The Brain That Doesn’t Sleep

The trait that makes me an ideal teacher-librarian is also my one of my worst. My brain won’t ever turn off. I am always information seeking for a better understanding, a new way, and revelations I never realized were available to me. I love to share this knowledge with others, even during my colleagues’ well-deserved holidays. While some enjoy some time without a single thought of work, there I am sending them emails, texts or DM’s, excitedly sharing a perfect connection to one of their units. For the most part, I have learned to set professional boundaries between my personal learning and others’ rest periods. I have also found that continually improving my IT skills is one way to fulfill my desire to immediately implement my learning without disturbing others.

I was recently at a Google Educator Workshop and it taught me a lot about the way I learn and how technology education should be. Working in a technology-rich learning environment, I have experienced first hand how simultaneously empowering and crippling technology can be when students are not equipped with adequate knowledge and executive functioning skills. I started off in the Level One workshop because I was nervous about being overwhelmed by technology. It became apparent quite quickly that I was bored because I stopped completing the step-by-step tasks the instructor was giving and doing other work on my computer instead. When the opportunity presented itself to “level up,” I was forced into paying more attention, felt more excited about learning, and also had the autonomy to play around with certain G+ suite features I found useful when others were learning tips for G+ suite features I would never use.

This was a good reminder for me that this is a pretty common way for digital natives to learn. Students want time to play with features because many of them can approach new technology without that inhibiting fear of losing their work or messing up the computer that people from different generations have. Outside of technology, they need to be introduced to new ideas that challenge them and get them thinking long after a lesson. I suppose this is my long-winded way of saying that all the informal and formal learning that I do, I take immediately back into my teaching practice. I love learning and I want to share that love of learning with the students in hopes of inspiring them to pursue their love of learning as well. Additionally, I do feel the need to make myself useful in the eyes of my colleagues. Although there is a high level of collaboration as a T-L, being a librarian can be an isolated role.

Conferences and Workshops

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I have completed a BA, B.Ed, M.Ed at UBC and am currently working on completing my T-L certificate. In addition to taking courses at UBC, I attend about 3-5 professional development conferences per year. I regularly attend the annual BCTLA Conference and often take workshops related to digital citizenship, innovative uses of technology in the library (such as Virtual Fieldtrips), and diversity in media and literature.

As part of my role in the school, I also attend IB Conferences for both PYP and MYP, the ERAC IT4K12 Conference, and workshops led by Future Design School. The school is also supportive of me pursuing my interest and developing expertise in child attachment theory and Indigenous education, and I have attended the FNESC Conference and Neufeld Institute conferences on several occasions.

The school supports the idea that every teacher is a language teacher and has brought in Adrienne Gear to do workshops with Fiction and Non-Fiction Reading and Writing Power, and primary teachers and specialists have completed their OG certification.

Social Media

I have a specially curated Facebook, Instagram and – to a certain degree – Twitter account where I follow people for book reviews, best teaching practices, tips on child development. I am also passionate about following media channels such as Yes! Magazine that challenge privilege, bias, and advocate for social justice.

I am always hesitant to engage in discourse with strangers online. This has simply not been my mode of engaging in social media. I will engage with friends on our personal accounts about political and educational issues; I may occasionally post comments of support and enthusiasm on public accounts, but I am not comfortable “putting myself out there” and stating an opinion that I know will be attacked, even when I am certain I am correct. Therefore, these reservations have caused me to never develop digital relationships with like-minded educators. This is certainly an area for growth for me, and I get the sense that Twitter might be the best platform for this because there isn’t as much emphasis on visual content. I’ve noticed that the accounts I am interested in following on Twitter also differ from the accounts I follow on Instagram and Facebook. I tend to learn through imitation and I hope through following and connecting with the right balance of accounts in Twitter, I can refine my usage of that platform to develop more professional networks with book sellers, educational and technology thinkers, and credible news channels. I think learning to engage with others online is a skill that I can both model and learn alongside my students to practice the advice shared by Will Richardson (2012) to talk to strangers, since “the reality is that the kids in our schools will interact and learn with strangers online on a regular basis throughout their lives.”

Professional Networks

As part of the ISABC, there is a teacher librarian network which collaborates and meets twice per year. We discuss various topics related to libraries and share resources. I wouldn’t say that I am actively involved beyond attending the meetings. However, I did challenge myself to lead a workshop at our annual ISABC Conference in 2017 on Indigenous Ways of Knowing. Although I feel confident sharing my knowledge with my colleagues, it was definitely out of my comfort zone to address an audience of strangers. I would definitely consider another opportunity like this, but the topic and climate need to be right. Again, it would only come from a need to share information that I feel very knowledgeable about that I feel needs to be clarified for a greater audience. My current topics of passion are: the problems with our current economy and its ecological impact, curbing consumerism, and nurturing a connection with nature.

We have a professional reading book club at work, which I participated in until recently. We have read a variety of books including Alfie Kohn’s Punished by Rewards, Tony Wagner’s Global Achievement Gap, and Elena Aguilar’s Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators. The area where I am most lacking for my personal learning is networking. Admittedly, in my professional realm, I like to stick with those who I have been able to rely on and I do not expand that circle rapidly. I have never been a networker, collecting professional acquaintances like a young adult collects stamps in a passport. I have a circle of experienced teachers and T-L’s as mentors, a connection with a literature professor and someone in the book trade, and younger T-L’s to grow with. I find it difficult to carve out time and energy to expand beyond this.

Outside of education, I try to stay involved in the literary community. This past year, I was a judge for the Christie Harris Illustrated Literature BC Book Prize. It was a tremendous opportunity to read a variety of works, and it was a thrill to attend the gala with so many literary icons from our province in attendance. I love to attend events through the Vancouver Children’s Literature Roundtable and author talks organized by Kidsbooks. Through my children, I am a regularly user of the Vancouver Public Libraries and am always inspired by the various events and offerings they have, including The Human Library, The Indigenous Storyteller in Residence, and their historical photos collection.

I also think a large piece of expanding my professional learning is to start investing energy into topics that I am not as interested in. As a lifelong learner with a deep appreciation for different ways of knowing, I am interested in a lot of people, places, and stories, but there are certainly gaps and areas where I have a difficult time expanding my knowledge. One simple example is my lack of interest in the fantasy genre. Although I read A LOT of children’s literature, inclusive of picture books, graphic novels, middle grades and YA, I do gravitate towards realistic and historical fiction. I rely on students to share their current fantasy favourites when making recommendations to other students. I have never finished a single Harry Potter novel. To me, this is a large bias which I have never confronted. The more I can learn about things that I am not intrinsically motivated to learn, the more I can empathize with my students who are often in a similar situation. And empathy can only make someone a better person and teacher.

Works Cited:

Richardson, W. (2012). Why School?: How Education Must Change When Learning and Information Are Everywhere. TED Conferences Publishing. [EBOOK]