We had "Career Day" at school last week in honor of Labor Day. I went as a librarian. I even got to get a picture with one of the aspiring librarians at school, which was a treat for me.
Sometimes I think about going back to school to get some training specifically for this calling in my life. I don't have formal library training and I have only had a handful of education courses. For a couple years now I have had my eye on a master's program in Children's Literature. It just sounds so cool! Children's literature is my passion.
But something else happened last week besides Career Day. I got to watch two of our youngest students work on their first reading assessment of the year. Something just wasn't working when they did it with the whole class, and the teachers didn't have the freedom to sit and watch these two kids test for 20 or 30 minutes. So they came to the library and tested with me. It was fascinating! I loved watching the kids work on each question, listening to them sound things out. The assessment is set up so when the student chooses an answer, it gets highlighted on the screen. One little guy thought that highlighting meant he got it right, so every time it lit up, he said "yes!" and punched his fist. Darling!
It made me wonder what it's like to work closely with students on their reading. It made me wonder what skills I could help with in the library that would support what students and teachers and parents are doing already. Maybe certification in reading would be a better way to take my training rather than Children's Literature.
I'm not in any position to go back to school right now, but while I am waiting for the right time, there's lots to think about.
Showing posts with label librarians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label librarians. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Jealous Much?
This year I treated myself to a subscription to Publisher's Weekly, a weekly magazine about the publishing industry. It has articles about publishing trends, publishers, new books being released, technology and books, etc. as well as book reviews.
A recent issue highlighted some forthcoming young adult books that were getting a lot of buzz. Since the magazine is focused on the industry, the article said nothing about the plot of the books (annoying to someone like me who is reading the magazine mostly for ideas about new books my students might like) and focused instead on how the story came to be published in the first place - the author's background, how the story found it's way to a publisher, etc.
As I was reading the article, I started to feel jealous. Imagine the thrill of reading through a slush pile and finding a gem! I imagine it's like being a librarian and reading a truly well-crafted story that you just know your students are going to love. Except, in this case it's on a much larger scale - finding a story you know the world is going to love.
I started wondering, "How do you get a job like that? How do you get to be on the front line of discovering new talent or a perfect tale and bringing a book to life in that way?" What a dream career that would be....
But then I thought of times I have completely fallen in love with a book [The False Prince, The Candymakers] and then introduced that book to a student who has also fallen in love with it. Would I rather be on the front end - the first person in the industry to discover a story? Or would I rather be part of leading students to the story once it's published, getting to interact directly with readers about a brilliant character or plot, watching kids "get" what I got when I first read it?
I think the answer, for me, is obvious.
A recent issue highlighted some forthcoming young adult books that were getting a lot of buzz. Since the magazine is focused on the industry, the article said nothing about the plot of the books (annoying to someone like me who is reading the magazine mostly for ideas about new books my students might like) and focused instead on how the story came to be published in the first place - the author's background, how the story found it's way to a publisher, etc.
As I was reading the article, I started to feel jealous. Imagine the thrill of reading through a slush pile and finding a gem! I imagine it's like being a librarian and reading a truly well-crafted story that you just know your students are going to love. Except, in this case it's on a much larger scale - finding a story you know the world is going to love.
I started wondering, "How do you get a job like that? How do you get to be on the front line of discovering new talent or a perfect tale and bringing a book to life in that way?" What a dream career that would be....
But then I thought of times I have completely fallen in love with a book [The False Prince, The Candymakers] and then introduced that book to a student who has also fallen in love with it. Would I rather be on the front end - the first person in the industry to discover a story? Or would I rather be part of leading students to the story once it's published, getting to interact directly with readers about a brilliant character or plot, watching kids "get" what I got when I first read it?
I think the answer, for me, is obvious.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
What did you want to be when you grew up?
Another writing prompt today - What did you want to be as a child? How does that fit with the person you are today?
I have been thinking about this a lot lately.
I always thought I would be a teacher. I hit a snag in those plans in college, and went a different direction. Here I am, though, almost 20 years later, and I am teaching. So, I feel like, in a way, I came back full circle, although not in any way I ever considered as a kid.
I wonder why it never occurred to me as a child to be a librarian. I have always been a book freak yet "librarian" was never a primary plan for me. I do wonder if my university had a library program when I knew I wouldn't be a music teacher if I would have put 2 and 2 together and tried a library career.
During the book festival I attended recently, I was reminded that I said I wanted to be an illustrator for awhile when I was a kid - maybe even an author, too. I wonder, though, if I really wanted that sort of job or if I just liked using the word "illustrator" in conversation.
What did you want to be? How did those aspirations work out for you?
I have been thinking about this a lot lately.
I always thought I would be a teacher. I hit a snag in those plans in college, and went a different direction. Here I am, though, almost 20 years later, and I am teaching. So, I feel like, in a way, I came back full circle, although not in any way I ever considered as a kid.
I wonder why it never occurred to me as a child to be a librarian. I have always been a book freak yet "librarian" was never a primary plan for me. I do wonder if my university had a library program when I knew I wouldn't be a music teacher if I would have put 2 and 2 together and tried a library career.
During the book festival I attended recently, I was reminded that I said I wanted to be an illustrator for awhile when I was a kid - maybe even an author, too. I wonder, though, if I really wanted that sort of job or if I just liked using the word "illustrator" in conversation.
What did you want to be? How did those aspirations work out for you?
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