The California Study

I've been reading "The California Study" today (it has a different official title but this is what it is in my head, and probably the heads of lots of librarians).  One section addresses leadership (the perception that the TL is a leader in the school) and the connection of leadership to collaboration.  Here's a quotation from Lance (who did the CO studies).

Said Lance, “You have to step into those leadership shoes first and establish yourself as a leader that somebody would want to collaborate with” (Achterman, 2007, p. 51).

The paper goes on to address the TL as a leader in the school and how leadership influences collaboration.

When I was a classroom teacher in OK, CA, and the first year in ID, I did not realize that the TL was supposed to be a "leader" or "administrator."  I didn't know that TLs had to have first been classroom teachers, or why that would even be important.  My interaction with the TL was limited to those times I took a class to the library, asking for resources or technology (yes, I once showed a filmstrip), or (in CA) taking 9th grade students for a "library orientation."  My final year of teaching in ID the TL introduced herself to all teachers new at the school as our "fairy godmother."  While we never formally planned a lesson together and she did not ever actively teach my students, she was really vital to my curriculum planning that year.  Because I viewed her as someone who was involved with students and curriculum, I would have been very open to planning a collaborative lesson with her had she asked--but I didn't even know I COULD ask her to do that. 

And I think that is one barrier to TL/CT collaboration--classroom teachers do not realize they can ask the TL to be a co-teacher in their classroom.  They may feel uncomfortable allowing someone else to assess their students in a way that directly effects their grades.  And, of course, because of inadequate staffing levels in many schools, true collaboration can't be a reality.

I really think if we just got a huge influx of funding for library staffing and materials, we have an opportunity to change the way teacher librarians are viewed in the school community.  What we need is an influx of teacher librarians who can become leaders and collaborators on their campuses in a way that "wins over" most teachers, and administrators who view librarians and tl/classroom teacher collaboration as essential to student success so that a culture of collaboration results.  (none of this is new to me--lots of it is based on the background info in the CA study as well as other readings).  But it always comes down to funding--the need for a full-time TL and classified support staff to make it happen.  And CA has now created this bizarre situation where, even if we wanted to do this tomorrow and the funds magically appeared, we couldn't.  Where would the TL's come from?  We don't have enough qualified TLs to step into these jobs, and if we can't hire people who are qualified to do the job, it won't be done well, and the idea that we don't "need" a "real" librarian in the school library gets perpetuated.

It is both a frustrating time to be in library school because of this and an exciting time, because I have to believe that at some point school funding will improve and the mounting evidence in favor of school librarians will push practice in that direction.  It seems to be doing so, at least in part, in some areas of the country.

I don't really know if this ramble belongs here, but I just wanted to record my thoughts for now.  This study (and its bibliography) are going to be really useful to my lit. review.  I kind of feel like I'm cheating somehow, b/c I'm basically reading his lit review and going "yeah!" "I should include that!"  "yeah!"  "I need to look up that paper!"

As an aside, it's also kind of awesome to be reading papers that refer to professors who teach or have taught at SJSU SLIS.  I know there are varying opinions on the value of a program that is entirely online, but I love being able to point to specific leaders in the field of LIS and say, "oh, yeah, I took a class from that person." :)