Create, discover, EXPLORE. Sometimes it is necessary to step outside of our comfort zone and into things we otherwise would not choose. As I had a discussion about the explore with school librarian Aleisha, we discussed the necessity to expose students to a wide variety of topics.
Aleisha is a middle school librarian. Middle schoolers are often times recluses as they are trying to create their image and figure out who they are as a person. When students visit Aleisha in the library, she does all she can to encourage students to explore new topics. She conducts read alouds when classes visit her on a wide variety of topics and genres. She also shares book talks on a wide variety of topics and genres in order to encourage students to try new books on new topics. Prior to students visiting the library, Aleisha meets with teachers to decide what needs to be shared to benefit students most. At the beginning of the year, Aleisha conducts interest inventories as a way to learn about her students. Students often participate in STEM activities. This allows them collaborate while they create and explore. She plans these activities with classroom teachers in order to ensure they go along with what teachers are doing in their classrooms.
I have had two other conversations with school librarians about different competencies, and there has been one common theme: time is the biggest challenge. For Aleisha, she has a fixed schedule that does not allow for flexibility outside of the regular scheduled classes very often. It seems as though there are many things that school librarians want to accomplish, but they do not have the time to do it. School librarians wear many hats and they try to give their students the best experience they can, but they time to plan for positive experiences.
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