By: Gail Barraco

Gail Barraco — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 20:08:14 +0000

What Exactly is Your Point Mr. Krashen?
I would like to respond to Stephen Krashen’s editorial, “Vocabulary Development” in the August 2013 issue of SLJ when he states that students do not need more opportunities for challenging and engaging nonfiction, that they can get all they need from school librarians. Yes they do need more opportunities for engaging nonfiction and yes they can get these materials through their school librarian. What academia is woefully in the dark about is the emphasis the Common Core is making in school districts across the country on specifically this issue of vocabulary and the need for rigor in nonfiction reading material for students. We are doing all we can to ensure that school librarians are on the vanguard to assist teachers and students to address this goal. Have you taken a peak at our standing in the world for K-12 education? We can do better. No one knows better than system directors like Paige and my library colleagues across the country the importance of having school librarians be front and center toward this worthy goal. It may also mean saving school librarians their jobs which have been dealt a harsh blow with school budget cuts across the nation.
I would advise Mr. Krashen to read up on the Common Core and help us save a few school librarians their jobs by getting Schools of Education such as yours at UCLA to understand that school librarians are the key to unlocking the door to investigation and inquiry. That is what the Common Core is all about. Teachers come through Schools of Education with no mention of what the school librarian can provide to instruction. Administrators come through administrative certification with no mention of the school library and its place in the instructional program. How can they support what they never hear about or understand?
Academia can do the school library profession a huge service by informing future teachers and administrators about these hard working professionals who are doing somersaults out there trying to get the word out on how they can assist teachers, administrators, and most importantly, our students to embrace inquiry and investigation in reading, in assignments, and throughout life. The Common Core just upped the ante, it is time to get on board. –Gail Barraco, Administrative Coordinator, Eastern Suffolk BOCES School Library System Bellport, NY

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By: Gail Barraco