Library Ties

We’re working on a lot of fun things this year at my school.  I’m most excited about our professional development plan.  Our staff book study is Will Richardson’s Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms.  We’re not necessarily going in order, but using it as the outline for our professional development his year.

We decided to start out with podcasts.  I spent a week training teachers.  Each created a short recording about their favorite children’s books.  Hopefully we’ll get them posted soon.  I loved how we decided to do the trainings this week.  Rather than a large group, I went to each of their Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) meetings this week.  We worked in a small group and could focus on their grade level.  It was perfect.  Now we’re working on integrating a project with podcasts into their curriculum.  The plan is to have a staff meeting at the end of October where everyone will share what they’ve done with their students.

We’ll repeat this model a couple of times the rest of the year as we explore these tools and how we can best use them with our students.  Should make for a busy and exciting year!

Tags:   podcasting · Professional DevelopmentComments Off

My grandma, Edith Aileen Groseclose Harvey, was born September 27, 1926 at 819 Chase Street, Indianapolis, Indiana.  She was the 7^th child of Walter J. and Grace Lucille (White) Groseclose.   She was named for two of the ladies that lived in their neighborhood.  She always went by Aileen.  One year she started school and the teacher called her Edith.  Her mother insisted she go back and tell the teacher she was to be called Aileen.

As a young child – maybe 2 – the family borrowed a car to visit some relatives.  Along the bumpy road at some point Grandma went flying out the car.  She was hitting in the lap of one of her brothers who obviously did hold on to her quite tight enough.  It took a few minutes to get stopped and by the time the family had turned the car around she was standing up walking down the road as if nothing had happen.  She would say it was a sure sign that she had a hard head!

Growing up on the westside of Indianapolis, Grandma spent summers of her youth swimming at the pool at Rhodius Park.  She attended West Morris Street Christian Church where she accepted Christ.   The house where she grew up on Chase Street was crowded with her parents and siblings.  She talked about if you finished dinner first you had to go out the back of the house to get back to the front.

Her father insisted that all of his children would have high school diplomas.  Grandma graduated from George Washington High School in 1944.   In August 1948, Gaynell Case introduced her to Grandpa, Ralph C. Harvey.  Six weeks later to the day they met on September 24, 1948 they were married in the West Morris Street Christian Church.

They lived in a few places on the westside before building their first house on E. 33^rd Street.  They lived there for many raising their sons Carl and Mark.

Grandma worked for RCA until she got married.  She stayed home with her children for a while, but returned to work in 1966 as a U.S. Postal Clerk in 1966.   She retired in 1973 following an accident where she was hit by a car that crushed her hip.  While in the hospital, Grandpa and her sons moved her and the family to their new home on Jackson Street back on the Westside of Indianapolis.

Grandma enjoyed sewing and crocheting.  She sewed many dolls and clothes.  When she made a new dress she would often make a matching tie for Ralph to wear.  Even as her eyesight began to fail, she continued to crochet making many blankets to give to her grandchildren.

After Grandma’s eyesight was completely gone, she became a voracious listener of audiobooks.  She listened to stories of all kinds borrowing many of them from the Speedway Public Library and the Indiana State Library.

In the mid-1980s she and Grandpa moved to Brewer Drive.  They spent many years at that house together taking care of each other as they got older.  Grandpa and Grandma enjoyed the frequent visits and phone calls from their grandchildren.

Often Grandma loved to look through her old pictures.  Even though she couldn’t see them, she loved the memories they brought back for her.  Someone would start describing a picture to her and she would stop them and say, “Oh yeah, I had on such and such a dress.  It had this pattern in it.”  or  ”There were four of us in that picture and I’m the 2nd from the right.”  She had an amazing memory for details of events that had happen many years ago and even not being able to see the picture in her hand, still had a perfect image of it in her mind.  Grandpa and Grandma lived on Brewer until 2008 when they moved to Cicero to live with their son Carl.

Grandma died Thursday, August 27, 2009 at home in Cicero just one month shy of her 83^rd birthday.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Ralph C. Harvey, four brothers Elvin Richard, Roy Merle, Eugene Howard, and Milburn Walter Groseclose; two sisters, Doris Lucille Groseclose and Vivian Groseclose Henson.

She is survived by her sons, Carl (Brenda) and Mark Harvey; grandchildren, Carl II, Lara (Roger) Najdek, Mary, Craig (Elizabeth), Monica, and Matthew Harvey; step-grandchildren, Derek and Shannon Finley; and great-grandchildren, Matthew Najdek and Hannah Harvey; and one brother, Wilbur Groseclose.

She was buried at the Bluff Creek Cemetery next to her husband Ralph and near her parents, grandparents, and many of her siblings.

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Our school for the last several years has adopted the C.L.A.S.S. Model for our instructional model.  One of the tools C.L.A.S.S. shared with us is the idea of a hallway greeting.  You’ll find things like this outside every learning space in our building.  The idea is to provide a variety of opportunities for students to read text no matter where they are in the building.

My hallway greeting this week comes from a poster I got at ALA this summer.  I grabbed it the minute I saw it because it went with a book by author Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrator Tom Lichtenheld.  Separately they have done some amazing books, but together they do some unbelievable work.  There latest book, Duck! Rabbit! is perfect for using with students and teachers.  It is all about perspective and how everyone may look at the same thing and see something completely different.  Being able to step back and see something from another perspective can be an invaluable skill to learn when working with people.  Sometimes we get so focused on how we see things that we don’t take a minute to consider there might be another way to look at it.

There are lots of ways to use this book, but two ideas that quickly came to my mind:

Consider sharing this book with teachers at a staff meeting before discussing a heated topic.  Starting the conversation by thinking about looking at the issue from all perspectives could lead to solution that works for all.

Consider sharing this with students when you need to help them resolve a conflict.  Letting students see there are different ways to look at the issue may help them start to understand how each other are feeling.

Rosenthal and Lichtenheld’s book is certainly one I’m glad to add to my collection.  It will be right there next to The OK Book which I loved as well.  I can’t wait to see what new books we’ll see from them next.

Tags:   amy_rosenthal · C.L.A.S.S. · tom_lichtenheldComments Off

This past week was the first week of school.  We had one day of teacher meetings followed by four full days with our students!  Just like the kids, most of the teachers sleep very little that first night of school.  We’re just as excited and curious about what the new years will bring.

This year is especially exciting for me as we’re really going to push the limits with technology and Web 2.0 tools at my school.  I think it is going to be a great learning experience for both me and my teachers as we learn together about how we can utilize these tools to help our students learn.  I’m sure there will be some bumps and bruises along the way, but when we look back over the year in May we’ll be able to clearly see the gains we made!  The best part is we have a very supportive administration who sees this is the direction we need to go and that the library media program is a central part in helping us get there.

One of the things I love best about working in the library media center is that in 12 years, every day is different.  There are always new adventures, new fires to put out, new projects to start, and new people to work with.  Working with students in grades K-4 also brings it own dose of variety as each grade level of students has their own unique characteristics.  I think the variety is what makes this job appeal to me so much.

Attitude is a key factor I think in the success we have.  I think starting of positive and not dwelling in the negative is important.  We have to believe that we are going to have a great year and that is the first step in having a great year!

So, this school year is off to a tremendously wonderful start and I think it is only going to get better from here!

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Sometimes I wonder how time moves so quickly?  It seems like it was just yesterday that it was the end of May and we were out for the summer.  But, yet, here we are two weeks from the start of another school year.  Amazing!  My summer “to do” list has barely been touched and grows daily as my brain begins to think of all the back to school stuff that needs to get ready.

But even as I am running out of free time this summer, I am beginning to feel that excitement about the upcoming year.  What new advetures lie ahead?  How can we make our library media program even better for the students and staff?  What new projects will we put together?  How will new staff members change dynamics in various grade levels?  What new resources will we need and want?

The possibilities are endless…..

Two weeks from now when the doors open for students and staff, I’m sure my mind will wander to that “to do” list and all the little things that haven’t been done, but I also hope to take some time to think about the possibilities that lie ahead in the months to come.  Few professions get this chance to “start over” every year and make it even better than the year before!

Tags:   possibiliites · start of schoolComments Off

Last week was one of my favorite of the entire year — the annual C.L.A.S.S. Summer Institute.  This summer workshop is a 4 day intensive training in the C.L.A.S.S. model.  The strands this year focused on Behavior, Literacy, Science, and Creative Teaching.  Interwoven into each strand is the C.L.A.S.S. process for designing instruction, designing and building year long plans, and integrating everything together to create meaningful learning experience for students.  Throughout the school year, we’ve been thrilled to have a C.L.A.S.S. coach come and visit our building to work with teachers, but the 4 day summer training is a chance to really dive in and gain a better understanding of how it all works together.  C.L.A.S.S. began 20 years ago in Indiana and has spread across the nation.

I’ve had the privilege the last few years to not only attend the workshop, but be part of the amazing staff that puts this workshop on each summer.   This year I worked mostly in the Creative Strand teaching about the 21st Century Learner, Blogs, and Wikis.  I also hopped into a couple of the other strands talking about Literacy and Research projects.  It was so much fun.  An added plus is I get to show the potential the library media program can have in schools.  Sometimes it can be a little bit of a downer when folks come up and say, “my librarian would never do anything like that”, but we’ve planted a seed of what might be possible.  The teacher may just be the one to go back and help spark a collaborative experience with the library media specialist using some of these creative tools.

This week also brought in two amazing guest speakers with Martha Kaufeldt and Jean Blaydes Madigan.  While I was only able to catch part of Martha’s presentations, she shared great ideas for how to structure the classroom, creating procedures for students, and how that all relates to the brain and how we learn.  Jean spent the entire day focusing on how movement and exercise impacts the brain.  It was truly amazing!

Even with my time mostly devoted to leading sessions, I always come away learning something new and exciting.  Here was just some of the things that come to mind.

• Attitude is key!  The whole week of C.L.A.S.S. is such a positive experience.  You can’t leave thinking that anything is possible.  I know I leave every year with a positive outlook and helps to get the year started off right for me.
• Jean Blaydes Madigan’s day is still kind of milling in my mind on how I might be able to add movement to the library experience.  For example, couple I come up with a movement to help the kids remember the Big6?  I think that might have real possiblities.
• One of C.L.A.S.S.’s motto is “As Good As We Are, We Can Always Get Better!”  Each session I was leading, I came away with ideas of how I would do it differently or better next time around.
• Just popping into other rooms, I saw books I wanted for the library (and me) and picked up ideas on how teachers were using them with kids.
• Conversations are so important.  Just the chance to interact with other educators can be so rewarding.  Having been a part of it the last several years, I’ve become friends with many of the staff and some attendees, so I love the chance just to chat and catch-up with them.

Walking away I always marvel how I got involved with such an amazing learning experience.   My story with C.L.A.S.S. spans my entire teaching career.  My first school was one of the very first C.L.A.S.S. schools.  I can remember Barbara Pedersen, the founder of C.L.A.S.S., coming to our school that first year I was teaching for a professional develoment day.  It was my first introduction to C.L.A.S.S.  Fast forward a year or so and I was able to go to Summer Institute for the first time.  That first summer I remember learning a lot and some of the pieces started to fit.  But, things changed.  I left that school for a new opportunity.   My new school had worked with C.L.A.S.S. years before, but wasn’t currently invovled.  So, while I was certainly able to use what I had learned, the chance to build on that knowledge wasn’t there….yet!   Fast forward a few more years and a new administrator brought C.L.A.S.S. back into my professional world.  It didn’t take long to link the connections of the library media program to C.L.A.S.S. and before I knew it I was working with the C.L.A.S.S. folks on some projects.  I think that wasn’t an accident that C.L.A.S.S. came back into my life.  It is now a critical part of who I am as an educator!

So, last week was amazing!  In a few days I head off to ALA for another amazing week with my librarian colleagues and I can’t wait!  The summer is going fast, but having a great time, too!

Tags:   Barbara Pedersen · C.L.A.S.S. · Jean Blaydes Madigan · Martha KaufeldtComments Off

This week I went to see the musical Wicked as the tour came through Indianapolis.  I’d seen it before, but it was a treat to get to see it again.  It is kind of fun to imagine the history of Glinda the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch of the West before the meet young Dorothy.

One of the songs in the musical in particular makes a strong connection for me.  “For Good” is near the end of the musical and the lyrics really have a message that stretch far beyond the storyline:

I’ve heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return

I wholeheartedly believe this to be true.  Sometimes I might not be as aware of it as I should, but truly the connections we make with others is what helps us be a better person whether it be professionally or personally.  I could rattle off pages of folks who have helped me be a better library media specialist, a better educator, and just a better person.

Comments on LM_Net this week have made me think of this song in terms of the professional connections.  Someone posted advising that people skip attending state library media conferences and focusing more on the national and international conferences.  They suggested that the state conferences are often the same old same old thing.  I’ll admit up front that I’ve planned three state conferences and many statewide workshops – so I might be slightly biased.  But, I see great value in the local state library media conferences.

Networking to me is the most important part of a state conference.  That feeling of being alone in our libraries can quickly evaporate when we meet others the next district or county over from us.  Lifelong colleagues and friends develop from these meetings, and I can’t tell you the times I’ve dropped and email or picked up the phone to ask a question when I needed a quick answer.  Sure, you can get this same opportunity from attending national conferences, but sometimes you need someone who knows the ins and outs of your own state.  Keeping in mind, too, that when looking for a new position or when positions are in jeopardy, having a network of colleagues and friends can be an important place to rely on for help and support.

Another thing is to take the time to learn who the local representatives of various vendors are in the state.  I don’t see a lot of salesman reps mostly because I just don’t have time, but I want to know who they are.  If I do need help or do need to order, I can go straight to the local source.  It sometimes can be very helpful with orders to have a local sales rep who can help iron out any problems.  I also tend to only support vendors who do exhibit at our state conferences.  It is a sign to me that they support our professional organization by coming to the conference.

I still get ideas from conference sessions at the state conference.  Often being away for a few days gets my brain moving and thinking and while I’m listening on a session I am listening, but also thinking.  I’m thinking how their ideas might work at my school.  I’m thinking how I could take a piece of what they are doing and maybe alter it or improve it to make it work in my building.  I always come back from conferences with long laundry lists of things to do because I’m excited about the potential.  It may have just been a 5 minute spark from a session that sends me off to think of something new and exciting.

Lastly but not least the last line of the “For Good” lyric quoted above is very important.

And we help them in return

Having planned countless state conferences, it can often be difficult to get folks to turn in forms to present the great things happening in their libraries.  I know in our own state there are lots of library media specialists doing fantastic things, but they often thing it isn’t that cool or no one would want to hear about it or they are too shy to talk in front of a group of their colleagues.  Time to get past that and “help our colleagues in return”.  This helps make the state conference even better when we have a wide variety of sessions and topics.

Finally for those of us that do get to the national conferences, the state conference is a great place for us to go back and share as well.  In our conversations and sessions, we can help bring back the dialogue from the national level and begin to think about it in terms of how that looks or sounds in our state.

I’m an admitted conference groupie, but I think it is because I get different things from each conference all of which are important in helping to move forward and become an even better library media specialist for my students and staff.

Tags:   conferences · LM_Net · Wicked1 Comment

Much like the race car at the Indy 500, we’re on the final laps to this school year.  We have just 4 laps (days) of school left.  Friday will be the start of summer.  When the checkered flag comes down on Friday, we’ll start to soak in the time off from school.  I know I have a stacked of books that I hope to read this summer…nothing related to school at all!   Spending time with the family will also be high on the to do list, too.

I’ll also take some time for tire testing (training).  I’ll work for C.L.A.S.S. and their summer institute, attend AIME’s Survivor workshop with David Warlick, attend ALA, and probably will have a few books, blogs, and such that I’ll read in the months ahead, too.

But, just as the race car drivers begin thinking about the next race as soon as the last one ends, my mind, too, has already begun to start thinking about the next school year.  Ideas, projects, and thoughts will percolate in my head.  I may not start doing anything about them til August, but I know they will stew in my brain ready to be unleashed for the start of the next school year.  It is always exciting to get a fresh start each year and to think about what new adventures will lie ahead.

One wise teacher friend of mine has always said that when spring time hits, if she isn’t already thinking about the next school year and excited about the possibilities and opportunities, then it is time to retire.  I think she is right on the money!  The knowledge to do the job is important, the passion and excitement are what make it fun each day to go to work!

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Just this week in my mailbox arrived my copy of Empowering Learnings: Guidelies for School Library Media Programs.  The much anticipated work is a companion piece to the AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner and the Standards for the 21st Century Learner in Action.  While the previous documents focus on what our students should be doing, the guidelines outline for library media specialist the program we should be putting in place to help students reach those standards.  I’ve just finished my first read through of the document.  I’ll have to say it is very much on target with my own personal thoughts about school library media programs.

I’m especially pleased to see our role as a leader highlighted in the new guidelines.  The last chapter, “Empowering Learning through Leadership” is short, but is so key.  School library media specialists must be seen as leaders in their schools and districts.  This perception is a critical piece to the success of a library media program.  As leaders we help set the direction and goals and in turn paint the picture of how libraries help schools reach those goals.

The other two main areas of the new guidelines are “Teaching for Learning” and “Building the Environment”.  The titles of these chapters succiently summarize the guidelines presented under them.  How do we make the library media program part of teaching and instruction and what kind of enviroment do our student (and staff) need for that learning to be successful.

I need more time to digest what I’ve read.  I need to reread it again.  But, my first reaction is these guidelines will serve us well.  I started my first job in 1998 when Information Power 2 was released.  Here we are 11 years later with a new document.  I think it takes the best of what we know and builds on its predecessors.  These new guidelines paint a picture of possibilities.  Now the real work begins…turning those paintings into realities.

Tags:   AASL · empoweringlearners · librarymediaprogramsComments Off

I arrived home today to find a box of books that I had ordered a while back.  I’ve long been a fan of Peter Reynold’s books, and since North Elementary’s mascot is the Star, I had to order his latest book The North Star.   As soon as the box was opened, I immediately started reading it.  I was certainly not disappointed with this title.  Reynolds has written a wonderful book about going on life’s journey and the clues that help guide us down our path.  I’m so glad I thought ahead and ordered a couple of copies as I can’t wait use it as gifts for some colleagues.  This will be one we’ll need some multiple copies at school, too.  I love books that have lots of meaning on different levels for readers of all ages, and Reynold’s newest book is a gem.  Next time you are at the bookstore or at the library, make sure to take a few minutes to enjoy this new book.  It will be well worth your time.

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