I
am a teacher. I love to say these words. I say them with pride.
Inevitably someone then asks, "What do you teach?"
This is such a difficult question to answer. When I say, "I am a Library Teacher" or "Teacher Librarian" I feel compelled to then get very specific about the things I actually teach.
What do I teach? I teach information literacy skills. I teach Website evaluation. I teach location and access in a library. I teach nonfiction conventions. I teach about authors and illustrators. Yikes! That’s dry and sterile.
Maybe I should say, "I am a trained and skilled professional who provides the environment, opportunities and tools for learning."
SO...then what do I teach?
I hope I teach a love of learning.
I hope I inspire a love of reading.
I hope I teach children to love books and all the information they contain and from which they construct knowledge. Books create bridges to new information, new understanding, and new ideas. If the Internet is the information super highway, then books are the necessary bridges that connect all the meaning and knowledge found there. Book readers practice skills essential to life long learning -- critical reading - thinking, evaluation, and assessment.
So, yes. I am a teacher. Meet me at the corner of reader and book. We'll be learning something new there.
Can I plagiarize this post please? Seriously, you say so eloquently what we school librarians (library media specialists? library teachers? teacher-librarians?) are asked to explain on a regular basis.
ReplyDeleteI am fortunate that my colleagues (teachers and administrators) and most parents do understand my role. But I still get the "What do you do all day?" questions and the comments like "Your job is so much easier than classroom teachers. You don't have to do report cards or correct papers."
It's hard to provide an answer that doesn't sound defensive. I would love to have a blog post like this that could open their eyes to what our teaching world is all about.
You may, of course, use this post, but maybe it is better to share this post and then add your voice after...your passion as a teacher is important and showing that you are not the only one may add weight to your advocacy. :)
DeletePerfect. This truly captures the passion of one of my favorite life quotes: "Gladly would he teach and gladly learn." Thank you for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteI love this quote! Thank you for sharing.
Delete