Posted on by hildaweisburg

Crisis? No!  It’s a Chopportunity

With all the grim news about cuts in library positions and budgets, it is easy to have a pessimistic attitude about the future which affects how you interact with others on a daily basis. I learned the word “chopportunity” in 2013 at a School Library Journal Summit. It’s a mash-up word combining Challenge and Opportunity.  I strongly believe our mindset influences how we look at our world and feel about what we do.  When you look at a challenge as an opportunity, it changes your mindset.  The shift puts you in charge of the situation rather than feeling like a victim of what is happening around you.

What challenges are you (and your teachers and administrators) facing?  How do you deal with turbulence and disruption when they occur?  You could panic.  You could complain. You could hunker down and hope it will pass.  But that’s not what leaders do.  When technology first captured the enthusiasm of administrators, affecting library budgets, I told librarians, “When you see a runaway truck coming at you, don’t try to stop it by lying down in front of it.  You will die. Instead, jump on and steer.” The advice remains true.

Chopportunities come in all sizes.  A small one that frequently occurs in our lives is being “asked” to cover a class when no substitute is available.  We know it’s more of a demand. When possible, find out if the class can meet in the library. (Hopefully, it is just one period.) Explain you don’t want to close the library to students and teachers who need it. This nicely informs the administration that your work is valued throughout the school and throughout the day.

And even if you must follow the plans the teacher left, you invariably can add a library component.  Invite the kids to learn library tricks to help them get work done more efficiently.  Or you can use the time to weave in of your lessons on hoax sites and evaluating sources based on the subject you’re being asked to cover.  Challenge them to find the “agenda” behind a website they check. Compile their exit tickets and give a copy to the teacher and your principal.  What was an inconvenience becomes a Chopportunity to reach students and prove the worth of the library!

The paradigm we all grew up with was that schools have libraries with librarians.  Not ever contemplating the situation could change, many librarians focused on doing their job but not showing teachers, administrators, and other stakeholders why it was vital. You know what happened next.

In Embrace Turbulence Ken Goldstein advises those in the corporate world how to avoid being swept out when the world changes once again.  He points out you can’t control change.  What you can control is “attitude, anticipation, and readiness.”

Attitude is the ability to see the latest crisis as a chopportunity. Goldstein reminds readers that “The reward for getting over a hill is the opportunity to climb another hill. There is always another this to get through.” Supposedly, “May you live in interesting times” is a Chinese curse, but it all depends on how you look at interesting times.  It can be exhilarating.  A chance to try something new and different.

Anticipation in this context is the opposite of complacency. Things are going well, and you assume they will always continue this way.  In actuality, change is coming.  It always is.  There’s a new educational idea.  New technology explodes on the scene.  How many changes have you seen in the past two years?  Goldstein refers to “big company syndrome” which is “the belief your paycheck will always show up.” (We’re looking at you Sears, Blockbuster, and Kodak.) He says, “smart company syndrome is knowing you have to earn your keep every day.” For us, it means proving our worth – every day.

Readiness is the key not only to survival but to increasing your value to the educational community.  Our National School Library Standards challenge us to embrace change.  We are to reflect on our practice and go beyond “it’s good” to “what do I need to do to make it better.”  We must be aware of the larger environment, looking beyond the library to what’s happening in education, trends in technology, and whatever else might impact schools and the library program.

I was once talking to my vice-principal and said it would be great to have one normal year without a crisis.  She told me crisis was what was normal.  She was right.  As Goldstein advises, “Make peace with turbulence. Pace yourself for a ceaselessly bumpy endurance contest. Expect an unruly rollercoaster ride and be mildly pleased the days it doesn’t throw you from the train.”  In other words, you must always be ready to deal with something – usually several somethings—in the course of the school year.  Some small, but others quite big. It’s just another Chopportunity.

Posted on by hildaweisburg

ON LIBRARIES: Plan Your PD

Summer vacation is either imminent or has already begun. The last thing you may want to think about at the beginning of your time off is work, but after you give yourself a little time off to relax and regroup, this is the perfect opportunity do just that – think. Most of our time is spent doing and reacting to all that is going on around us. For the next few months, take time to reflect on what you might need and where you want to go next.

Have you been (or feel) too busy to “grow? Biology tells us organisms are either growing or they are dying.  It’s true for your professional growth, and true for the growth of your program.

Professional Development (PD), being a lifelong learner, is imperative for school librarians. Sure, your district probably offers PD workshops at least once a year. But the reality for librarians is that what is offered at best only touches on our practice.  If you want to grow, you have to take responsibility for your own PD.

My favorite PD are the national and state conferences.  They offer a wealth of opportunities for learning, networking, and leadership. And with a few exceptions state conferences are nothing like the national ones so both are worthwhile.

ALA Annual is coming up in Washington, D.C. from Thursday, June 20th until Tuesday, June 25th, and the professional development you get (not to mention the swag!) is superb. You don’t need to be there the entire time.  If you are still in school, get there by Friday evening and leave Sunday night, and you will learn plenty.  Plus DC is a great place to visit if you’ve never had the chance.

Do your best not to make cost an excuse. I have attended every ALA Annual since 1979.  Most of the time the money came out of my pocket.  I listed it as a professional expense on my taxes.  I regard my memberships and conference attendance as a cost of doing business, no different from what it cost to drive my car to work or have suitable work clothes.  PD is invaluable.

Everything you need for registering and housing is online and you can check the Schedule for AASL programming in advance. Don’t forget to see what ALSC is doing if you are at the elementary level and what YALSA is offering if you are at a middle or high school.  Look for amazing speakers who will be there and plan your time.

Every other year, I strongly recommend you plan to go to the AASL Conference which is being held this year in Louisville, Kentucky from November 14-16. The AASL Conference is my favorite because it’s all about us.  Every program, every speaker, and every vendor is focused on school librarians. That’s what is special about AASL.  It’s the only national organization who speaks solely for school librarians.

The best reason for attending an AASL Conference is the people.  This is your opportunity to expand your PLN nationally (and in some cases, internationally). When eating at the restaurants either at the hotel or the conference floor, don’t sit alone.  Join others and engage in conversation.  And, of course, exchange business cards to be sure you connect afterward. After so many years of conference attendance, I look forward to seeing the many friends I have as well as meeting new ones.  With some, I schedule dinners or lunches in advance, and this will happen to you as well.

Great as they are, conferences aren’t your only PD option. Summer is a terrific time to catch up on your professional reading. If you are a member of AASL you receive Knowledge Quest bimonthly, and probably haven’t time to read it. (The current issue is all about the different ways the National School Library Standards can impact your teaching and learning.).  Then there are all those issues of School Library Journal or Teacher Librarian you haven’t read… yet. Take time to intersperse these with your ever-growing pleasure reading list.

Group of Business People in a Meeting About Planning

Another great source of PD is the archived webinars on AASL’s eCOLLAB. While you have to be a member – or pay for some, many are free.  Here is a sample of what’s available:

·       Comics Librarianship: Essential Tools for the School Librarian

·       Don’t #%?$ My Graphic Novels: Conquering Challenges and Protecting the Right to Read

Your state association might also offer free webinars and some vendors do as well. A quick online search should yield some helpful results.

For professional reading options, start at the ALA Store under AASL. Libraries Unlimited is another source of professional development titles as is Rowman & Littlefield. Explore new resources when you aren’t harried and have time to play with them.  See what’s new at AASL’s Best Apps for Teaching & Learning and Best Websites for Teaching & Learning.

Summer is a time for relaxing and rejuvenating.  You do need that time off.  Hopefully, you can balance it with taking the time your career needs and deserves to keep learning and growing. It’s what leaders do.

Posted on by hildaweisburg

ON LIBRARIES: Leaders Know The Buzz

When you are in education long enough, you can become cynical about the latest buzzword that’s going to change everything.  And yet, the world keeps changing so we can’t keep doing things the same way. Sometimes the latest is merely something old cloaked in a new name.  As I wrote in last week’s blog Word Wise, words carry emotional meaning and every change reflect an altered perspective, which is why you need to keep up with the latest buzzwords.

When you know and understand current buzzwords, you show your leadership by presenting yourself as an expert in current trends. You should also check to ensure you are aware of buzzwords that go beyond librarianship and are circulating among administrators.  Even better is to know what’s happening in business and technology because it is likely they will affect education – and therefore your library program.

I am a member of ASCD so I can get their journal Educational Leadership. The themes of each issue are strong indicators of where administrators are going.  I also get SmartBriefs on a variety of topics, including leadership (invariably business leadership) and technology in my inbox daily.  These SmartBriefs lead me to relevant online columns and blogs. I interpret what I discover through the lens of school librarianship and you’ve seen many of these articles referenced in this blog.

Anjana Deepak’s article Buzzwords Make an Impact Paving the Way to Learn Something New, and Creating Value for and within, the Profession, lists 23 current buzzwords along with an explanation of buzzwords, differentiating them from jargon and slang. You will know many of them, but for the ones you don’t know, take time to research them so you are up to speed.  When and if they are relevant, you want to be able to use them in your conversations with principals and teachers in your building.

In addition to Deepak’s list, I came up with seven more which I have been noticing, bringing the total up to thirty.

  • Agency – Ability to make free choices and act independently as opposed to structure such as social class, gender, ethnicity which can determine or limit one’s decisions.
  • Competency-based education -A system using instruction, assessments, grading and other techniques to determine if students have learned the skills and competencies they are expected to learn. Usually tied to state and national standards, its goal is to ensure students are prepared for school, college, career, and life. (Based on the definition from Edglossary)
  • Computational thinking – A problem-solving approach formulated in a way that it can be solved by humans or computers. It has four stages: Decomposition – breaking the problem down into smaller parts; Pattern recognition – seeing commonalities among the parts; Abstraction – focusing only on the important parts; Algorithms – forming a step-by-step solution.
  • Growth Mindset – Mindset is how you see yourself. Unlike those with a fixed mindset who view their positive and negative abilities (and attitudes) as unchangeable, people with a growth mindset believe they can improve or change. Having a growth mindset makes you open to learning.
  • Personalized Learning– As opposed to the one-size-fits-all instruction, this approach uses multiple avenues to tailor learning experiences to meet individual student needs including small learning “academies “and allowing students to design their own learning routes such as taking an internship or enrolling in a college course.
  • Proficiency-based learning – A system that requires students to demonstrate they have acquired the knowledge and skills deemed necessary (usually according to set standards). Those who don’t meet the standards are given additional instruction and practice time.
  • Social and Emotional Learning – Commonly called SEL. Districts are embracing it in various degrees. In essence, it’s about developing Emotional Intelligence as it helps students and teachers to understand and manage their emotions, leading to improved relationships and decision-making. CASEL (the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning) has an easy-to-access website on what SEL means and how to implement it.

Knowing the current buzzwords is integral to being recognized as a leader. I remember when rubrics came in.  I knew about them, although I had never created one. When a teacher came to me to help her make a rubric for an assignment as her department chair required (and had given no help), I knew enough to work with her, and her department chair was pleased.

There is a caveat.  Don’t flaunt or overuse buzzwords. Your conversation shouldn’t be filled with them. It can sound forced, making the listener uncomfortable either because they don’t know what you’re talking about or because it sounds like you’re talking at them rather than to them. A.  Too often buzzwords descend into jargon which shuts people out.  Think of legal or medical language and how off-putting that can be.  You want to be inclusive. The library is a safe, welcoming environment for all – not just those who know the buzz.

 

Posted on by hildaweisburg

ON LIBRARIES: Word Wise

Our words matter.  Just as our body language and tone of voice send messages we didn’t mean to send, so do our words. Noticing and making a shift takes diligence as we change patterns that have become natural to us. Becoming more aware and mindful of our word choice leads to stronger relationships and greater success for you and your program. And this is true for both the written and the spoken word.

For years, I have been teaching writing Mission and Vision Statements to pre-service school librarians.  I have given workshops on the topic, and invariably, unknowingly, librarians select weak words for statements that need to be powerful and compelling.  When this happens our message gets minimized as a result.

“Enrich” is a common weak word.  It sounds good when we say, “the library program enriches the curriculum” but what the budget-pressed administrator hears is, “It’s a nice extra, but the curriculum will do fine without the extra enrichment.”  And the result? You won’t get funds.  You may even be eliminated.

Surprisingly “support” is almost as weak.  So is “extends.”  You may know your program does this, but how vital does it seem to the administration? Your Mission and/or Vision needs to be under 50 words to make it memorable.  You can’t afford to waste any of the words, and you certainly can’t use words that detract from it.

So what are your alternatives?  “Fully integrated” (or at least “integrate’) implies that something important will be lost if eliminated.  “Essential [to …]” is even better.   While there is no guarantee your administrator will agree, proclaiming it positions you in a far better place in any discussions you have about the library program.  It follows that by writing stronger words, you will use stronger words in your conversation,

In conversation, many of us have adopted phrasing that suggests we are not sure of ourselves.  This is frequently a result of years of conditioning and not wanting to be “pushy.” But these phrases are subconsciously interpreted by others, making them less likely to see us as leaders.

“I feel” is high on my list of phrases watch or particularly when I am in a conversation with a stakeholder. “I know,” which suggests others should recognize the validity of what you said is so much more powerful.  Sometimes “I think…” is a tentative statement.  Other times it’s a more of a pronouncement. You need to be aware of whether you are making a clear statement or trying to avoid having to respond to someone who won’t agree with you.

Unsurprisingly, the business world is also aware of the damage words can inadvertently do. Christine Comaford identified 15 phrases that make leaders look weak She points to what she calls “verbal qualifiers.”  These are her fifteen:

  1. Almost:  I think I’ve said almost everything about that.”
  2. A Little: “She’s a little challenging to manage.”
  3. Sort Of:   I sort of want to do that.”
  4. Kind Of: “I kind of think I will.”
  5. Maybe: “Maybe I’ll call you tonight.”
  6. Just: “I just called to ask how you are.”
  7. Sometimes: “Sometimes I feel…”
  8. May: “I may go to the movies tonight.”
  9. Might: “I might finish that today.”
  10. They: “They think…”
  11. Everyone: “Everyone says…”
  12. Someone: “Someone told me…”
  13. Probably: “He’s probably”
  14. As If: “I’m feeling as if…”
  15. Better: “I feel better.”

She explains the problems with verbal qualifiers is that “It keeps us from owning the statement we are making.”  Strong leaders believe in what they say.  They take ownership and invite others in.

As I said earlier, “think” is a word usually indicates you are hiding out and are hoping others will agree with you instead of taking a stand that others can join.  Look at how many of the phrases above have “think” in them. If you use them, how could you rephrase and sound stronger/

Comaford concludes with two big takeaways for us.

Consider your answers to her questions.  Start listening to the words and phrases you use, as well as those used by others around you, and make the changes you need that allow you to speak as a leader.