff, I emphasize that the entire process can be further improved if it takes place within a positive assessment climate.

What comprises a positive assessment climate? The variety of different operational definitions will certainly vary from classroom to classroom, campus to campus, and district to district. Regardless of any other components that can be added to match a specific classroom, I would suggest four classroom practices that are essential starting points for creating a positive assessment climate.

1) Assessments are interwoven throughout all lessons. Establish a climate in which assessments are not a one-time or isolated occurrence. Students should understand and accept assessment as an on-going process. No matter what formats are used, formative assessment - checking for understanding - should be an inherent, on-going practice that is planned and incorporated throughout the day and in all lessons.

2) Use a wide variety of assessment methods. We are not talking about a barrage of pop quizzes, true/false or multiple-choice worksheets, or formal essay exams given on a regular basis. The means by which teachers can measure student understanding and progress are as unlimited as the imagination. A point must be made here: effective assessments - regardless of their traditional or innovative designs, must be planned...they are not spontaneous. (For a quick idea of the variety of measurements, refer to the Suggested Reading list at the end of this post.)

3) The classroom should provide protection from adverse consequences for initial failures. Establish a culture in which attempting work without fear of ridicule or criticism from others is the norm. Encourage and support experimentation in the classroom. Make sure students are free to try various approaches to discovering answers in a classroom. Encourage students to ask for help from peers and allow them to have access to a variety of resources and technology. Failing at any task after a true attempt should be acceptable and not linked to any negative grading system.

4) The climate must provide clear standards by which student work will be evaluated and promote an affirmation of student progress. The classroom must promote student success through a means where students understand the criterion by which they are being evaluated. This process is most successful when students can view samples of successful work products or be provided with clear explanations regarding how their learning/work will be judged. Additionally, a positive assessment climate will encourage students to perform work and allow others to view their efforts. When this effort - as well as the actual work product - can be viewed as a "work in progress" and the efforts receive praise and constructive feedback - especially from "significant others" - students will: a) feel free to experiment and find the correct answers themselves, b) consult with peers to discover correct answers, or c) be encouraged to try other avenues of learning to reach eventual success.

To fully explore the supporting research behind these starting points, refer to Philip Schlechty's work, specifically his design qualities of: Product Focus, Clear and Compelling Product Standards, Protection from Adverse Consequences for Initial Failures, Affirmation of Performance, and Affiliation. [Schlechty, Philip Working on the Work: An Action Plan for Teachers, Principals, and Superintendents. Jossey Bass Education Series, 2002.] Also refer to Robert Marzano's essential instructional strategies of Reinforcing Effort and Providing Recognition, Cooperative Learning, and Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback. [Marzano, Robert; Pickering, Debra; Pollock, Jane Classroom Instruction that Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement. Prentice Hall, 2004.]

In conclusion, despite widespread misapplication of assessments, the practice of measuring student learning remains an invaluable part of the total teaching process. When assessments can be administered within a supportive environment, their value increases. Teachers can establish a positive assessment climate in several concrete ways. Teachers can establish this climate by using assessments as a planned, on-going part of all lessons. They should use a variety of assessment methods, promote student work efforts and products being visible to significant others, affirm each student's performance, encourage experimentation, and protect students from adverse consequences for honest attempts and initial failures. When measurements of student learning are properly designed and incorporated within a classroom which understands and accepts the process and the benefits it yields, the value of assessments increase substantially.

Suggested Reading:

Dodge, Judith 25 Quick Formative Assessments for a Differentiated Classroom. New York: Scholastic, 2009.

Fisher, Douglas; Frey, Nancy Checking for Understanding - Formative Assessment Techniques for Your Classroom. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2007.

Kingore, Bertie Assessment: Time Saving Procedures for Busy Teachers (Second Edition). Austin, TX: Professional Associates Publishing, 1999.

Koretz, Daniel Measuring Up - What Educational Testing Really Tells Us. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 2008.

Marzano, Robert; Pickering, Debra; Pollock, Jane Classroom Instruction that Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement. Prentice Hall, 2004.

Popham, W. James Transformative Assessment. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2008.

Schlechty, Philip Working on the Work: An Action Plan for Teachers, Principals, and Superintendents. Jossey Bass Education Series, 2002.

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Find out more at The Charter for Compassion.Org.

- Are you interested in an event of historical significance?
- Are you interested in the one concept that ties all religions together?
- Are you interested in ensuring that all students graduate as compassionate human beings?
- Does being compassionate bring with it a responsibility to act on the "desire to alleviate another's suffering?"
- Would sharing this post with educators and students be a reasonable first step?

Wikipedia offers a credible comment on the word compassion.

Compassion is a human emotion prompted by the pain of others. More vigorous than empathy, the feeling commonly gives rise to an active desire to alleviate another's suffering. It is often, though not inevitably, the key component in what manifests in the social context as altruism. In ethical terms, the various expressions down the ages of the so-called Golden Rule embody by implication the principle of compassion: Do to others what you would have them do to you. [Mathew 7:12]

On February 28, 2008 Karen Armstrong won the TED Prize and she wished "for help creating, launching and propagating a Charter for Compassion." Here is what she had to say.

Since then she and many other people with the same interest have been working to develop the charter. It was a web 2.0 read-write process for anyone interested from throughout the world to come together online to communicate their stories and ideas on compassion. Over 150,000 people contributed to the process from over 180 countries.

On February 24, 2009 a multi-faith, multi-national Council of Conscience convened in Vevey, Switzerland to compose the charter using the contributions received.

Twenty months after expressing her wish, and with a lot of help from many friends, Karen Armstrong's wish will come true. A wish that many people now embrace as their own. On November 12, 2009 the Charter for Compassion will be unveiled.

CHARTER FOR COMPASSION TRAILER from TED Prize on Vimeo.

Find out more at The Charter for Compassion.Org.

Dennis Richards
Superintendent
Retired, but still a Learning, Creating, Teaching
dennisar at gmail dot com
Crossposted at:
innovation3.edublogs.org

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I'm a tall person and from my earliest years was drafted into the world of basketball. I had a fair amount of success on the court ranging from high school and college teams to various tournaments and Men's leagues. I've coached at the HS level and when my children were born, I was privileged to coach their tyro teams and as they got older, their AAU clubs.

When kids are young and learning to shoot basketballs in their driveways they have to generate a lot of motion and energy to get the ball up to the hoop which is 10 feet high. After all, they're little, and that's pretty far up. They grip the ball with two hands and heave it over and over again. Eventually, the ball starts to rattle into the basket. After lot's of this kind of repetitive practice they get pretty good at shooting this way. It serves them well when they are playing alone or just shooting around for fun.

Then comes the day they want to take themselves to the next level. They want to play the game of basketball. They want to play on a team competitively. It's here that they run into a coach like me.

One of the first things I do with these young players is to teach them to shoot more effectively. I let them know that the two handed set shot that they have perfected is not going to serve them as they move up the ladder in the basketball world. It's too easy for a defender to block the shot. It takes too much time to shoot it. Watch any high school, college, or pro game and you will see players using the 'one-handed' jumper, not the 'two-handed' set shot.

So, I take the time to teach them and have them practice this new and more effective method of shooting. For them it feels clumsy and wrong. They clank shot after shot off the backboard. They can't seem to get it near the basket. They get discouraged. When I look out of the corner of my eye (when they think I'm not paying attention), I can see them shooting their two-handed set shots and swishing them in. It feels good to them. It has brought them success to this point. I know what their thinking, "If I can make the shot with two hands, why change?"

Some of them get the message that they need to learn to master this new way of doing things, others don't. Some work through the discomfort of abandoning something familiar and practice the new and uncomfortable way of doing it. Over time it becomes embedded in their muscle memory. It becomes their new normal. They are more prepared to compete at a higher level than they were before. Their commitment and practice pays off.

Others, for whatever reason, stick with the old and familiar ways and are not successful at the more competitive levels and, in time, drop off the team and leave basketball completely.

I believe there is a lesson here for leaders.

Most of us are self-taught. We use what we know and what talents we have to succeed. One day we are promoted, or we run into a difficult individual, a dysfunctional organization, or a challenge that requires us to move to a new level. We need to up our game. We need new competencies to succeed. For some of us, it's just too uncomfortable to change our old behaviors. We like our two handed set-shot. The first few times we try some new leadership behaviors they flop, like the kids' first one-handed shots clanking off the backboard. We may decide that the problems aren't with us, it's with the folks who are giving us the problems. They're the ones that need to change.

A few of us, stick with it, realizing that the challenges that vex us are calls for us to abandon the behaviors that are not serving us anymore. They are calls to learn and practice new behaviors that will allow us to succeed as the game gets more competitive. We may find a leadership coach to help us perfect our 'one-hander'. We may find a friend who can support us as we deal with the discomfort of mastering something new. It can be daunting at times; but one day we find ourselves leading effectively and the one-handed shots are raining in from all over the court.

So, are you going to keep shooting the "two-hander", or move on?

pete

Cross-posted at Ed Tech Journeys

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October apparently was ‘Library Month’ for me. I was the keynote speaker for the Minnesota MEMO conference and did a breakout session for the Iowa Library Association (ILA) conference. I also brought Dr. Mike Eisenberg to Iowa for three days to talk with school administrators about technology and information literacy. As a result, I’ve been reflecting a lot lately on books, reading, and the future of libraries and librarians…

Random questions

1. What constitutes a “book” these days? When books become electronic and thus become searchable, hyperlinkable, more accessible to readers with disabilities, and able to embed audio, video, and interactive maps and graphics, at what point do they stop becoming “books” and start becoming something else?
2. The Amazon Kindle e-reader currently allows you to annotate an electronic book passage with highlights and your own personal notes. Those annotations are even available to you on the Web, not just on the Kindle device itself. As Seth Godin notes, there hopefully will be a day when you will be able to share those notes with others. You’ll also be able to push a button on your e-reader and see everyone else’s notes and highlights on the same passage. What kind of new learning capabilities will that enable for us?
3. If students and teachers now can be active content creators and producers, not just passive information recipients, doesn’t that redefine our entire notion of what it means to be information literate and media fluent? Are our librarians and classroom teachers doing enough to help students master these new literacies (for example, by focusing on student content creation, not just information consumption and/or interpretation)?
4. The Cushing Academy boarding school in Massachusetts may be the first school in the country to have its library go completely electronic. In addition to using library computers, students now check out Kindles loaded with books. How tough would it be for other schools to move to this model (and what would they gain or lose as a result)?
5. When books, magazines, newspapers, reference materials, music, movies, and other traditional library content all go electronic and online - deliverable on demand - what does that mean for the future of the physical spaces known as “libraries?” Mike Eisenberg said to me that we already should be taking yellow caution tape and blocking off the entire non-fiction and reference sections of our libraries. As content becomes digital and no longer needs to be stored on a shelf, with what do we replace that now-unused floor space: couches, tables, and cozy chairs? computer stations? meeting space? And if we head in these directions, what will distinguish libraries from other institutions such as coffee shops, community centers, and Internet cafes?
6. Our information landscape is more complex than ever before. We still need people who know how to effectively navigate these intricate electronic environments and who can teach others to do so. But does that mean we still need “librarians” who work in “libraries?” Or will their jobs morph into something else?
7. How much of a librarian’s current job could be done by someone in a different location (for example, someone in India who answers questions via telephone or synchronous chat) or by computer software and/or an electronic kiosk? I don’t know the answer to this question - and I suspect that it will vary by librarian - but I do know that many individuals in other industries have been quite dismayed to find that large portions of their supposedly-indispensable jobs can be outsourced or replaced by software (which, of course, means that fewer people are needed locally to do whatever work requires the face-to-face presence of a live human being).
8. Can a librarian recommend books better than online user communities and/or database-driven book recommendation engines? For example, can a librarian’s ability to recommend reading of interest surpass that of a database like Amazon’s that aggregates purchasing behavior or a dedicated user community that is passionate about (and maybe rates/reviews) science fiction books, and then do so for romance, political history, manga, self-help, and every other possible niche of literature too?
9. If school librarians aren’t actively and explicitly modeling powerful uses of digital technologies and social media themselves and also supporting students to do the same, should they get to keep their jobs? And if they are doing so individually (which is what we want), what’s their responsibility to police the profession (and lean on those librarians who aren’t)?
10. There is no conceivable future in which the primacy of printed text is not superceded by electronic text and media. If that future is not too far away (and may already be here), are administrators doing enough to transition their schools, libraries, and librarians / media specialists into a new paradigm?

Reactions from librarians

I posed these questions in both my MEMO and ILA presentations, explained in more detail my thinking about each one, and gave participants time to talk with each other after each question. I even told them up front that they wouldn’t like some of what I said but that I had nothing against librarians and was just asking questions that I thought the profession should be discussing. Reactions of the few librarians from whom I’ve heard have been interesting…

Librarian 1 (I received this one indirectly)

[Scott spoke] to the Iowa Library Assoc conference this past week and he
really was quite negative about the future of libraries and librarians with
the technology shifts.

Scott is speaking a great deal for our School Administrators of Iowa and
also to principals/supts through the AEA's this year and I'm worried for the
future of our profession in times of tight budgets with folks like Scott out
speaking to leadership and not promoting the role that teacher librarians
can play with technology AT ALL.

We had Mike Eisenberg here in Iowa this past week also speaking to
administrators ... which I think is a good thing ... along with Scott
McLeod ... which may NOT be a good thing. The topic was information
literacy, but in speaking with those in attendance at these Iowa meetings, I
heard that the role of teacher librarians was not at all highlighted, and in
in fact, I heard there was a bit of librarian "bashing" by administrators in
attendance. (Now this is just hear-say as I wasn't there to hear these
presentations)

Now, I agree with you that teacher librarians need to be stepping up to
the plate at this time and demonstrating the role that we can play with these 21st century tools, but am just wondering how we compete with loud, negative voices like Scott McLeod in Iowa? You know us polite Iowa librarians, we just kept quiet during Scott's session and did not argue with him!

Librarian 2

I’m the librarian that said you scared the #### out of me! It’s kind of settled in now and I’m reviewing my job duties and seeing what I can do to stay “relevant” and to be a viable information contributor. Thank you for the thought provoking presentation!

Librarian 3

I want you to know that I have had a few of my professors writing me today about you.  They said that after having a few days to think about what you said, they are REALLY happy that they heard you speak. And that you spoke at the ILA Convention to the librarians there. Librarians and teachers alike need to hear the message of change. I also sent them the link to your blog and guess what... think you have some new followers now too.

Librarian 4

I had the opportunity to listen to you present at the ILA Conference yesterday. Your presentation was very unique compared to the speech you shared with the twelve laptop initiative schools earlier this month.... As a leader in [my] district and a huge supporter of the advocacy of information literacy skills, I feel that you underestimate the role of a good teacher librarian. I see the evolution of technology advancing and embrace what opportunities it provides myself, my fellow educators and our future citizens. You see, I was selected by my district to represent them at the 1-to-1 meeting and have been asked to attend [some of your future workshops] because of my leadership and my active role in the integration of technology. And, yes, I am their teacher librarian.

Being curious, I would like to know more about your work with teacher librarians. I'm afraid that you may have assumed the role of a teacher librarian as being one of 'holding back' the age of information. That is very far from the truth. Currently, we live in a world where both print and electronic information are accessible to all. My role is to support both realms and the patrons who use the material. While open access may soon be upon us, I know that I must help students and staff while this evolution is taking place. I know the importance of being visionary and open-minded while at the same time being grounded.

I would challenge you to collaborate with me and learn more about my role as a teacher librarian. I think the role of libraries and librarians is evolving. And, I feel that a good teacher librarian is the 'Ace' in an administrators back pocket! What other position in a school district revolves around information access, collaboration with students and staff, all while taking on a role as an educational leader in learning? Instead of demanding teacher librarians to 'get out of the way' if they are not welcoming technology, maybe we need to look at the role a librarian can play. Their opportunities to support the learning environment can become an asset. Some librarians just need to know in what direction to lead. I hope in the future you consider the value teacher librarians have in this ever-changing world. I know that I am thankful for the opportunities I provide the students at [my district], and I would like to think that they feel the same about me.

Suggested reading

If the topic of the future of libraries and librarians interests you, I highly encourage you to read the recent article in School Library Journal, Things That Keep Us Up at Night, by Joyce Valenza and Doug Johnson. It’s caused quite a stir in the school librarian community…

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 9:50 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend