Opinion

Learning history is learning about the rise and fall of empires. And what type of stories are our students pursuing in their leisure reading? Could it be the rise and fall of empires? This author has some theories.

When we tell the story of our library, do patrons feel that it represents them? Every time we discuss a successful program, we are reinforcing our library's importance to administrators, students, and teachers. Here are some effective strategies from Michael Margolis, CEO of Get Storied, an organization devoted to transformational storytelling.

In SLJ's recent “Common Core and the Public Librarian” one-hour live webcast, Olga Nesi, regional coordinator for the New York City Department of Education, Division of Library Services, and Nina Lindsay, the children’s services coordinator for Oakland (CA) Public Library, discussed the national initiative and, in particular, what it means for public librarians.

Using Pinterest, online students at Rutgers have been curating boards for students on civil rights and robotics with the Common Core State Standards in mind. Take a peek at their efforts.

Christopher Harris believes that board gaming is a strong contender to become the “Next Big Thing” in schools. Yet no sector of education has laid claim to it. Could libraries be the place where gaming flourishes?

While studying, implementing, and assessing the Common Core standards, let's not lose sight of the importance of passion, commitment, and creativity. The students at J.H.S. 52 in Manhattan and their teacher, Dr. Salvador Fernandez, haven’t. Fernandez shares his vision for how everyone in a school can work to meet the challenge of the Common Core.

The new Next Generation Science Standards, released last April, are performance standards, created to demonstrate not merely what students will know, but what students will know how to do. They have been written with direct connections to the Common Core. Here is a sample lesson working within both sets of standards.

Blockbuster author James Patterson treasures school libraries—and challenges you to help preserve them.

This month marks the retirement of Trevelyn Jones, as she steps down from her role as head of SLJ’s Book Review. We will miss Trev’s direct leadership and her steady presence, but we are comforted to know she’s available for us to lean on in an editor-at-large capacity as we transition to a new era. Her life's work and contribution to the world of children's literature has made the world a better place.