We've been working on making the library more comfortable, with the reading lounge and floor cushions (as previously blogged).
Side effect?
In comes a class, they settle in corners and on the floor with cushions.
And for some, off come the shoes (not because we've told them to do this).
It's lovely, as a sign of them being comfortable. Maybe it's partly a habit from home, take your shoes off before you sit on the sofa. We do have a feet-off policy on the soft chairs etc, to have room for more kids and so grubby shoes don't cause extra cleaning.... but it is also a measure of success (as is their quiet absorption once they settle to read, the kids you can see who are getting lost in their reading). It's happening a lot more than it did, before the floor cushions and reading lounge.
...but as the kids tumble in, and settle to read, you kinda sorta hope that it wasn't a particularly energetic PE prac lesson they had last period.... you know? (she grins).
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
The happy life of teacher librarians: Comment from an ex-student
From 2002 to 2007, I was a year adviser, responsible for a year group cohort that began with about 210 students in year 7 and ended with about 120 in year 12. As anyone who's been a year adviser knows, it takes energy and imagination and patience and persistence and a decent dollop of faith (not always justified, but often enough to keep you going) and time. And many other things.
We did a whole lot of stuff for and with the kids, my fellow year adviser and I. Some they saw - camps and formals and solving of problems, events and activities and fundraising and Being There (so you could be told why The World/The Boyfriend/That Teacher was Daft/Stupid/Cool/Driving Me Nuts. Etc). Some they didn't - revamped procedures and paperwork, so many plans and phone calls and interviews and discussions and (oh-I-don't-miss-it!) writing summative report comments. But that's the nature of the job.
Last week, one of my cherubs came back to school to speak at a presentation assembly for students who've earned high awards. The cherub, a young woman of considerable achievements on her own account and for the community, particularly young people, came by to say hello, and we had a chat and a catchup.
What I didn't hear till later was what she'd said to a colleague. She'd looked at the library, and all we've done to re-imagine it in the last couple of years (check the dates when I was a year adviser...and it's not coincidence that I started this blog in 2008) and she said to my colleague, "Looking at the library, and how much it's changed, I could see just how much time and effort Miss put into our year group."
I didn't neglect the library, while I was a year adviser, not at all - but it's true that I have more time and energy to give it now than I did then. It's true as well that each thing we do as teachers adds to our 'stuff' and enriches the next thing we do, and the one after. So some of what I learned, being a year adviser, undoubtedly feeds into work I've done in the library since then. No experience wasted!
Isn't that a lovely compliment? I thought so. And appreciated her taking the time and thought to say it, and my colleague for passing it on. I learned lots, being a year adviser, had some great times with the kids; but am happy, at the moment, to be able to give my energy to the work of the library, helping kids in this way.
It's such fun passing on compliments - I love having the opportunity to do that for colleagues and kids. Try it, if you can.
Cheers, Ruth
We did a whole lot of stuff for and with the kids, my fellow year adviser and I. Some they saw - camps and formals and solving of problems, events and activities and fundraising and Being There (so you could be told why The World/The Boyfriend/That Teacher was Daft/Stupid/Cool/Driving Me Nuts. Etc). Some they didn't - revamped procedures and paperwork, so many plans and phone calls and interviews and discussions and (oh-I-don't-miss-it!) writing summative report comments. But that's the nature of the job.
Last week, one of my cherubs came back to school to speak at a presentation assembly for students who've earned high awards. The cherub, a young woman of considerable achievements on her own account and for the community, particularly young people, came by to say hello, and we had a chat and a catchup.
What I didn't hear till later was what she'd said to a colleague. She'd looked at the library, and all we've done to re-imagine it in the last couple of years (check the dates when I was a year adviser...and it's not coincidence that I started this blog in 2008) and she said to my colleague, "Looking at the library, and how much it's changed, I could see just how much time and effort Miss put into our year group."
I didn't neglect the library, while I was a year adviser, not at all - but it's true that I have more time and energy to give it now than I did then. It's true as well that each thing we do as teachers adds to our 'stuff' and enriches the next thing we do, and the one after. So some of what I learned, being a year adviser, undoubtedly feeds into work I've done in the library since then. No experience wasted!
Isn't that a lovely compliment? I thought so. And appreciated her taking the time and thought to say it, and my colleague for passing it on. I learned lots, being a year adviser, had some great times with the kids; but am happy, at the moment, to be able to give my energy to the work of the library, helping kids in this way.
It's such fun passing on compliments - I love having the opportunity to do that for colleagues and kids. Try it, if you can.
Cheers, Ruth
DIY inservice on culling/weeding
The CREW method - Continuous Review, Evaluation and Weeding - is one way to keep your collection current, your shelves appealing and your library effective. If it's a while since you thought in depth about your collection development procedures in relation to weeding - or if you just want an update - then try the CREW: A Weeding Manual for Libraries. Bunch of good ideas there to think about and apply in your library. I've been culling away at our collection this last while, and the shelves look the better for it.
Shane at Bundy High had some good thoughts about culling recently - read more here.
Cheers, Ruth
Shane at Bundy High had some good thoughts about culling recently - read more here.
Cheers, Ruth
Monday, June 29, 2009
The happy life of teacher librarians: "This library is cooler..."
A period this morning, and I'm racing between the Visual Arts class downstairs on the computers (I'd been working with that teacher for the lesson with those seniors and the Obamicon) and the junior class settled for comfortable reading in the reading lounge and upstairs.
"Hmmm," said one of the reading boys thoughtfully, as he took a moment to look around from his comfortable vantage point on the sofa. "This library's cooler than I thought."
As I happened to be walking by, I gravely thanked him for such a lovely compliment.
!!!!
And it is a compliment, and appreciated; it's good that this is his perception, and it's apparently a revised one (in favour). But it's also amusing.
"Hmmm," said one of the reading boys thoughtfully, as he took a moment to look around from his comfortable vantage point on the sofa. "This library's cooler than I thought."
As I happened to be walking by, I gravely thanked him for such a lovely compliment.
!!!!
And it is a compliment, and appreciated; it's good that this is his perception, and it's apparently a revised one (in favour). But it's also amusing.
Tomorrow When the War Began: film/movie
As reported in Read Alert here, there is a film / movie version of Tomorrow When the War Began in the works. I've lost count of how many sets of this John Marsden series I've bought - in the last ten years in this library, I'd have bought at least three complete sets, and only retired the copies that were, as they tend to get, utterly exhausted and falling apart from being loved to death. When we have holiday borrowing, and double borrowing comes into play, it's a popular pick to borrow the LOT.
Read Alert draws on an entry from Dark Horizons you can find here, and in turn that draws on a longer report from Hollywood Reporter you'll find here. The director is Stuart Beattie, co-writer of the film Australia, and the plan is apparently to make a trilogy of films from the first three books then move to a television series for the rest. Filming to start in September. John Marsden's site links to a shorter version of the HR report from Reuters that you'll find here.
And it already has a page on the Internet Movie Database: click here. Bookmark that one if you want to check back on developments.
Cheers, Ruth.
PS I've detailed very carefully the trail of info, what I've found where, as I always try to do, and added value by finding more links/info myself. If this is the first place where you read about this, and you want to merrily blog it yourself, gosh it would be nice if you could note/acknowledge where you first read it, as I have done. I've had a few people recently who've lifted things from my blog (sometimes even word for word) and used it on their blogs without attribution. Please be courteous in your use of information...plagiarism ain't purty. Play nice. Thank you.
Read Alert draws on an entry from Dark Horizons you can find here, and in turn that draws on a longer report from Hollywood Reporter you'll find here. The director is Stuart Beattie, co-writer of the film Australia, and the plan is apparently to make a trilogy of films from the first three books then move to a television series for the rest. Filming to start in September. John Marsden's site links to a shorter version of the HR report from Reuters that you'll find here.
And it already has a page on the Internet Movie Database: click here. Bookmark that one if you want to check back on developments.
Cheers, Ruth.
PS I've detailed very carefully the trail of info, what I've found where, as I always try to do, and added value by finding more links/info myself. If this is the first place where you read about this, and you want to merrily blog it yourself, gosh it would be nice if you could note/acknowledge where you first read it, as I have done. I've had a few people recently who've lifted things from my blog (sometimes even word for word) and used it on their blogs without attribution. Please be courteous in your use of information...plagiarism ain't purty. Play nice. Thank you.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
GIFSL*: 37. Floor cushions and comfort
When we created the reading retreat in the library earlier this year, we didn't know the impact it would have. On reflection, it's one of the most popular changes we've made, and this is proved over and over by the individual students who come in the morning, recess, lunch, study periods, all through the day, and plonk themselves in a soft chair or on the sofa, book in hand. You see them relax, and settle.
For all my years at schools as a student and a teacher, I hadn't realised/particularly thought about how few places there are in a school to be comfortable. Out in the playground, places to sit are usually, of necessity, hard surfaces - cement, brick, timber. Inside in classrooms, chairs are generally plastic - again of necessity. For students, carpeted floors may be the only place to sit on something softer.
We did have some soft seating upstairs in fiction, before, but the reading retreat added in seventeen more seats (or even more, when students, rather in the manner of puppies, cram themselves three on two seats, or four on the sofa).
The configuration also has corners to settle into - I see these soft chairs in other school libraries and schools but they're often around a low table, with space around them. What you can do does, of course, depend on your library. We happened to be working with a narrow mezzanine. But as I watch how students use this space, the corner-ness of it is, I see, more important than you might think. Drifting through my mind are thoughts of Ratty, Mole, Badger, and In a hole in the ground lived a hobbit. Even if I had a wide open space, I think, now, I'd still try to achieve cosy and corners, having seen how students respond to this.
We still didn't have enough for every student in a junior class of thirty to have a comfy seat...
Then, last school holidays, another TL pal and I went to visit Reverse Garbage. This is a non-profit co-operative based in Marrickville, Sydney, that collects and resells industrial discards: Reverse Garbage is a not-for-profit co-operative that sells industrial discards, off-cuts and over-runs to the public for creative and practical uses, reducing the amount of waste going to landfill.. You never know what you're going to find when you go there. Could be anything. You need to go with an open mind and imagination.
If you're teacher librarians without a lot of cash but with enthusiasm and the aforesaid open minds and imaginations.... well, you can go with an idea of what you might like to find, or a need/purpose you have in mind. What might you find?
I found these.
Once upon a time they were street banners from the Rocks historic area of Sydney. I've found street banners at Reverse Garbage before (as seen in the background here), but these were different. The fabric here is a synthetic with a sueded surface, feeling lovely on the hand. But, you say, they're advertising the Rocks, and what are you going to do with them in a school library?
We were talking about comfort, weren't we? This is what we did:
Floor cushions. The width of the banners happens to neatly fit the width of a standard pillow (two for $10 at K-Mart). We made them 'envelope' style as you see, and were able to make ten floor cushions, using up all the banners.
Sure, some of the cushions say The or ocks, but who cares? Our students sure don't. The ones who aren't on the soft chairs or sofa, reading, during a wide reading period, are sprawled on the floor or propped against a wall, on a floor cushion. It's only a little bit of comfort, but it's an important little bit. It says, your comfort is important. Here's something we can offer, something we have thought of for you. Enjoy your reading. Welcome. I've even had kids give up a soft chair because they'd rather have one of these. I hadn't expected that. Floor cushion diplomacy.
What you need: there are lots of places to find fabric (new or, like us, recycled) at discount prices. Look for one that does feel good - this has been commented on by a lot of kids in relation to our cushions. Partly because of the dimensions of the banners, and partly because they were price-competitive with cushion inserts, we used the pillows. Students have liked this size, too - for sitting, lounging, draping themselves over lying on their bellies (and...and...they'll always think of something you haven't!).
How much were the banners? I filled a nearly sack-sized bag for $30 - and got more banners in than the ones that became the floor cushions. Plus some other good things (you'll see 'em blogged soon). Total spend was about $60, and it's an environmental tick too. At Reverse Garbage, some items are sold on a per-item price basis, others on fill-a-bag - from around $6 for filling a supermarket green bag size on up. And yes, I'll tell you that given that these banners have been up lamp-posts, out in the air and weather, some are a little more faded than others...but it's part of their life, and authentic. And I don't care, and neither do the kids, as they sit down to read. And in the end, that's what matters, that they're reading and happy and comfortable in the library.
Cheers, Ruth
*GIFSL = Good Ideas For School Libraries
For all my years at schools as a student and a teacher, I hadn't realised/particularly thought about how few places there are in a school to be comfortable. Out in the playground, places to sit are usually, of necessity, hard surfaces - cement, brick, timber. Inside in classrooms, chairs are generally plastic - again of necessity. For students, carpeted floors may be the only place to sit on something softer.
We did have some soft seating upstairs in fiction, before, but the reading retreat added in seventeen more seats (or even more, when students, rather in the manner of puppies, cram themselves three on two seats, or four on the sofa).
The configuration also has corners to settle into - I see these soft chairs in other school libraries and schools but they're often around a low table, with space around them. What you can do does, of course, depend on your library. We happened to be working with a narrow mezzanine. But as I watch how students use this space, the corner-ness of it is, I see, more important than you might think. Drifting through my mind are thoughts of Ratty, Mole, Badger, and In a hole in the ground lived a hobbit. Even if I had a wide open space, I think, now, I'd still try to achieve cosy and corners, having seen how students respond to this.
We still didn't have enough for every student in a junior class of thirty to have a comfy seat...
Then, last school holidays, another TL pal and I went to visit Reverse Garbage. This is a non-profit co-operative based in Marrickville, Sydney, that collects and resells industrial discards: Reverse Garbage is a not-for-profit co-operative that sells industrial discards, off-cuts and over-runs to the public for creative and practical uses, reducing the amount of waste going to landfill.. You never know what you're going to find when you go there. Could be anything. You need to go with an open mind and imagination.
If you're teacher librarians without a lot of cash but with enthusiasm and the aforesaid open minds and imaginations.... well, you can go with an idea of what you might like to find, or a need/purpose you have in mind. What might you find?
I found these.
Once upon a time they were street banners from the Rocks historic area of Sydney. I've found street banners at Reverse Garbage before (as seen in the background here), but these were different. The fabric here is a synthetic with a sueded surface, feeling lovely on the hand. But, you say, they're advertising the Rocks, and what are you going to do with them in a school library?
We were talking about comfort, weren't we? This is what we did:
Floor cushions. The width of the banners happens to neatly fit the width of a standard pillow (two for $10 at K-Mart). We made them 'envelope' style as you see, and were able to make ten floor cushions, using up all the banners.
Sure, some of the cushions say The or ocks, but who cares? Our students sure don't. The ones who aren't on the soft chairs or sofa, reading, during a wide reading period, are sprawled on the floor or propped against a wall, on a floor cushion. It's only a little bit of comfort, but it's an important little bit. It says, your comfort is important. Here's something we can offer, something we have thought of for you. Enjoy your reading. Welcome. I've even had kids give up a soft chair because they'd rather have one of these. I hadn't expected that. Floor cushion diplomacy.
What you need: there are lots of places to find fabric (new or, like us, recycled) at discount prices. Look for one that does feel good - this has been commented on by a lot of kids in relation to our cushions. Partly because of the dimensions of the banners, and partly because they were price-competitive with cushion inserts, we used the pillows. Students have liked this size, too - for sitting, lounging, draping themselves over lying on their bellies (and...and...they'll always think of something you haven't!).
How much were the banners? I filled a nearly sack-sized bag for $30 - and got more banners in than the ones that became the floor cushions. Plus some other good things (you'll see 'em blogged soon). Total spend was about $60, and it's an environmental tick too. At Reverse Garbage, some items are sold on a per-item price basis, others on fill-a-bag - from around $6 for filling a supermarket green bag size on up. And yes, I'll tell you that given that these banners have been up lamp-posts, out in the air and weather, some are a little more faded than others...but it's part of their life, and authentic. And I don't care, and neither do the kids, as they sit down to read. And in the end, that's what matters, that they're reading and happy and comfortable in the library.
Cheers, Ruth
*GIFSL = Good Ideas For School Libraries
Friday, June 26, 2009
When Buffy Met Edward....
To celebrate the unblocking of YouTube (with provisos) by my employer, here's a video: (This is just wonderful! - I fell off my chair laughing!)
I've seen it in a number of places, library blogs, book blogs. It originated from Rebellious Pixels, where it is described thus:
In this remixed narrative Edward Cullen from the Twilight Series meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer at Sunnydale High. It’s an example of transformative storytelling serving as a pro-feminist visual critique of Edward’s character and generally creepy behavior. Seen through Buffy’s eyes some of the more sexist gender roles and patriarchal Hollywood themes embedded in the Twilight saga are exposed in hilarious ways.
And oh yes, it is funny!
Cheers, Ruth
You Tube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZwM3GvaTRM&feature=player_embedded
I've seen it in a number of places, library blogs, book blogs. It originated from Rebellious Pixels, where it is described thus:
In this remixed narrative Edward Cullen from the Twilight Series meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer at Sunnydale High. It’s an example of transformative storytelling serving as a pro-feminist visual critique of Edward’s character and generally creepy behavior. Seen through Buffy’s eyes some of the more sexist gender roles and patriarchal Hollywood themes embedded in the Twilight saga are exposed in hilarious ways.
And oh yes, it is funny!
Cheers, Ruth
You Tube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZwM3GvaTRM&feature=player_embedded
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