Against the Grain

At first glance, this photo is just one that caught my eye as I browsed through photos  in Flickr Commons.

But take a longer look. I assume this is a school.

What questions does it raise?

• What is behind those doors?

• Is what’s behind the doors for males only?

• Do the graphics encourage running in the hall?

• Does the student demonstrate being a risk taker by “going again the grain?

• Has this student been rejected from what’s behind the doors?

• Is this a visual metaphor for rejection? 

• What’s in the bag the young man is carrying?

• Assuming the photo wasn’t photoshopped, how can the floors be so shiny? 

•Mysterious. Curious. Perhaps a good story starter.

Passion

 Sunday. Isn’t this the most exquisite flower?  I found one blooming in my yard today. My neighbor says it is a passion flower. Not being familiar with this flower, I did what all librarians do first. I googled it and then I “wikipediad” it. I found the flower I saw was probably a variety of passion flowers named a Maypop. Maypops, the state flower of Tennessee,  are considered wildflowers and grow on vines in sunny areas. They can produce an edible fruit. I’m not sure why these flowers are called passion flowers except their scientific name is Passiflora. But perhaps the most intriguing and the disappointing thing is the flower only lasts a day.

Monday. For a while now I’ve been processing about the “why” of me, and that’s separate from the “what” of me. When does the what become the why? Or does it?  Is the why the same thing as passion.  Are passion and why related? Obviously, I’m having trouble articulating my thoughts.

This morning as I was wandering around the web, I ran across a poem by Trevor Bryan on the 4 O’Clock Faculty website. I suppose I was subconsciously thinking about that passion flower, and I guess my brain took a mental leap and substituted the word passion for the word mission.  So I invite you to read the poem and substitute the word passion for mission and substitute all words about reading for all words about art.

Where does your librarianship fit into the what/why or job/mission conundrum? I hope you take a minute to reflect, and I hope your passion lasts more than a day.

 My Job

As an art teacher,

my job is to teach the basics of

art making and

and art appreciation.

That’s my job.

That’s what the curriculum says.

That’s why I was hired.

But my mission

is to get kids to  love art

or at least, put them on a path

to like art.

My mission

is to help kids meaningfully

explore,

find,

and share their

unique voice.

This means

that I have to put the kid

before the product

and put the kid

before the process.

The child comes first

Every child that enters my art room

brings a different background,

different experiences,

different cultures

and different parents.

Their relationship with

art making and art appreciation

are going to be just as diverse.

In many cases,

focusing on my job isn’t going to cut it.

In many cases,

I need to focus on my mission

which means,

I need to focus on the individual child.

Not the product.

Not the process.

But the child.

I’m thankful for my job.

I’m grateful for my mission.

~ Trevor Bryan https://fouroclockfaculty.com/2018/09/my-job/

Connections

•Since it’s middle of September, I know it’s a little unusual for me to select the graphic for this week that shows a vividly green leaf. But I’ve looked at this photo for many months, and only today did it occur to me that it would illustrate a perfect simile for a librarian. Successful librarians build networks like healthy plants grow veins. Both create associations with others that are strong  and interconnected.

•

•I wrote this on Sunday, and then on Monday…

•Judi Morreillon posted this graphic on the Maximizing School Librarian Leadership Facebook group.

•http://www.schoollibrarianleadership.com/2018/09/03/building-connections/

•It’s interesting how the interconnectedness of ideas can be found in such dissimilar places.

Ideas Start Here

 My first impression for this photo was, “Wow! What a good idea for a school library. Of course, the sign would not be taken literally. Who would dare say you couldn’t sit in the chairs if you didn’t have an idea?

Other questions that immediately came to mind:

•Could this be the library’s version of a buddy bench?

•Where in the library could this kind of area be set up?

•Would this space need to be reserved for small group conversations? It might if it were in a large high school.

•How could the space be defined? Area rug? Floor pillows? Funky chairs? A low table with a dry- erase top? I think I would put a large ottoman in the middle of the four chairs in the photo rather than a table. Then you wouldn’t have to remind the kids to get their feet off the furniture. :-/ I would get someone (perhaps a parent volunteer) to make a portable dry-erase surface that could be  laid on top of the ottoman.

Running the Routes

•I had the craziest idea last night.

•As a pre-school activity, I’ve heard that some principals load up their faculty on buses and “run the routes” so that teachers can see where the kids live.

•While I know there would be some logistical issues to work through, what if sometime during the year you rode each route with the kids in the afternoon?

•You could turn these bus trips into a different vehicle for promoting reading.  (Bad pun intended!)

•Details are far from being developed in my head, and I know this idea would have to be crafted to fit the situation.

•Assuming this is not a crazy idea for you, email me and let’s toss around some ideas.   

Starting the Year

Jim Tyson. https://unsplash.com/photos/r9T0LZv8xWQ

The title photo was an easy choice for the first edition of Web Wanderings, volume 3 . At the beginning of the school year, everyone is standing on Start.

But the questions become how will we proceed through the year? Will it be basically the same as  the last one, or will we create a new, completely revised version of our individual Hopscotch?  Will we hop from one square to the next, being able to avoid barriers and bumps in the road, or will we have a misstep along the way?

I just finished reading Your Back-To-School Messages Are Hurting Teachers* by Shanna Peeples, the 2015 National Teacher of the Year. She articulated so well  many of the thoughts I’ve had lately. I seem to have created my own echo chamber of educational cheerleaders. It can be overwhelming  thinking that all librarians are super stars and  thinking that if I do everything faster and better I could qualify for at least one Distinguished level in the new Texas Library Guidelines and Standards.

Sue Kowalski‏ @spkowalski  said recently, “If we keep doing the same thing because it's comfortable & people know what to expect, are we really moving forward?”  I’m not suggesting that we must plan on reinventing the world or even moving a small mountain. Individually we should look for a molehill or two to level. Some of bigger challenges may just have to wait. 

* ShannaPeeples/your-back-to-school-messages-are-hurting-teachers-44508cfda269  Takes 6 minutes to read

Right now, I’m on Start and figuring out what to do with my first hop!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vicr748hwgqknja/Vol3_Issue%201_Webwanderings_Share.pptx?dl=0  or http://bit.ly/2vAV1wg

Watermelons and Books

Remember when you were a kid and you were so excited when you knew that TODAY was the day  to eat your first slice of the watermelon of the summer!

Remember that juicy redness running down your chin and onto your t-shirt? Remember pleading for just one more slice? 

Remember challenging your friends to watermelon seed spitting contests. I guess now that activity is a health hazard. L

Watermelons are just like unread books. The good part is on the inside.

https://pixabay.com/en/watermelon-summer-846357