Little Changes, Big Differences

Before

One of our first projects was to try to change the atmosphere of the library, making it more inviting and a student friendly space.  To make this happen, a student took over a project that really revived one of the sections. 

After!

This corner housed magazines, some old history books, and an assortment of reference materials. With a little rearranging, adjusting the shelves, and working on the presentation of the area, the space went from cluttered to open and inviting. 

Ryley did a great job of taking the shelves apart, fixing the ones that needed repairs, and staggering the slanted and horizontal shelving to allow both current and back issues of magazines to be displayed.  It took a few days and some sweat equity, but those few small changes really brightened up the library and made that section not only more useful but also accessible and inviting. 

A Cure for Isolation in Teaching

As a school district including 4 schools and their individual libraries and teachers, one complexity is how to be of service to as many teachers, staff, and students as possible. Collaboration is essential in education both as means of working together and sharing ideas and as a way to establish connections.  

Teaching can be isolating. One natural remedy of that isolation is collaboration.  

In the hopes of being a useful resource to teachers in all four of the schools, I am going to begin being present in the other buildings on a weekly basis.  This will let me become acquainted with the students and staff in the buildings. However, it will also allow me to be an asset to those staff who need help. 

I am hoping to be able to bring new ideas (New apps! Neat programs! Cool tech!) but also support for existing technologies and program (Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Sites). It is my hope that this will allow me to be useful to the most people --students, teachers, staff--in the places where they need help the most.  

It Takes a Village

I hardly have the words to explain how happy I am.  

I started the DonorsChoose grant to get some graphic novels for the high school library. It was a massive project, over $1300. And it was funded in less than a week. How can this be?  

Because it takes a village.
And people really do care about students and books and reading. 

I posted the link on Facebook. That's it.  I don't have a lot of Facebook connections, but the ones I do have shared the link. And people donated. People I don't even know shared. People I have never met donated.  And a matching grant doubled the money. 

In fewer than 7 days the grant was met, and there is a large stack of books on a table in the high school library just waiting to be cataloged. Kids have asked about them.  I am so eager to get them into the hands of the students. 

And it is all made possible because people care about students.  And people care about books. Kids are important. Books are important. Literacy is important.  And it is a shared love, a shared duty. What a privilege to be the person who get to share that day in and day out with the students.  

Graphic Novels = Active Readers

This is the age of the graphic novel! 

Similar to comic books, graphic novels are simply highly illustrated books. They can be fiction or non fiction. They can be biography, memoir, history, science fiction, fantasy, romance, or any combination.

In fact, recently a PhD student illustrated her thesis in graphic novel style.

But they are so much more than just illustrated books, especially in a high school library.

Graphic Novels Improve Literacy

• Research has shown that graphic novels used in a Tier 2 RTI program increased word recognition, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Additionally, they provided a scaffold for developing literacy skills. [1]
• The National Council of Teachers of English has supported the use of graphic novels in the classroom; according to Shelley Hong Xu, associate professor at California State University, Long Beach, such texts can assist students with developing complex reading skills. [2]
• Graphic novels can be an important part of the high school English classroom and an important tool in making complex classic texts accessible to struggling readers.

Graphic Novels are Very Popular with Students

The simple fact is that students read graphic novels.
According to Get Graphic, reading graphic novels:

• Engages reluctant readers & ESL patrons.
• Increases reading comprehension and vocabulary.
• Can provide a bridge between low and high levels of reading.
• Presents an approach to reading that embraces the multimedia nature of today’s culture, as 2/3 of a story is conveyed visually.
• Provides scaffolding for struggling readers.
• Presents complex material in readable text.
• Helps patrons understand global affairs.
• Offers another avenue through which individuals can experience art.
• In 2012, graphic novel print sales rose to $385 million.
• MarketWatch reported that Barnes and Noble recently doubled its graphic novel selection. 

Graphic Novels are Literature

• The phenomenon of graphic novels has been covered in the Wall Street Journal. 
• The New York Times maintains a bestseller list of graphic novels 

Graphic Novels Help Students Deal with Life Issues

• Even more, graphic novels are breaking new ground with Ms. Marvel as a superhero who is also a Muslim teen.
• El Deafo , Newberry award winner, deals with issues of deafness.
• Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant, a memoir about dealing with memory loss in parents, was a finalist for the National Book Award and was a winner of the Kirkus Prize.
• Persepholis, an award winning memoir, dealt with the complexities of growing up during a civil war. 
• American Born Chinese, the first Graphic novel nominated for a National Book Award and winner of the Printz award, deals with issues of immigration, fitting in, language, school, peer pressure, and other teen struggles. 

Graphic novels are an important part of an current high school library collection. My vision for the PLT3 library is to have a robust selection of graphic novels in a variety of genres that appeal to many students.  

[1] Smetana, Linda and Grisham, Dana L. (2012) "Revitalizing Tier 2 Intervention with Graphic Novels," Reading Horizons: Vol. 51: Iss. 3, Article 3.

[2] "Using Comics and Graphic Novels in the Classroom (The Council Chronicle, Sept. 05)." NCTE Comprehensive News. NCTE, Sept. 2005. Web. 10 Apr. 2015.

http://www.bustle.com/articles/58807-women-in-comics-graphic-novels-finally-getting-the-spotlight-they-have-deserved-for-generations

The House of Books

In Egyptian mythology, Seshat was the scribe of the gods and the pharaohs. Seshat, keeper of the library, was known as "Mistress of the House of Books". The library was the storehouse of knowledge, a university where ideas were taught, shared, and discussed. 

She became known as the goddess of astronomy, math, architecture, and surveying: all tasks that require knowledge, literacy, wisdom, and skill.  

The library, from that ancient time, has served as the center around which science, art, math, literacy, engineering, history, and language rotate. The library is the hub at the center of the wheel of knowledge.

This is still true today.  

There is a strong connection between robust school libraries and learning, literacy, and higher order thinking skills. 

In today's complicated world, the library is a sanctuary, a place for students to find information about the difficult situations they face.  It is a place to find who they are, what they value, what they stand for, and who they want to be.  

From that long ago time when Seshat stretched the cord to measure the creation of the world, the library has served as  a strong foundation for students who will be literate, active thinkers.  

But to do this, the library needs books. New books. Diverse books. Books that students self-select. Books that speak to the hearts and minds of young people today. 

And that is where we must begin. 

Sources:
Seshat's Story
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