Our children are our future

by Peter

It was my privilege at Ulearn 2012 to hear a keynote presentation by Khoa Do, an acclaimed film director, screen writer and teacher. In the past ten years Khoa has specialised in working with marginalised communities, including at-risk and homeless youth, former prisoners and refugees of many nationalities. 

Khoa’s own story is a remarkable one. At the age of two he arrived in Australia from Vietnam as a refugee on a tiny fishing boat. He grew up in poverty in Sydney’s western suburbs and since then has won numerous international awards as a film maker and was young Australian of the year in 2005.

His passion, humour and enthusiasm are infectious and uplifting. Throughout his career as a film maker, Khoa has worked with the most disadvantaged in his community, guiding them and inspiring them to incredible success. His message was simple and powerful. Khoa believes everyone, no matter what their background or experience, is extraordinarily gifted, and our goal is to help others to realise their true potential.

He urged us to believe in our young people and to instil in them the self belief that they are valued and that anything is possible.

Khoa encouraged us :

• To look for the best in others and lift them up
• to inspire and support them to dream big
• Listen to them.
• Trust them.
• Have faith in them.
• Love them. 
• Reach out to those whom society has marginalised, and to those who may have lost their way, and their spirit.
• Do not pre-judge or exclude people on the basis of their socio-economic status, age, culture or lifestyle, or the colour of their skin.

Libraries in our communities and our schools have a rich tradition of inclusion and empowerment. They are known as havens, sanctuaries - where no one is turned away or judged. Libraries build communities. Libraries and their staff have a long tradition of supporting individuals to grow and realise their potential.

Recently however, there was an incident which angered and disturbed me. It  is a reminder of the damage and hurt that can be caused by putting library routines and procedures before empathy and understanding, by not listening - not trusting, by putting books before people.

A week before the conference a mother accompanied her beautiful Pasifika daughter - an avid reader - to the local community library. It was their second year living in New Zealand and the library was one of the girl’s favourite places. She had been back and forth almost every day in the school holidays. She always had at two or three books on the go and was always eager to see if her requests were on the shelf waiting to be collected.  On this particular day as the mother and daughter left the library, squeezing through the security gates alongside an older pakeha woman, the security alarm sounded.

The librarian approached mother and daughter on the steps outside the library. The little girl  explained that the books in her bag had been issued the week before. The other woman,  leaving the library at the same time, explained that she had probably tripped the alarm because she had had difficulty self-issuing ther book.

The librarian ignored the older woman and did not wish to check her book. Instead she demanded the little girl go through her bag and remove her library books. The little girl complied, rummaging through her clothes, her leftover lunch treats, toys and games to find the books.

The mother did not understand why it was necessary to search her daughter’s bag on the pavement -in view of passers-by. She did not understand why the librarian didn’t wish to check the other woman’s book. She did not understand why the librarian did not listen to her daughter, or believe her.

She felt humiliated, belittled. She wanted to return to the community she had come from in the islands – where she and her children were treated with respect and dignity. She did not want to ever return to that library. The little girl was confused and did know what she had done wrong. 

Library practices and routines that put books and procedures before people,  serve to marginalise and alienate us from our communities. Library staff must recognise the hurt and harm they can do when they don’t listen, trust, and care. They need to understand the fragility of our young peoples’ sense of self belief and confidence.

Libraries have the power to lift people up.   There is no place for library staff in any school or community who treat others with disrespect and damage their confidence.

As a library professional I was outraged.

As a husband and father I was heartbroken. That beautiful little girl was my daughter.

By Jeannie

Sometimes we do things because that’s the way we’ve always done them….. it seems to work, everyone else does it this way, but sometimes it pays to have another look at our what we are doing and measure up against best practice and the “big picture” of what we know is really important and what we want to achieve.

I’m talking about library borrowing limits. How many books can your students borrow from your library and what happens if they have an overdue or lost book?

We know from research that:

• Children read more when they have access to books – not the theoretical access of a school having a big library collection, but real access to something to read when they want it, actually books in hands. When students read more they do better academically – Jeff McQuillan’s research showed “access to books in the school via the library was the most powerful predictor of academic achievement among several variables analysed, controlling for socioeconomic status.”  
• Children read more when they choose their own reading.  Richard Allington states “Self-selected reading activity seems to be about twice as powerful at generating reading development as teacher-selected reading.”Beyond the research, it makes perfect sense from our own instincts and observation that if we want children to read for pleasure, avidly, at every opportunity, then we need to provide them the wherewithal to do so.

I suggest if you haven’t already done so, think about your school library borrowing limits, talk about it in your library team and with all school staff,  then abolish limits, or at least make them GENEROUS.

Consider what is most important

A library that is really well used will lose some books,  but our most important goal  is to create readers by giving all children as many positive reading opportunities as possible,  not to end the year without any lost books.

flickr image by librarian in black

Increased numbers of books means variety and volume.

When children borrow more than one or two books they are able to select a variety; take a risk on something they may or may not like; have a hard book and an easy book on the go at the same time. The can try a new genre; follow a friend’s recommendation; read what they are in the mood for; choose fiction and also some non-fiction.  It takes the pressure off choosing a single “just right” book, it provides plenty of reading until the next library visit, and it might provide a book for parents to read them a chapter at bedtime.  From the experience of a practicing teacher, read this great Nerdy Book Club blog post about self-selected reading 

Don’t work to the lowest common denominator

Imagine 20 children in a class.  Five of them are reading like rockets and always bring their books back, eager for the next one; another ten children are regular readers and their books usually come back. There is an occasional overdue or lost book, but on the whole no problem. Then there are five children who for one reason or another struggle to keep track of their books – they forget them or lose them or a younger sibling scribbles in them.   Why bring the whole class down to that level? Start off with high expectations and trust, and have strategies to use if needed such as a chat, an incentive chart, or a book limit for a term to see how it goes.

Proportion of the collection being borrowed

How many of your books are being borrowed each year, and how many are sitting on the shelf? If you have a collection of about 8,000 books and a roll of 200 students and every child is borrowing 2 books maximum that means about 5% is being borrowed at any one time.  95% is sitting on the shelf! There will probably be class or teacher loans too, but 90% of your collection sitting on the shelf isn’t really fulfilling its role!

Sometimes it’s the librarian, sometimes it’s the teacher

Sometimes it is the librarian who has to be persuaded that abolishing or increasing borrowing limits is a good idea, being loathe to risk precious books carefully chosen for the library, duly processed and promoted from a stretched budget.  Sometimes it is a teacher, despite the librarian’s best efforts, who insist on limits for their students as a way of managing things, perhaps driven by a fear of losing books.

Sometimes it is simply how it has always been with rules like:  “One book for juniors, two books for seniors”, “One fiction book, one non-fiction book”, or even “You have an overdue book so you can’t borrow another one until it comes back”, or “You lost two books last term so you can’t borrow any more until they are paid for.”

Either way, school libraries exist to support student learning and there should be a real conversation about benefits and learning outcomes.  Then if necessary, have a trial period with more generous limits to see what the issues (!) really are.

Evidence-based practice

This is an opportunity to use evidence to inform your practice.  Your library management system can give you many reports about borrowing statistics:  who, how many, how often, and you might want to survey students and staff too.  Consider how you can use this information to investigate what is happening, identify trends, and report the impact of any change or initiative you make, and then build on it further. 

Stories from other schools

I know schools which have abolished their borrowing limits and relaxed about over dues, and they report that children tend to find their own borrowing level – some more, some less, and that over dues are just the same as ever they were but no more of a problem.  Issue statistics always go up, so you could extrapolate that reading mileage is going up too.  Conversations in the library tend to be more about books and reading than allocations and over dues.

You may wish to retain limits on high demand areas such as graphic novels, or books in a particular popular series, but these can be managed by manners rather than rules, and strategies such as reserves.

Add a comment here about what you’ve done at your school with borrowing limits. Have you reviewed and relaxed your borrowing limits?  What sort of impact that has had? Or what conversations you are planning to have in your school about making a change? Ask any questions you may have… I’m looking forward to reading your comments.

• McQuillan, Jeff, The Literacy Crisis: False claims, real solutions, Heinemann, 1998.
• Allington, Richard, What at-risk readers need in Educational Leadership, March 2010

By Rob F

This update: Education and Pacific Peoples in New Zealand from Statistics New Zealand not only includes statistics, but has accessed research on the background to the question of “why schools are failing to deliver successful educational outcomes for this group of students.”

Reading Education and Pacific peoples in New Zealand is well worth while. It makes some clear suggestions for addressing the issues.

By juxtaposing the desires of Pasifika parents for their children to have a good education with a data snapshot including: NEMP, PIRLS, PISA and NCEA : Statistica non-fantastica.

Summarising the findings, both problems and positive examples, the authors list eight things that make the most difference.

These are when:

• parents understand how to help children learn
• teachers understand, value and build on the experiences and knowledge that children bring to school
• schools reach out to engage with parents making parents feel valued as partners in their children’s education
• teachers of year 1 and 2 children focus on establishing literacy foundations
• schools focus on the achievement of Pacific children in and monitoring and planning
• teachers understand that a student being ‘on task’ does not necessarily mean the student is learning
• schools focus on the well-being of new Pacific students supporting their transition
• students and parents make informed choices about school subjects that open up further pathways

In school libraries, there are implications too. The library can:

• be a safe place for parents, staff and students
• reflect Pacific cultures in collections, appearance and atmosphere
• provide resources for, and readers of, Pacific languages
• support early literacy and Home-School initiatives
• establish, and collaborate in authentic learning experiences, especially those that interest, engage and challenge
• liaise with contributing and successor schools to support transitions

Some of the positive examples include:

• Reading Togetherat St Josephs, Otahuhu
• collaboration across schools, community engagement and support in transitions in the Kelston Schools cluster
• Student Engagement Initiative that has reduced suspension rates
• Gateway support for senior secondary students making the transition to tertiary study and employment
• successful strategies for Pasifika in Strengthening Education in Mangere and Otara- SEMO

This article raises hard questions, suggests answers and provides positive examples.

by Jeannie

If you haven't seen it already, check out the AASL's Standards for the 21st Century Learner (PDF).

This concise, accessible document is structured around some common beliefs, and four key learning areas with expanded standards statements for each around skills, dispositions in action, responsibilities, and self-assessment strategies.

Common beliefs:

• Reading is a window to the world
• Inquiry provides a framework for learning
• Ethical behavior in the use of information must be taught
• Technology skills are crucial for future employment needs
• Equitable access is a key component for education
• The definition of information literacy has become more complex as resources and technologies have changed
• The continuing expansion of information demands that all individuals acquire the thinking skills that will enable them to learn on their own
• Learning has a social context
• School libraries are essential to the development of learning skills

Learners use skills, resources, & tools to:

1. Inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge.
2. Draw conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to new situations, and create new knowledge.
3. Share knowledge and participate ethically and productively as members of our democratic society.
4. Pursue personal and aesthetic growth.