Chair of the American Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Committee Pat Scales responds to questions about book challenges, summer reading lists, and boundaries for school library parent volunteers.
Give Children a Choice: Advocating Open Access to Materials | Scales on Censorship
By on September 16, 2013 Leave a Comment
An Administrator’s View: Giving Teacher Librarians an Edge | Pivot Points
By on September 12, 2013 Leave a Comment
Former teacher librarian and current district administrator Mark Ray continues to reflect on the ways teacher librarians can better connect and work with building and district leaders.
Inquiry and Integration Across the Curriculum | On Common Core
By on September 5, 2013 Leave a Comment
Authentic learning can only take place in the context of rich curriculum; it’s about encountering big ideas, raising and answering questions, and making sense of evidence. Join Mary Ann Cappiello and Myra Zarnowski as they launch their 2013-14 “On Common Core” column focusing on strategies for integrating content, standards, and children’s and young adult literature into an inquiry-based curriculum.
Current Events and the Common Core | Consider the Source
By on September 4, 2013 Leave a Comment
As educators, it’s essential that we teach our students how to become informed citizens–to examine evidence and argument related to the issues that shape political opinion and decisions. It’s as Common Core as it gets.
Not as We Remember It: Public Education Is Being Gutted | Soapbox
By on September 3, 2013 Leave a Comment
It’s called “school reform” with a focus on “student achievement,” but I shudder to think where we have come as a nation that many public schools don’t have a library, and won’t ever get one unless someone can beg a grant from a foundation or corporation.
New York’s Folly: A Lack of Vision at the City’s Dept. of Education | Editorial
By on August 30, 2013 Leave a Comment
As students around the country return to school, those in New York City are facing a future without certified school librarians, as the NYC Department of Education (DOE) has asked to be excused from a decades-old state mandate on minimum staffing requirements.
ConnectED Will Bring Faster Connections to Schools and Libraries | Next Big Thing
By on August 28, 2013
What could your library do with gigabit broadband? If you don’t have a list of innovative ways to use an Internet connection 10 or 100 times faster than the current norm, start making it now.
Organize the Web with EduClipper | Test Drive
By on August 26, 2013
Sure, the Web is a key resource for educators, but what’s the best way to share the good stuff you’ve collected with students and teachers and keep it all organized? EduClipper may be an answer.
Trouble: Learning from the New York State Common Core Assessments | Consider the Source
By on August 22, 2013 4 Comments
The first round of Common Core assessment results are in. What do they tell us, and what should librarians be asking? Marc Aronson weighs in.
An Action Plan for All Seasons | Project Advocacy
By on August 15, 2013 Leave a Comment
The importance of advocacy is evident to us during a crisis. When our libraries are threatened or our staff faces cuts, then we leap into motion. But we should be mindful of advocacy every day. Mapping a yearlong effort keeps advocacy from getting lost in the daily shuffle.
Rally the Cause: Thriving libraries Equal Student Success | Feedback
By on August 14, 2013 1 Comment
Read about what your peers think about the correlation between a thriving library and student success, the importance of administrators’ support for certified librarians, and more.
Ferment: Where, When, and Why Great Minds Gather | Consider the Source
By on August 12, 2013 Leave a Comment
What if we said it doesn’t matter what you are teaching—we want your students to examine and understand how thinkers and creators come together to argue, share, compete, build, and yield exponential leaps in thinking, creativity, and invention?
Tough Cookies Who Changed the Course of History | Nonfiction Booktalker
By on August 12, 2013 1 Comment
Stories of strong, determined women who changed the course of history make amazing subjects for booktalks. Elizabeth Blackwell, Louisa May Alcott, and Clara Lemlich are just a few of the tough cookies with indomitable spirit who persevered in the face of adversity, achieved their goals, and became role models for others. They are featured in three recently released books that are perfect for booktalking.
Matters of Equity: As the Divide Grows, We Must Help Level the Playing Field for All of Our Kids | Editorial
By on August 6, 2013 3 Comments
As the economic landscape continues to shift, the mission of schools and libraries to address the gaps intensifies, and the work of the key players, teachers and librarians, has never been more essential.
Link Du Jour: Dear Parents
By on August 4, 2013
The great Joyce Valenza over at NeverEnding Search has already shared this, but if anything deserves to go school librarian viral, it’s Doug Johnson’s take on the library back-to-school letter.
The emerging scribe
By on August 2, 2013
A new age of scribe is emerging, notes Joyce Valenza, who, in her latest blog post, considers the craft of sketchnoting and its role in enhancing the conference – and classroom – experience.
Is ‘Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox’ the Darkest Superhero Film Ever?
By on July 30, 2013
Can creators in essence separate the “super” from the “hero” and still be said to be working with the same character?
CC’s Seventh Shift | On Common Core
By on July 29, 2013 Leave a Comment
The very language of the Common Core State Standards calls for librarians’ key skills: research; equipping students to access, evaluate, and synthesize information; and strengthening literacy. Paige Jaeger, a coordinator of school library services in Saratoga Springs, NY argues that librarians can build a strong case for a seventh shift in the CCSS: research.
Book Camp | Consider the Source
By on July 23, 2013 Leave a Comment
Some summer camps offer what schools straining under reduced budgets and months of test prep can’t—and they aren’t just for the wealthy. Turn your library into a clearing house of information for kids and their parents about the range of programs available to them.
Give ’Em Chalk: Hands-On Learning Is Fun and Builds Literacy Skills | Editorial
By on July 22, 2013 Leave a Comment
The most exciting time for a kindergarten teacher is when a kid looks up and says, ‘Hey, I can read!’” Fostering early literacy is the focus of our very first theme issue. We’re also debuting a new look, with some significant improvements to the all-important reviews section.
