News and Issues for K-12 education from School Library Journal
‘Click, Clack, Moo’ in the White House Library? By Debra Lau Whelan - 11/10/2008
Chances are you won’t see Click, Clack, Moo (S & S, 2000), TheTale of Despereaux (Candlewick, 2003), and Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Abrams, 2007) in the White House library. But if students at Milton Terrace South Elementary School in upstate New York have their way, these and other children's books will be on the library's shelves by the time President-elect Barack Obama and his family move in. More
Out-of-Field Teaching Highest with Poor, Minority Students, Report Says By SLJ Staff - 12/01/2008
Low-income and minority students attending secondary schools are about twice as likely to be enrolled in core academic classes that are taught by teachers who aren’t certified in the subjects they’re teaching, says a new report by the Education Trust, a nonprofit organization that promotes higher education.
More
Wanted, Male Models: There's a good reason why boys don't read By Gail Giles - 12/01/2008
If you think this is one of those scholarly articles packed with facts and percentiles and references to government studies, stop reading. This piece is full of anecdotes and opinions. And it comes from a lifetime of teaching and writing for the “I won’t read” student, who, the majority of the time, ends up being a boy.
More
We’ve Got the Technology: But our today's schools ready for a radical transformation? By Marc Aronson - 12/01/2008
“We are 20th-century teachers using 19th-century methods to reach 21st-century students.” That’s what I heard a bright, committed teacher tell her fellow educators at a recent educational technology conference. That terse, powerful statement reflects what many people, including myself, have often voiced or thought.
More
No Blind Child Left Behind By SLJ Staff - 11/17/2008
While librarians love to promote literacy, there’s one kind we don’t hear much about: Braille literacy. That’s why the National Federation of the Blind has recently named former NFL quarterback and Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw and blind professor, evolutionary biologist, and paleontologist Geerat Vermeij as National Ambassadors for Braille Literacy.More
Got a Question for Obama? By Debra Lau Whelan - 11/05/2008
If your students had one burning question to ask President-elect Barack Obama, what would it be?
More
Obama and Libraries By Debra Lau Whelan - 11/04/2008 It may be too soon to know how high libraries will fare on President-elect Barack Obama’s agenda, but it’s safe to say that the profession has a special place in the heart of the next president of the United States.More
Practically Paradise Diane Chen, Librarian, Hickman Elementary School, Nashville, Tennessee March 6, 2007 The Perfect School Library
Welcome to the first posting of this new blog for SLJ. I appreciate the simplicity of... More
PreS-K–A five-year-old (rabbit) awakes one morning to discover that there will be no school, no daddy flying home today, and no going outside–until the snow stops.
Your Photos
The staff of Salinas Public Library (CA), aka The John Steinbeck Public Library, pose with Lewis Buzbee, author of Steinbeck's Ghost, a middle-grade novel that centers around the threat of the library's closing in 2004. After a difficult struggle, the library remains open and has just extended its hours to seven days a week.
View All Stories
