Cuts to school libraries and staffs a sad chapter in education
Here is a second essay from the Teaching Georgia Writing Collective, a group of educators, parents, and concerned citizens who engage in public writing and teaching about education in Georgia.
The collective defines its goals as: 1) empowering educators to reclaim their workplace and professionalism, 2) empowering families to stand up for their children and shape the institutions their children attend each day, 3) empowering children and youth to have control over their education, and 4) enhancing the education of all Georgians. The number of participates is growing, representing at least six counties.
Here is the essay:
“If America can increase funding for libraries and librarians, I can only think that America has found one important way to rebuild itself.”
-Stephen Krashen
Stephen Krashen, along with many educational scholars, insists that investing in our libraries and librarians is crucial to building a strong and just America. Research points to high quality school libraries and librarians as key to high achievement for students, especially those from families struggling economically. But when budgets are tight, libraries (or “media centers”), librarians, and Media Center paraprofessionals can too frequently be perceived as unnecessary costs in schools.
The Clarke County school district joins others across Georgia cutting funding for Media Center paraprofessionals. But most people may not even know what a high-quality media center and media center specialist does for student achievement, much less what the job of a paraprofessional is in the media center.
So what does a Media Center paraprofessional do?
A Media Center paraprofessional does research-related activities. She assists students, teachers and parents in finding books, resources, and materials. She also pulls books supporting standards-based lessons for teachers, leads instructional centers during lessons, and assists in creating resource lists and developing the media center collection to meet the needs of students and teachers.
A Media Center paraprofessional carries the heavy burden of maintaining the media center collection. He shelves hundreds of books each week; processes, labels, and shelves new materials; repairs damaged books and materials to keep them in use; inventories all books and materials; creates inviting displays of new materials; and discards unsalvageable materials, runs a variety of reports important to the maintenance of the media center, and tracks overdue notices.
A Media Center paraprofessional is a supervisor. She supervises the library while the school library media specialist teaches, participates in mandatory meetings or repairs technology. And while the librarian/media specialist coaches students for exciting events such as the Battle of the Books or the Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl, the paraprofessional takes the lead to make sure the media center is open and available to students and teachers. She works one on one with students, assists with small group instruction when classrooms have lessons in the library (some librarians see 30 or more classes each week), and she supports students while the media specialist focuses on collection development, writes grants for more materials and plans in-service training for teachers.
As if the Media Center paraprofessional has any spare time given her or his extensive responsibilities with students, teachers, and materials, she or he also provides critical technical support for teachers. And outside the Media Center, they help to supervise and support students all day during breakfast, lunch, car, bus, or hall duty and in computer labs.
Cutting Media Center paraprofessionals is risky business. Beyond losing the most basic hands-on contact and support of children, youth, and teachers, this loss could result in limited implementation of initiatives for 21st Century Schools. These educators are central to a school’s ability to provide technical support and professional development for teachers.
Maybe folks don’t care about that fancy-sounding initiative, but they might recall that special feeling you get when you find those just-right books and wait patiently in line to check them out for the week, or that just-right software program or website for your project. The daily work of the Media Center paraprofessional makes sure that the school library is still that extraordinary place where books, materials, technologies, and all kinds of fascinating resources are displayed to pique students’ interests and support teachers’ learning and teaching. And importantly, they provide encouragement, smiles, and comments on your latest great finds.
Public library usage is up across Georgia, something our state can be proud of. Economic times are difficult and having access to information and resources is an important goal for any democratic society. Cutting funding for school libraries in this critical time of making sure all students have access to the materials, resources, and technological innovation they need to be the best they can be just doesn’t make sense. Surely there are places to cut the budget that wouldn’t impact so directly on the daily lives of children and teachers.
Let’s make sure children have access to the best public school libraries now and help them build library habits that will positively affect their achievements in school and their experiences in life. And as young children and our youth are building strong habits, we adults can invest in our libraries inside and outside schools – one important way to re-build our communities and invest in a better society.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
98 comments Add your comment
Colonel Jack
May 12th, 2012
4:58 pm
I too hate to see Media Center personnel fall under the budget ax — an ax that, at least to all appearances, falls anywhere…EVERYWHERE…except in a school system’s administration. Save the Media Center personnel and cut out some of these executive assistants to the assistant Grand Poobah in the central office. Save teacher jobs that way too. Cut the fat first … when you cut Media Center and teacher staff, you’re cutting the most important muscle the school system has. There’s plenty of fat in any system’s central office that can be done away with first.
Ole Guy
May 12th, 2012
5:03 pm
Point #3, in this list of goals, may be worth exploring just a wee bit further. Today’s youth, unlike their generational contemporaries of yesteryear, have to/no, make that MUST assume “hands-on” control of their educational experiences. Unlike earlier gens…mine included…who, like horses, were led to the trough, these kids have to understand the budgetary constraints under which their schools must function, “grab the (educational) bull by the six, and (as Larry the Cable Guy says) “GET HER DONE”.!
With cuts to school libraries, there is no reason why these kids cannot become frequent patrons of their local county libraries. These facilities provide excellent resources for all age groups.
The (educational) troughs are/will always be available. The youth of this country simply have to/no, make that MUST be willing to exercise that control over their educational destinys.
Ole Guy
May 12th, 2012
5:16 pm
Colonel, with all respect to your comments, you’re not offering any hint of a viable solution; simply another version of that complaint mechanism. Sure, there’s plenty of fat which could stand a lil’ trimin’ before cutting into the “muscle and bone” of the educational process. If your nom du plume/your chosen ID, indicates any military experience at all…and I am quite certain in does, Colonel…than you full-well know that military operations are almost always conducted at under-strength levels, both in terms of personnel and equipment. rather than complain in our SITREPS (situation reports, for you civilians), we shoot, salute, and get on with it. In this time of austerity…whether we agree with it or not…these kids have to assume that responsibility…like the commander; like those individual troops…to accomplish the mission, by hook or by crook. There will always be time to complain; to point out the problems, but, at some point in time, people have to be willing to do whatever it takes. It’s either that, or simply hang head in shame; admit defeat, and (generationaly) die.
A Conservative Voice
May 12th, 2012
5:27 pm
Go to the “County Library”……that’s what we did when we were kids
Mary Elizabeth
May 12th, 2012
5:56 pm
I certainly am pleased with the goals, stated above, of the Teaching Georgia Writing Collective. I read the link provided above, also, and I want to highlight a paragraph from it which is taken fro the first essay from the TGWC. See below:
————————————————————————–
“We dream of a school system where students aren’t projected to fail and schools don’t produce failure. That school system would encourage teachers to slow down and learn about a student who is struggling and design instruction to make that student successful. We teachers don’t need more textbooks, scripted curricula or software programs, we need time to teach our students in the way that is best for them. And students don’t need more textbooks, scripted curricula or software programs either. They need a less stressful and anxiety-ridden environment and more time in creative, supportive classrooms where they know they are valued and projected to succeed. They need student-centered inquiries back in their school lives, and teachers who do engaging projects with them where they ask questions and find answers.”
—————————————————————————————
In other words, educational systems throughout Georgia do not need a business model for public schools, they simply need the state of Georgia to support, again, public schools and to fund them adequately, including funding Media Center personnel, so that Georgia’s public schools can, again, be the best that is possible, as described in the paragraph, above.
Former Teacher2
May 12th, 2012
5:58 pm
A teacher teaches her subject, takes care of her classroom, and her 30-150 students a day. The media specialist is responsible for ALL of the students in the school and all subject areas. He or she is also in charge of 10-20,000 books, not to mention computers, smart boards, projectors, copiers,and other assorted equipment. She often has early or late lunch (if at all) so that the library is available for students. She is there early and stays late so that students can do research and homework before and after school. Face it – many students will not take the initiative to go to the county library, but they might use the one down the hall. If we are going to invest in media centers (and a lot of money goes into them for books and equipment) we need qualified people to take care of them. One staff person in a library just isn’t enough. A trained media specialist and a trained paraprofessional are worth their weight in gold when it comes to improving student achievement.
Sade
May 12th, 2012
5:58 pm
Unfortunately, most kids frequenting our school Media Center are online playing games or shopping. Reading books or conducting research, I don’t think so.
Lane Meyers
May 12th, 2012
6:00 pm
Going to the county library is a great idea if a child has transportation to it.
I do not understand how a school librarian can teach 5+ classes, check in/ out books, order books, do inventory, reshelve the books, plan for classes, collaborate with teachers, etc. and all of the extra tasks a principal requires by herself. Yet, I do it everyday.
MB
May 12th, 2012
6:03 pm
With the conversion to Common Core GPS next year, media specialists will be even more important as these standards call for much more informational reading. If media centers aren’t adequately staffed, both with media specialists and support staff, this will not be successful. If media specialists have to do the jobs of the parapros/clerks, obviously their ability to meet student needs for information literacy instruction will be impacted negatively.
Doing It All
May 12th, 2012
6:27 pm
Our media specilaist allows me to provide incredibly rich experiences to my students. Without her support I would be limited. All I have to do is have an idea and she does the ground work. I have my hands full with 140 seniors just teaching the curriculum standards and grading essays.She collaborates with almost 100 teachers. Every day she’s teaching or assisting 7 periods a day; many days with no lunch or break. I don’t know how she will manage to keep up with our needs with no paraprofessional next year.
teacher&mom
May 12th, 2012
6:30 pm
@A Conservative Voice: Have you visited a rural “County Library” lately? Step outside your suburban box for awhile and see the selections (especially for young students) in some of the smaller rural counties.
I fail to understand how anyone can support closing libraries.
MB
May 12th, 2012
6:50 pm
“School libraries are a stronger indicator of student success than class size, experience of teacher. number of computers, or location of school.” (FACTS AT A GLANCE. .. Student Achievement and School Library Media Programs) Numerous studies (several longitudinal) show strong correlations between strong library media programs and improved student achievement. One link to a 2008 compilation of such studies: http://www.scholastic.com/content/collateral_resources/pdf/s/slw3_2008.pdf
MB
May 12th, 2012
7:03 pm
A few problems with saying the public library should meet the needs of all these students (outside the obvious problem stated above, which is that the parents won’t get them there). 1) Public library hours and staff have been cut over the past few years. Parents willing and able to get their kids to the library have much more limited evening and weekend hours than before. 2) Public library materials budgets have been cut so they have fewer new materials. Tax dollars have already been spent for the materials in the schools. Should they just sit on the shelves, or should students be encouraged to use them? 3) Public librarians don’t work with teachers to find print, multimedia and online resources to use with their classes. Public librarians won’t come to the schools to help them with their television, LCD projector, etc. They don’t have time to teach students information literacy skills such as evaluating online sources, using credible sources such as GALILEO resources, digital citizenship (including citation of all sources – print, online, images, multimedia, etc.), using the many Web 2.0 options for creating engaging projects. Without adequate staffing of SCHOOL libraries, how will our children learn what they need to know to function in the 21st century?,
bootney farnsworth
May 12th, 2012
7:04 pm
lets face it. effective public education is dead in this nation
Larry Major
May 12th, 2012
7:29 pm
County libraries are taking the same cuts as schools for the same reason – lower real estate appraisals mean taxpayers are paying less in taxes and the revenue simply doesn’t exist.
Until the economy recovers, it isn’t choice between good or better; it’s a matter of getting through the year on a lot less money.
a teacher
May 12th, 2012
8:11 pm
In this doggie eat dog world, I only care about myself now. I teach just for the paycheck. If you think that sucks and I should quit, screw you. After years of bending backwards at my school and then to be treated like crap and used by the staff and students, they can all go to ****. I will teach to the ones who want to learn, and for the ones who don’ t care can die in a gutter.
conlibe
May 12th, 2012
8:46 pm
Porn and the Boston Public Library
conlibe.wordpress.com
What if some sex addict is watching PORN at the county library…? Would you send your kids there?
WHO agrees that: When you walk into a public library with your kids they should see graphic, full-color pornography because SOMEBODY IS WATCHING PORN ON A LIBRARY COMPUTER?
Get porn OFF computers at our Public Libraries.
Link: http://www.change.org/petitions/should-public-libraries-allow-porn
Ed Johnson
May 12th, 2012
8:51 pm
“We dream of a school system where students aren’t projected to fail and schools don’t produce failure.”
@Mary Elizabeth, want to see a school system where some students are projected to fail?
Well, it’s Atlanta Public Schools, where the system’s vision asks for ten percent of student to graduate failures:
“The district’s vision is that APS will be one of the nation’s highest performing urban school systems, where 90 percent of its ninth-graders graduate from high school in four years ready for success in college or career.” (Accessed 5/12/2012)
http://www.atlantapublicschools.us//site/Default.aspx?PageID=308
ahsoisee
May 12th, 2012
9:19 pm
Do away with all libraries, they are “passe”. With Google and electronic bookpads, mony on libraries is a waste. Sell all the libraries and books, and fire all the employees. This will save a lot of money in each county immediately, plus, removing all monetary liabilities of upkeep and salaries.
Rodney Kent
Jeff
May 12th, 2012
9:30 pm
Everyone agrees we need to spend less, just not on their issue that is so incredibly important that every dollar is like life and death.
So here we are, and we get what we deserve.
bootney farnsworth
May 12th, 2012
9:54 pm
@ a teacher,
I’m with you.
a teacher
May 12th, 2012
10:17 pm
Im sorry to sound so nasty but it is truly how I feel .
bootney farnsworth
May 12th, 2012
10:22 pm
I see APS is now cutting custodians, but no mention of the top heavy admin types
wovoka
May 12th, 2012
10:28 pm
Central office IS the place to make the cuts. We have a 1/2 time media specialist at our high school of 900. We have 2 certified music teachers who see hundreds of different kids per day who are being paid as paraprofessionals. I am embarrassed to say our school board approved this. One school board member was not even aware of it (scary) Just because the central office can get away with it does not make it right. the superintendent was down to get a $30,000.00 raise over the next year until taxpayers raised hell about it. Pay our teachers first. Central office personnel we can mostly do without. The teachers are the most important. Our children get so much joy from music class. It is a stress reliever for them and they benefit greatly from the wonderful, kind teachers. Our superintendent has the school board snowed. She tells THEM what to do. They rarely ask questions because they are such “nice” people. The superintendent cries when she is questioned by someone in the community. Our good teachers are leaving..at least those who can find jobs..there are dozens looking. Others are simply miserable as they have too much invested in their homes they can’t sell for them to be able to go somewhere else.
We are in a time of money constraints. When times are good we can afford the extras. But times are not good. It is a time for central office personnel and pay cuts.
Former Middle School Teacher
May 12th, 2012
11:29 pm
Let’s drop the pretense and allow ALEC to create legislation for Georgia to end Public education. I mean it wouldn’t take much to change the Constitution. Then the private companies who could come in and do a better job.
wovoka
May 13th, 2012
12:26 am
set limits and freeze pay raises for anyone making $100,000. This include superintendents and all central office staff. Public education is just that..public educators should make decent salaries. But a new teacher should not have to struggle, while someone in administration gets richer and richer. So many administrators talk their way into huge raises the last few years before they retire. Retirement income is based on 2 highest years. There is no real “scale” for administrative positions. An admin’s pay is based on how well he or she is able to snow or brown-nose. It is not based upon performance. In our school system, the leaders who are “real” and admit there are issues and problems in their schools are paid significantly less than leaders who put a spin on or try to cover things up. The truth is, nobody wants to hear about problems that could be solved to make things so much better. They had rather remain ignorant and pretend everything is perfect.
Library Lady
May 13th, 2012
12:42 am
Cutting important programs and needed employees is not the answer. It makes me ill to think that many administrators are getting rich off of the backs of teachers and staff—those who are actually educating students. I realize this is par for the course for everything now, but education is different because our children are the losers. There is so much corruption and politics at the top. I do not think it will ever be cleaned up. It is depressing as an educator and a mother.
Dr. Craig Spinks/ Georgians for Educational Excellence
May 13th, 2012
3:30 am
When will we Georgians demand that our public school systems face independent audits of their finanaces and personnel to increase the probability that our tax monies are being effectively and efficiently expended?
Dr. Craig Spinks/ Georgians for Educational Excellence
May 13th, 2012
3:35 am
For shame: Bucks County, PA, the home of the late James Michener, had targeted public libraries for drastic cuts a couple of years ago. Apparently both public and school libraries are seen as “easy marks” by some myopic bureaucRATS.
Stephen Krashen
May 13th, 2012
3:39 am
Credit where credit is due: the quote at the start of this article is indeed from me, but it is based on a what Isaac Asimov said: “When I read about the way in which library funds are being cut and cut, I can only think that American society has found one more way to destroy itself.”
Two Cents
May 13th, 2012
4:16 am
The Palace continues with its way overpaid staff and bloat; the School Board continues with catering to high rent district schools; and education in DeKalb continues to decline. What a sad state for our children. Give us parents the $7,000 per year they say they spend on each child and let us educate our kids. We get nothing for having to take our kids to school each day to keep them from being bullied; we have bus drivers who are among the bullies and yet we get no transportation allowance. DeKalb is the pits,
Beverly Fraud
May 13th, 2012
4:46 am
Is there ANY chapter in public education that isn’t a “sad chapter?” There may be a page or two that is uplifting, but chapters?
Two Cents
May 13th, 2012
7:00 am
The great teachers have gotten me through the past eight years. Great principal at Middle School. School Board and palace bloat has been hazardous to my mental and physical health.
Good Mother
May 13th, 2012
7:11 am
a taecher says “In this doggie eat dog world, I only care about myself now. I teach just for the paycheck. If you think that sucks and I should quit, screw you. After years of bending backwards at my school and then to be treated like crap and used by the staff and students, they can all go to ****. I will teach to the ones who want to learn, and for the ones who don’ t care can die in a gutter.”
….a teacher says she wants our kids to die in a gutter and yet not a single teacher on this blog calls her out on it. And you wonder why we parents are asking for charters? THIS TEACHER is why we parents are demanding charters and other options. The government takes my money and wants to force me to send my kids to school with a teacher who wants my children to “diet in a gutter” and that is “how she truly feels.”
Exactly why we’re going to private schools, charter schools and getting the heck out of dodge.
APS Mess
May 13th, 2012
8:31 am
I got the Email at 7pm Friday night “inviting” me to report to the Frederick Douglass High School gymnasium on Saturday for another round of interviews for a “new” position. Principals gathered at their tables and we brought in our copies of our Teaching Certificates and our Resumes for their perusal. Another round of Speed Dating ur uh… Speed Interviewing. You have 10 minutes to answer a set of questions with each principal. almost every high school, middle school and elementary school was there but you probably couldn’t get in more than 3 or 4 interviews because of the lines. They have a buzzer to start and end and they give you 3 minutes to transition. Of course, you never got to interview with the more popular schools because the lines were too long. Apparently the Media Specialists, and counselors at the small APS high schools forced to go still have their jobs. They did not have to attend.
Count your blessings Media Specialists. It was one of the most humiliating experiences I have ever had to go through. Most of the principals, assistant principals and academy leaders were respectful, only a few laughed at us and whispered things to principals at other schools about us.
You wondered what was going on. Principals who had lost their jobs were interviewing for positions for the schools they weren’t going to return to. Additionally, we were told that the Small High Schools were going to revert back to their original traditional high school (with small learning communities). There was so much false advertising; they gave us a sheet and said that there were so many positions available but when you got to the table, the principals said the positions had been filled.
So there we were, herded around like sheep… speed interviewing and knowing that this was it. And then you began to realize who was at the fair…whistleblowers. I saw a teacher who had been shoved by an administrator with a door, a teacher who had reported cheating at the high school level (using courses with wrong labels to cover up coaching classes for the EOCT), one who had reported administrators who weren’t providing services for special needs students, one who had reported a teacher helping students on the EOCT Math I examination. You learn a lot of things standing in line.
You had your usual grumbling from the elementary and middle school teachers about not being responsible for the closing of their schools. You noticed an awfully disproportionate number of older, heavier female teachers and quite a bit of laughing by administrators. I wanted to go to Grady…they didn’t bother to show up. Then you look up and some principals are visiting others tables and laughing and cackling while you’re standing in line wondering if you will have money to buy food come August.
So, Media Specialists…I am sorry but welcome to my world. And, I had a great evaluation. APS has a mess with the cheating scandal costs and the rest of us have to suffer especially those of us who have reported the cheating in high schools. They can’t afford another investigation…they really don’t want to look at the dirt in those small schools.
Retired Teacher
May 13th, 2012
8:39 am
During my 40+ years as a public school teacher in several states, I’ve found the biggest indicator of a successful school was the quality of the library media program. Eliminating media center paraprofessionals is comparable to cutting front office secretaries. Just as we surely do not want a principal spending her time doing the clerical duties performed by the school secretary, we do not want outstanding media specialists performing the duties of the media center paraprofessionals as described above.
To Media Specialists
May 13th, 2012
9:00 am
At least you did not have to endure speed dating ur uh…speed interviewing at the invitation only APS Job Fair. Middle and Elementary School Teachers got 4 invitations…Small High School teachers only 2.
Mikey D
May 13th, 2012
9:05 am
@a teacher:
Sounds like it’s time to explore other career options.
I get frustrated with the lawmakers and their nonsense, the administrative hubbub, the uninvolved parents, and the uncaring students as well. But I can guarantee you that anytime I find myself with the attitude that any of my students could just “die in a gutter” will be the day that I pack my stuff and hit the road. At this point, with that attitude, you’re part of the problem my friend.
A Conservative Voice
May 13th, 2012
9:16 am
@teacher&mom
May 12th, 2012
6:30 pm
@A Conservative Voice: Have you visited a rural “County Library” lately? Step outside your suburban box for awhile and see the selections (especially for young students) in some of the smaller rural counties.
I fail to understand how anyone can support closing libraries.
To Teacher & Mom – T&M, I don’t support closing libraries……I only made a suggestion in the event that there is not a school library anymore. Besides, most students now days have online access…….most everything is out there……it’s not like the school library is the only source of information…….c’mon, T&M, lighten up a bit, have fun, be happy
Remember to vote on November 6, 2012.
bootney farnsworth
May 13th, 2012
9:24 am
GPC is a cautionary warning of what is to come.
we have mismanaged education in this state for so long I honestly don’t see how we can fix it
Mary Elizabeth
May 13th, 2012
9:55 am
Ed Johnson, 8:51 pm, May 12
@Mary Elizabeth, want to see a school system where some students are projected to fail?
Well, it’s Atlanta Public Schools, where the system’s vision asks for ten percent of student to graduate failures. . .”
===========================================================
Ed, if 10% of the yearly incoming 600 9th grade students – of my last high school – were to fail to graduate, that would be 60 students of that class who would be high school drop outs. In four years, that number of dropouts would have accrued to 240 students, and the number of drop outs would continue to accrue, year after year.
I agree that educators should set a goal that 100% of students will graduate from high school, but given that, currently, in the state of Georgia, only 67% of students graduate from high school, that means that 33% of students, statewide, currently have become high school drop outs. That number may even be higher for the Atlanta Public Schools. So, as the educational leaders in the APS were writing the projected goals for the APS, they probably thought that a 90% success rate was commendable. If the APS were to raise graduation rates by 23+%, that would be commendable. However, I do agree with you that the goal of any school system should be not to lose even one student to drop out status.
As the writer of the first essay of the TGWC wrote, “That school system would encourage teachers to slow down and learn about a student who is struggling and design instruction to make that student successful.” Teachers need the vote of confidence, professional autonomy, and training to do just that.
————————————————————–
ALSO, Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers, including Maureen Downey, Teacher and Mom, and myself!
Let us, all, enjoy “our day” with our children. What could be a sweeter gift than that?!
DCSD Teacher
May 13th, 2012
10:10 am
Closing school libraries would be a disaster, but upgrading them and training media specialists and support staff should be a high priority. In many schools in DeKalb County, media staff are not up to speed on modern technology, including Promethean Boards, which have been in schools for years now. Ask them about phone apps or for help with MS Office software that’s installed on the library computers, for instance, and you’ll get a blank look, yet these are the technologies they should understand because it’s what kids use. In many DeKalb schools, libraries stand empty many hours each day while staff members spend their time hanging out in the back office talking with each other. In these settings, student computers “don’t work right”, flash drive ports aren’t functional, and “the network must be down” is a constant refrain. It’s not media centers that are irrelevant, but the professionals.who work in them need to come up to the 21st century.
Batgirl
May 13th, 2012
10:22 am
In my system, we middle and high school media specialists have been without parapros for two years. At the elementary level, parapros are pulled to substitute for absent teachers and to pass out meds because we have no school nurses.
We also have not received our funding since January 2009. Our finance director tried to tell us that the state does not provide that money anymore, but we called his hand on that one. Of course, since our brilliant legislature enacted a rule last year that says systems can use media money anywhere they need to, his lies don’t matter. He has told us flat out that we will never get our budgets back and that we should just look for grants if we want to buy books. Over the past three years, my library has received a grant of over $3000 from my personal checking account. If my kids need books, I buy them. The entire library budget for my county (not including personnel) is about $85-90K. We cannot afford this, yet our system spent half a million on a computerized reading program that is supposed to work miracles. Oh, and our agriculture department and Future Farmers of America are funded beyond belief even though we only have about five farm families in our county. Why? Because three of those families are the superintendent’s, the finance director’s and a board member’s.
As for those media specialists who are seeing 30+ classes a week, these are mostly elementary folks being forced to see every class so that each classroom teacher gets a little extra planning time. The OCGA still states that we are supposed to have a flexible schedule, not fixed. This practice is not legal but forced on MS’s by their principals and should be stopped, especially if you have no parapro/clerk. Band together and demand that this practice stop. The rest of us will stand with you.
Batgirl
May 13th, 2012
10:26 am
Oh, Maureen, thank you so much for this article. It sometimes seems that we library media specialists are forgotten in the education debate.
Cheri
May 13th, 2012
10:31 am
Numerous studies validate the importance of the school library–a recent study by Todd and Hofschire (2011) found that states which gained school librarians had a greater rise in reading scores while states that had lost librarians had an overall decline in scores. Georgia can not afford to lose school library media specialists and library support personnel. Yes, sometimes students are ‘hanging out’ and playing games in the school library but those same kids feel comfortable in the library and will return to ask library staff for academic help. It’s a ’safe’ place for kids who aren’t part of a clique in school. The school librarian, as someone earlier pointed out, contributes to the learning of ALL students in a school as well as being a resource for teachers who don’t have time to track down specific types of lessons to differentiate instruction and to better help students who learn ‘to a different drummer’ than the majority. A good school library media specialist/librarian promotes reading–if you can learn to read well, you can learn to do anything!
Buzz144
May 13th, 2012
10:42 am
It is time to shrug off this inefficient and ineffective monopoly school system. It is time for school vouchers. Let the education tax money follow the children. Let the child and parents decide which is the best school for their money. Take the power out of the government and put it back in the hands of the people. Power to the people!
Michelle
May 13th, 2012
10:46 am
I am in a county where they cut our media clerks to half time this year and next year they cut them completely. I am also a media specialist. I serve a school of 1400 students and 100+ staff. I am so worried about next year how am I going to be able to do my job. It was really hard this year her half time. I could be in the middle of teaching and the phone would ring or I would have students at the circ desk and I would have to stop what I was doing to take of that. I would have tons of books that have to be shelved and they would have to wait. I have students volunteer to help but I would find things still out of place etc. my principal says he has faith in me but I feel like he is the only one…
Michelle
May 13th, 2012
10:49 am
Buzz144 do you realize letting the funds go where the child is will hurt the school systems. If a person decides their child is going to private school or home school that money goes there public schools lose that money.
FCS Teacher
May 13th, 2012
10:49 am
@Two cents
You’re not going to get much of an education for $7000. Look at what the good private schools in Atlanta charge for tuition. What you will get for your $7000 is a fly by night private school that will take your money, provide a terrible education, and will be gone after a year or two with your money.
If Dekalb is the problem, then move.
bootney farnsworth
May 13th, 2012
11:28 am
vouchers are not the answer.
it sounds good, feels good, but would be hamstrung by reality.
voucher supporters seem to assume just because they have a voucher
the system they want wants them.
why should Peachtree Ridge or Milton take in some kid from APS or DCSS
who is very likely behind in academics, social standing, and may well be
a discipline issue?
-unless of course they play holy football, then they can be illiterate rapists
and be welcomed with open arms.
UWG Library Media Specialist
May 13th, 2012
11:41 am
Interesting article with one thing I would like to correct…I am not aware of any school in my area that is currently ran by a paraprofessional. All of us have had training at the collegiate level in our field of expertise. I have an undergrad in Early Childhood Education and my Masters and Specialists degrees in Library Media Services. I received training in a variety of classes to make me a library media specialist including cataloging, processing, reference, research, curriculum classes, technology, library administration, and much more. To have an effective program you do not just pull someone off the street and place them in the library if you want to provide effective services. On another note, to assume that technology is at such a state it provides all the services someone needs via the Internet only shows how ignorant some people are. For one, not everyone has access to the Internet…yes, even in 2012 that is true. Secondly, so much on the Internet is just plain crap…and a lot of it is stuff accepted as fact and continuously copied/pasted by our technologically advanced world as truth. Very few care to check facts and verify. I see this daily on-line in e-mails and FB posts from family and friends. I constantly try to educate students AND adults not to just accept what they see on-line as fact. Thirdly, just because something can be done does not be it should be done… By this I mean just because it is available in tek doesn’t mean it is the best way to do something.
I would also like to add that I feel fortunate after reading some of these posts that I work in a system who apparently values its school librarians.
Two Cents
May 13th, 2012
12:12 pm
@FCS teacher I did NOT say you could get a private school education for $7,000 – I said give us parents the $7,000 to educate our children. Private schools cost as much as college. It isn’t the DeKalb Teachers that are the problem – it is the bloat at the Palace; the School Board and County officials. I plan to move. My mental and physical health suffers from the incompetency and ignorance.
Media Girl
May 13th, 2012
12:42 pm
Media Specialists across the country have been in this debate for many years now. I simply say, “Look at your child’s school.” Look at what goes on in his/her library media center. In my elementary media center, students are participating in lessons, checking out 28,000 plus books per year, completing research and being taught how to evaluate on-line resources, and participating in selecting books to read. LIbraries are essential to democracy. Access to information is important in a democracy. Next year, I will rely on volunteer parents and students to shelve books and check students out so that I can continue to teach and serve children. We will no longer have paraprofessionals, and mine was top notch! We have a responsibility to all the children in our schools. Who will stand up for school libraries?
@ GM
May 13th, 2012
12:53 pm
No, I think that the forum posters were trying to not feed and encourage the trolls so the conversation could, for once, stay on topic. Of course, what would one of these blog post’s comments sections be without your sanctimonious holier than thou comments?
That out of the way, the cutting of libraries sickens me. Kids rarely read anyway unless it’s something assigned to them, and in that case testing and grades take all of the fun out of the book. A love of reading is necessary for learning, and since parents don’t seem to want to read to their children from a very early age, if at all, the school libraries are about the last bastion of hope.
But no, let’s all ensure that our children stay illiterate. Less chance of free thought that way, and easier for politicians to get these uninformed individuals to vote for them in time.
@ GM
May 13th, 2012
12:54 pm
Sorry, that apostrophe should have gone after the “s” in “blog posts’.” Typing too fast as usual.
northatlantateacher
May 13th, 2012
1:21 pm
At my school, we have a full time media specialist who has a parapro, numerous parent volunteers and 40+ student aides throughout the day. She has a lot of responsibility, but she also has a lot of support. I’m not sure if all that support is necessary or not. My guess is not.
teacher&mom
May 13th, 2012
1:40 pm
@A Conservative Voice: While you did not directly support closing public school libraries, your suggestion to visit the public county libraries is in and of itself, a position that does not support public school libraries. It implies that closing public school libraries is inevitable and perhaps necessary given the hard economic times.
Too many feel the same way and that is why libraries can be closed without so much as a whimper from the public.
The death by a thousand cuts continues and won’t stop until the public decides enough is enough. I realize we are in a recession, but our state began the cutting BEFORE this recession hit and no one in the public sector offered a whimper of protest.
I won’t “lighten” up. We have elected leaders who are bound and determined to throw it all away while they finagle our children’s future away…all while building fishing ponds and making sure they have enough money to send their own children to private schools.
For goodness sakes…we are at a point where the D.C. Chancellor is CLOSING school libraries because the “DATA” (code word: standardized test scores) doesn’t show a quick return on investment. Doesn’t that make you want to scream!
You can bet I will be voting in November.
Dekalbite
May 13th, 2012
3:02 pm
I have worked with excellent media specialists, and I have worked with not so excellent media specialists. It seems to be the “luck of the draw”, and once you get an inept or unmotivated media specialist, little effort is made to remove that employee. There is much more pressure on administrators to remove ineffective teachers – push from parents, and of course teachers are seen through the lens of test scores. There seems to be little incentive or interest in removing a media specialist who is inept or unmotivated. Surprising, there are a number of media specialists that are not tech savvy. This is a huge drawback in a media world where Internet research far surpasses print research in terms of access and timeliness. There was such pushback in DeKalb that the past Director of Instructional Media changed their title from Media Specialist back to Librarian. She said they were first and foremost librarians and not in charge of media.
IMO – students still need to love books, and books mean holding them in your hand and reading them. Libraries in our schools are the place that promotes this since so many parents do not. Reading aloud to children may be a distraction to some media specialists/librarians, but there is nothing more motivational to children you want to envourage to read independently than being read to aloud. Some media specialists understand that and see that as part of their job, and some do not. Like teachers or any other school employee who works with kids, some do a better job than others.
A really great media specialist can be a tremendous asset to the entire school and an important and vital part of the educational process. A poor media specialist will merely keep the books shelved and the library doors open.
Ron F.
May 13th, 2012
3:43 pm
Here’s an interesting question in this debate: As schools and systems are cutting everything they can to make budgets work, are any seriously even talking about the money spent on athletics? Seems to me if the high school athetics program would agree, statewide, to a shortened football schedule, say 8 games instead of 10, a lot of money could be saved. But sadly, in a die-hard football state like our own, we’ll cut teachers, media centers, and school days entirely before we’ll take an axe to athletics. Not to diminish their importance, but academics is clearly not the priority that football is in this state.
@ DeKalbite
May 13th, 2012
4:05 pm
“once you get an inept or unmotivated media specialist, little effort is made to remove that employee. There is much more pressure on administrators to remove ineffective teachers – push from parents, and of course teachers are seen through the lens of test scores. There seems to be little incentive or interest in removing a media specialist who is inept or unmotivated.”
I am a media specialist and agree with your statement. Unfortunately sometimes the media specialist is IN the media center BECAUSE he/she was an inept teacher and the way administration dealt with the problem was to move him/her to the media center. My question to you is why do teachers and parents NOT complain about media specialists who don’t do their job? I spent several years with just such an incompetent person relocated from the classroom doing double-duty. Teachers and parents would comment and complain to me and to the parapro, but when asked why they didn’t refer their concerns to administration, they would often say they knew it wouldn’t matter, or that they knew administration didn’t want to hear it.
Believe me, the rest of us media specialists want the slackers out of the profession, just as classroom teachers want the people who give them a bad name out of the picture. Parents, if your children are getting what they need, whether in the classroom, media center, guidance office, etc. let your school administrators know about it. Their response (in action as well as words) may let you know how they truly value their students’ education.
@ DCSD Teacher
May 13th, 2012
4:28 pm
If you have a media specialist who can’t help students with MS Office products, you NEED to complain to your principal who needs to inform your media services director. Even if someone got a degree many years ago, they were required to complete courses in technology (specifically MS Office products such as Word, Excel, Publisher, and PowerPoint) several years ago. If someone bluffed their way through that, it needs to come to the attention of those who can address it.
Most of us are technology savvy, but knowing all the phone apps (Apple, Droid, whatever) is of course impossible, and since schools have mostly moved from Apple, we only know those if we have Apple products personally. We should be expected to have experience with the system-owned technology in the building, though.
As far as chatting in the office, most media centers are open 8 – 8.5 hours per day. If you catch the time the media center doesn’t have students in it (rare in my school), you may find the staff in the office catching up on ordering and processing books, lesson planning, reports, financial work, etc. Do you have a planning period? Consider that may be the equivalent of your media specialist’s planning period. Do you chat in other teacher’s classrooms, the mail room, or the copy room sometimes?
If the excuse is the network is down, you likely know it because you can’t access it either. (And believe me, we DON’T want the network down. Many of our lessons are planned counting on network access as well!) Are your media specialists responsible for hardware as well? If not, help them (and your classes) by letting your administrators know that it impacts your students’ ability to complete their work when there aren’t enough functional computers. Most of us work long hours (home and school) with the same goals as you – educating our students to be successful, productive citizens!
@ Ron F
May 13th, 2012
4:37 pm
My guess is that you’ll hear that sports programs are self-supporting. While gate receipts and player fees may cover uniforms, bus rental, lights and staff at games, I’d like to see the numbers showing they pay to build the stadium, install the artificial turf, maintain the facilities, etc. Also, while supplements for coaches may sometimes be reasonable for the time required, how many coaches also teach less than a full schedule, have less rigorous classes (i.e., spend less time on grading and lesson planning outside the school day), etc. If you’ve worked in middle or high schools, you know there are people marking time in a classroom because they have to have that job to be able to coach. THAT is where the real expense lies in school-based sports, IMHO: coaches who have no real interest in teaching in classrooms where students should have teachers passionate about teaching.
Just a supportive teacher
May 13th, 2012
5:32 pm
@Ron F. Oh please, you know they won’t touch the sports programs…it’s so much easier to cut teachers, Media Specialists and custodians. They cut the Model Teacher leaders in Atlanta Public Schools and now they’re competing with the closed schools teachers for jobs. Not much fat was really cut from the top. On the southside, we went almost a whole year without a Media Specialist. They finally hired one within the past 5 weeks. Then they closed the placed for three weeks while they were testing. It had been a zoo most of the time prior to that with substitutes and a paraprofessional.
@APS Mess – Good Lord! Are they getting away with that? Sounds horrible.
teacher&mom
May 13th, 2012
6:25 pm
@Ron F: That would be an interesting question….given that the GHSA re-drew the region lines and many rural schools will now be driving over 100 miles one way! Talk about crazy…
catlady
May 13th, 2012
6:36 pm
Ole Guy, the problem is that the county libraries have also undergone the same type of cuts, as well as cuts to hours. Going to the county library, in a rural area, may not be a viable “solution” for many students, as the library might not be open in the hours that their parents can take them, IF the parents can afford, gas- and time-wise, to drive a 30 mile or more round trip. And, believe it or not, many kids don’t have home computers and/or internet service. Where I live there is one provider–$60 per month for poor folks is quite a burden. I estimate 20-25% of our students have both a computer and internet access.
It is a scandal what the Georgia government has done to schools, while simultaneously handing out tax breaks like candy to companies and individuals.
Elizabeth
May 13th, 2012
6:49 pm
I have waited an entire day to see how many comments this article would acquire. Only 59. HOW RIDICULOUS AND UNBELIEVABLE. For those who think media speciialist don’t teach and that media center computers are only used for games: What school planet are you people living on? I was a media specialist for 12 years and would be again if they were not cutting media right and left. In my first media center, I established a school-wide research unit taught through the Language Arts teachers and BY ME. Every student in the school did a week-long research unit introduction with me and finished with 2 or 3 more weeks in the classroom. Games? The only ones allowed were prescribed math and ESOL games designed to improve skills. Seventy -five per cent of my time was spent teaching research skills to students, not only through Language Arts research papers but Science and Social Science fair students.
Most elementary school media specialists today violate media standards daily. These standards say that media schedules must be flexible. But today’s media specialists in elementary schools are “part of the rotation” as mandated by the school principal so that classroom teachers get time off. That means that they teach a fixed schedule of kids EVERY DAY so that teachers have planning time.
With parapros in my county cut for elementary and middle school libraries, that means kids can only come to check out books or use the computers when there is no teaching going on because there is no one to service them. Technology Specialists have been cut so all media specialists are also responsible for ALL computers and technology training in my county.
Teachers get a duty free lunch in elementary school and can eat during planning in middle school. Media specialists, according to Human resources in my county, are “not considered teachers”, so they have no scheduled or mandated lunch and planning time. THAT MEANS MOST CAN’T EAT LUNCH BECAUSE STANDARDS MANDATE AN ACCESSIBLE MEDIA CENTER.Just another standard that is being violated every day in most schools. Not to mention state labor laws that require a lunch period for all personnel.With no one to cover the media center, even bathroom breaks are difficult, especailly if there is not a restroom in the media center.
Now let’s talk about the research out there that has determined that When media centers are fully invloved in the life of the school, as mine was, TEST SCORES RISE. Check it out.
As for “only” checking out books, one of the standards is the challenge to for students to read 25 books each year. Where do most of them get these books? The Media Center. Who checks them out if there is no parapro? Who shelves and proceesess the books? How can new ones be bought if there are no funds? Kids stop reading if they can’t find new books to read. Most do not want to re-read. Who promotes the love of reading that inspires kids to read? Classroom teachers? Not a chance– they are too busy teaching for the test. Who promotes Dr. Seuss, library week, etc.? THE MEDIA SPECIALIST. If she has time. Who selects books appropriate for the special school population? THE MEDIA SPECIALIST WHO IS TRAINED TO DO SO.
With all of these extra responsibilities, we should be receiving a salary supplement, right? Not a chance. I am paid the same as a classroom teacher with my degrees and years of experience. NOT ONE PENNY MORE.
Cut library funds and personnel? Go ahead. Kill the school library. Just don’t complain down the road when literacy and learning disappear. Because they will.
This is one subject I would love to write an article on. If kids can’t read, they can’t do anything well. And with all the information out there, how can they learn to sort it out without help from a trained research ( i.e., media) specialist? Too bad my artlcle would never be published. No one wants to listen to the professionals– or the truth.
Media Girl
May 13th, 2012
7:46 pm
Amen, Elizabeth! There is a book we should all read…The Last Book in the Universe…written for middle school age children…but WOW…never thought I’d see this actually happen.
Tony
May 13th, 2012
7:51 pm
Our school system also cut paraprofessionals in our libraries. Sad.
Ron F.
May 13th, 2012
8:12 pm
teacher&mom: my system can’t afford the new buses they need each year (we get one or two now and keep patching up the rest), we have to endure the temperature in class with thermostats set and locked, and we’ve removed every electrical device not directly related to building function. BUT, have we cut the football budget? NOPE. No field trips, bus routes cut down and combined, but by golly there are a fleet of them ready on game night. Our community is very involved in local athletics, and I get the value of it. I’m just waiting for the day they have to cut coaching staff and/or football schedules- then you’ll hear the wailing all across the state.
Nancy
May 13th, 2012
8:42 pm
I cannot believe that the comments from A Teacher were really written by a teacher. Die in the gutter? I don’t know any teachers who feel that way. The problem with comments like these is that anyone can say anything and claim to be anyone or anything. I put little credence in any of the hateful things people say in comments on newspaper articles. If I did, I would completely give up on mankind. If a teacher really did say those things, then, please, get out of my profession and go find something else to do..
Media Girl
May 13th, 2012
8:56 pm
“Libraries allow children to ask questions about the world and find the answers. And the wonderful thing is that once a child learns to use a library, the doors to learning are always open.”
–Laura Bush
Teafortwo
May 13th, 2012
9:31 pm
My godmother was a Media Specialist in the Clarke County schools for years (Timothy Road Elementary). Right before she died, she mailed a book to me that she thought my son might like in the future. Librarians (especially those who are godmothers) are very special people. Whether they’re in the public library that serves the community or the library that serves the school, they are advocates for every single child they meet. They’re the ones suggesting titles a child might like; they’re the ones helping conduct research for school projects. They are part of the underpinning of our children’s education. Some may not realize it for either lack of interest or out and out ignorance, but librarians play a key role in children’s education and should keep their positions. My librarians at school and at the Ida Williams branch of the Atlanta Public Library? I can tell you their names 40 years later: Mrs. Seely and Mrs. Johnston. They’re that important.
Once Again
May 13th, 2012
9:58 pm
Another item to add to the “why government run education is a failure” column.
Homeschool, private school, work for the end to the government monopoly of your tax dollars and resources that could be better utilized paying private business owners to properly educate your children. Come on…they are your kids after all.
a teacher
May 13th, 2012
10:50 pm
It is disheartening that many kids think of school as of a waste of time. Those who do not care I feel have very little or no hope for a demanding future and will end up dead in the gutter. I do not wish for anyone to die in a gutter. I know my earlier response was inappropriate and I apologize to anyone that I have offended. I was emotional when writing it and was not my intention to be taken literally. Believe it or not but I am very passionate about my job but maybe you are right and it is time for a career change. and some more self reflection.
Phil
May 14th, 2012
3:25 am
School should be paid for by the parents in the form of tuition for each kid in the system and not from money stolen from childless people as part of another socialism scheme.
sneak peek into education
May 14th, 2012
5:38 am
I think that the comments from “A Teacher” are a plant and were written by one of the more negative bloggers as a way to incite and to take the focus off the real topic of the blog. I have NEVER known a teacher talk in this manner. I suppose the only way to control this type of thing is for the AJC to regulate the blog and have people post under their real names.
Lexi
May 14th, 2012
9:46 am
On balance, the public school system is an unaccountable failure. That’s the destiny of monopolies, especially government run monopolies that do not need to compete with innovative schools to attract students, make a profit or account to anyone besides the democrat politicians whose backs they scratch, and who scratch in return. Many public schools are nothing more than captive propaganda mills for the progressive establishment.
Throwing more money at public education won’t help us solve the problem. We have no effective discipline in many schools, layers of due process for miscreants, parents who have ceded all responsibility to the school for “educating” their children and parents who battle the same school teachers when the “students” are disciplined or receive the just grades they’ve “earned.” There is no good reason in the world for not adopting a voucher system so that parents have real choices among accountable schools.
New Media Specialist
May 14th, 2012
11:05 am
I understand that leaders and teachers don’t know what media specialist do. Most teachers will tell you that media specialist sit at their desk all day doing nothing and that’s sad. I was told a long time ago not to judge others but it still goes on. Media Specialist do more than you think. Many take on jobs assigned to the Principal and the AP. In many schools they handle all the technology related jobs as well as teaching skills.
Media Specialist curriculum includes teaching students to be 21st Students; Research; Technology; etc and all within the 7.5 hours of the day. Many of us have no parapro to assist so we have to be inventive with our time and scheduling.
I have to say that media specialist in my county work together and support each other. We have a need for that support because most people don’t understand our job.
Elaine
May 14th, 2012
2:36 pm
I am definitely not questioning the importance of the work that the paraprofessionals perform. I have been fortunate to have wonderful assistance in our library.
I don’t think the financial decision makers have considered that they now have to pay a certified salaried employee for work that was previously done by someone with a lower pay grade.
The work that a paraprofessional does is critical to the running of a library. It cannot be just ignored because the position is eliminated.
That work must now be completed by the librarian which will interfere with the more student achievement oriented activities that are currently the first priority.
Save our Media Centers
May 14th, 2012
3:15 pm
The average person has no idea what a media specialist does all day. As stated earlier, it is more than checking books in and out. All media specialists are teachers of Information Literacy and have at least a Master’s degree in Information Technology with School Library Certification and almost all have taught in a classroom. They teach students and staff how to find, evaluate, and interpret the resources they need…how to sort through the junk on the Internet and find the reliable sources, how to use Databases, how to find the information needed in books/ebooks, how to use technology and software efficiently, they educate everyone on copyright, teach basic library skills, all along with teaching a love of reading to students and encouraging them to become life long learners…plus, they evaluate every resource (technology, books, databases, visual media, etc…) they order for the media center by atleast reading professional reviews, process the resources, catalog, plan a budget (if they are lucky enough to have funding), shelve books, plan activities, lessons, library promotions, displays, develop the media program and goals, and much more…there is a reason there was a media specialist and a media clerk in the media center. My Media Center is open an hour before and after school (no extra pay for those extra hours) and no I don’t get a lunch period or planning period…I eat while doing a hundred other things and I am lucky to sit down all day. My day is nonstop busy. It is a big job and believe it or not it effects every staff member and student in the school. PLEASE visit your local media centers and see what goes on all day. It is not the quiet place of books you may remember from childhood. It is a busy active classroom full of staff and students learning. Parents, students, teachers, administrators, and yes you need to fight to keep School Libraries open and staffed by a certified Media Specialist. We really need our Media Clerks back too:)
Lexi
May 14th, 2012
3:24 pm
Ms. Save our Media Centers: “It is a big job and believe it or not it effects every staff member” the verb is “affects”, as in “it affects every staff member….”
@ Lexi
May 14th, 2012
5:29 pm
You are correct about affect (verb) vs. effect (noun); it is a very common mistake. You, however, are incorrect in placing your comma outside the quotation mark and you left out needed punctuation between “…staff member” AND “the verb.” People in glass houses….
(And I am not “Ms. Save Our Media Centers,” just thinking that maybe you missed the message in the details….)
I love teaching. I hate what it is becoming...
May 14th, 2012
6:57 pm
@New media Specialist “Most teachers will tell you that media specialist sit at their desk all day doing nothing and that’s sad. ”
I would never say that! We have a WONDERFUL media specialist who has done a great job of working with classroom teachers to support our curriculum. She is a treasure, and adds a great deal to our school community. She no longer has a para-pro to help her, and depends upon student helpers, volunteers and the occasional teacher to help her check in, check out, and shelve books. I know she must be overwhelmed sometimes, yet she always has a smile on her face and is always willing to pitch in.
I find it terribly ironic to keep reading comments on this blog (and not just in this thread) about how badly public schools are doing their job. “Can’t discipline. No media specialists. Overcrowded classrooms. No field trips. Cut backs in bussing. etc. etc. etc…. Stop throwing money down the drain! Vouchers and charter schools will save us all!”
So, pray tell, how did public schools end up in this predicament? Could it be the continual cuts to funding? More and more, I believe it is deliberate… starve the schools till they can no longer fully support student learning, then start screaming about how they are “failing” our children and how it is time to shift to a corporate profit driven educational system.
And too many folks buy right in….
Mary Elizabeth
May 14th, 2012
8:00 pm
@ I love teaching, 6:57 pm
“So, pray tell, how did public schools end up in this predicament? Could it be the continual cuts to funding? More and more, I believe it is deliberate… starve the schools till they can no longer fully support student learning, then start screaming about how they are ‘failing’ our children and how it is time to shift to a corporate profit driven educational system.”
—————————————————————————-
It is my opinion that you see the truth of what is happening in Georgia, regarding education. Thank you for stating your perceptions so concisely, for all to read.
Ron F.
May 14th, 2012
8:12 pm
@ I love teaching 6:57- Amen!
National Board Certified LMS
May 14th, 2012
9:21 pm
I am an elementary media specialist who is fortunate to still have a full-time media parapro. (This will change FY2013 when she goes to half-time.) Together we serve 1150 students and 100+ faculty members. I am the point of contact for 400+ computers, printers, Smartboards, iPads and other technology gizmos on campus. I manage a collection of 20,000 items valued in excess of $500,000. I am also the audiovisual guru, copy queen and general Miss Fix-It. We operate on a flexible schedule, but still manage to see 30+ classes a week for lessons and check-out. I also handle a myriad of “other duties as assigned” that often pull me out of the media center on a moment’s notice. Like many others, I also eat while I work at my desk. A lot of what I do goes on behind the scenes to make sure the school functions smoothly. You might not know exactly what I do, but you sure know when it’s not getting done. As much as I would like to maintain the current high levels of service, it will be physically impossible to teach, handle technology and cover the circulation function next year by myself. [I'm at a Title I school with few parent volunteers.] Something has to give and unfortunately, it’s likely to be the teaching part (which happens to be my favorite). I refuse to work overtime to absorb another 1/2 time position into my job when there are six area assistant superintendents in the county office.
Lexi
May 15th, 2012
4:09 am
@Lexi: Thank you for your editing. I wasn’t aware that “effect” was always a noun.
DLB
May 15th, 2012
9:11 am
Reduced days, now reduced resources, the children are being cheated because of goverment waste, buying millions of dollars of technology but cutting teacher salaries. How many school board members are taking cuts in salaries? Some have actually gotten raises when their teachers are being treated like second-rate citizens. Teachers do the work- while the board sits on their tails and spend, spend, spend! I say next election get rid of them and find someone who cares -if we can! The children are the ones who will suffer!
DLB
May 15th, 2012
9:30 am
By the way for you who really want to know what a media specialist does- go to your child’s school and see for yourself – give them a hand – if you really want to know the truth. All teachers work about 9-10 hours a day(some days more) and get no overtime pay- just their salary. Just like firemen and police they are under paid and unlike others, they don’t have a real advocate- they have to take it or quit. Are our children worth it or not?
Christy
May 15th, 2012
9:49 am
The school Media Specialist and Media Parapro effect everyone in the school. They effect the students, teachers, principals, and parents. The environment and experience that the student has in the Media Center will ultimately effect their love of reading, either for the better or for the worse. We are heading in the wrong direction and our children are the ones that will suffer!
JA
May 15th, 2012
10:43 am
A group of concerned folks has put together the following website in support of fully-funded media centers. It specifically concerns the budget in Clarke County, but obviously applies to many scenarios right now.
http://loveyourschoollibrary.wordpress.com/
Ole Guy
May 15th, 2012
3:47 pm
I’m seeing so much hand-wringing, continuing complaints, and very very little in the way of any hint toward viable solutions. Sure, education is in the pits; the crapper…all is lost…the skys falling! SO FREQUIN WHAT?! These kids have an enormous edge in the readily available technology sources, primarily the internet.
Inasmuch as I have always denounced the introduction of technology prior to the mastery of the basics, the damn contraption, nonetheless, is going to remain within the hallowed halls of public education. So then…set me straight. From day 1…probably the 1st/2nd grades….kids are introduced to the marvels of Google, Ask, and the multitude of search engines; certainly far far more research availability than I ever had in the days of the Dewey Deci System, etc. So answer me this one overwhelming answer: With all this advanced research capability a mere key stroke away, WHY’NHELL ARE WE SO GD CONCERNED OVER SUCH RELATIVELY SIMPLISTIC SHORTCOMINGS? We’ve led the (generational) horses to the water trough of technology, but we surshell can’t make em’ drink, can we? All we can do is complain over the very same issues I have expounded upon…the ole fashioned ways of teacher/librarian/whatever dispenser of educational wisdom we care to hold responsible this week…actually being there to, well, teach.
SO THERE IT IS AT THE TOUCH OF A FINGER STROKE; ALL THE ANSWERS TO ALL THE QUESTIONS THESE KIDS HAVE. ALL THEY GOTTA DO IS…DRINK THE GD WATER…GO AFTER THE ANSWERS.
If this is asking too much…too much to expect kids to self-direct their destinys…then we got/they got a whole bunch of problems far far greater than the stuff we’ve been harping over
Perspective and expectations, people. These kids are capable of a helluva lot more than we give em’ credit for. Howbout we stop complaining over issues which are, unfortunately, not going to change. Howbout we start adapting to the realities within 21st education.
National Board Certified LMS
May 15th, 2012
6:25 pm
@ Ole Guy Yes, the kids are capable of doing more than we give them credit for. However, they must first be taught how to search properly and then how to evaluate the hits received in response to their query, By fifth grade they start to have a clue about online searching. With grades K-3, these little ones are still learning how to read. I direct my students to paid databases that are more appropriate for their skill and reading levels than I do advocating a generic Google search. I also think elementary students do better seeing the materials in print before we look at the online resource. Many of them like the online encyclopedia, but prefer a print dictionary, atlas and almanac.
MB
May 15th, 2012
7:33 pm
@ Ole Guy – Believe me, some kids do think they can “self-direct their destinys (sic).” They want to google or ask Jeeves and be done with an assignment so they can play Minecraft or learn what Justin Beiber is doing. Our job is to make them 21st century learners by requiring higher order thinking in their learning; how many will do more if it’s not expected?
GIve your hypothetical 3rd grader free rein in Google; let’s say he’s researching cougars. Wow, won’t he learn a lot – much of which his parents probably would prefer that he NOT learn at 8. “Meet Hot Single Cougars,” etc. Even if he finds the cat version, the first site will be WIkipedia; Our state pays for Encyclopedia Britannica and SIRS DIscoverer through GALILEO. Students who learn to search accurately at an early age don’t have to break bad search habits later.
MB
May 15th, 2012
7:47 pm
If you think students don’t need direction, consider the website http://www.martinlutherking.org. In a hurry, a student might type in this URL; dot org sites are for non-profits so they MUST be legit, right? S/he quickly clicks through some of the links, including a chronology of King’s plagiarized works, The Beast as Saint (”The Truth about MLK, Jr.”), recommended books by noted historians such as David Duke, etc. Copy and paste a bit and the student could have a “research project,” with the “research” based on information posted by Stormfront.
Do you see why kids could be drowning in that water? (Oh, see http://www.dhmo.org, by the way.) It IS easier for students to locate information – our challenge as educators is to teach them to analyze and critically consider WHAT they find and to synthesize what they learn into something new. THAT is how America has been successful, and the emphasis on multiple-choice testing, requiring teachers to teach to the test and forgo the activities and expectations that lead to real learning, is threatening the continuation of that success.
MB
May 15th, 2012
7:56 pm
(Credit for the cougar example goes to a friend who was selected TEACHER of the year this year at her elementary school of over 1100 students; she is their library media specialist!)
Media Specialist
May 16th, 2012
12:14 pm
Sade:
It’s a shame you believe the media center is a place where students play games or shop. This statement could not be further from the truth. As a media specialist of 850 students and a 40,000 plus collection our students are working on projects and assignments. My students are allowed to participate in research and school related activities at all time. My students have competed and won at local, county, regional, state, and national Science, Social Studies, Science Olympiad, and yes even Robotics competitons. It would behoove you not to make generalizations about media centers and what is going on at them. This thought process is what allows people to believe media centers and libraries are not important.
Cuts to school libraries and staffs a sad chapter in education | Get Schooled | Lambertn's Library Lowdown | Scoop.it
May 18th, 2012
12:41 pm
[...] } #themeHeader #titleAndDescription * { color: black; } blogs.ajc.com – Today, 12:41 [...]