Hi everyone,
I keep meaning to post something good to share but I can't think of anything earth shattering. But I do have a question for you guys, especially those of you who have worked or student taught in high schools.....what do you think of being a high school librarian?

I've been thinking maybe I would be better off in a high school library here becuase there's less craziness (I think) or at least a diffferent kind of craziness. I love the little kids but I'm on a half fixed schedule that has me seeing them for 30 minutes at a time which barely leaves enough time to get them books and do a decent lesson. The reason I'm thinking high school is because I think I'd get a chance to go out and try to colloaborate with teachers rather than running a mill of in and out checkouts on a fixed schedule. I kind of feel like I'm getting swamped with bus duties, extra elementary events and not getting a chance to really teach the kids as much as I'd like.....maybe it's just the schedule but I haven't figured out a way to move to a completely flexible schedule or a longer library time here....

So basically what are your thoughts on being a high school librarian? (What are the best and worst parts of HS libraries?)

K-12 Online Conference

Hey everyone. Just thought I'd forward the info I sent to my faculty regarding K-12 Online, in case you didn't hear about it. David Warlick's keynote was today...I still haven't watched it yet, but I've heard it's very good.

Check out the below information on the K-12 Online Conference 2007:

"The K-12 Online Conference invites participation from all educators from around the world who are interested in innovative ways Web 2.0 tools and technologies can be used to improve learning. This is a FREE conference run by volunteers and open to everyone, no registration is required. The conference theme is “Playing with Boundaries”. The 2007 conference begins with a pre-conference keynote the week of October 8, 2007. The following two weeks, October 15-19 and October 22-26, forty presentations will be posted online to the conference blog (this website) for participants to download and view. Live Events in the form of three “Fireside Chats” and a culminating “When Night Falls” event will be announced. Everyone is encouraged to participate in both live events during the conference as well as asynchronous conversations."

More information can be found at http://k12onlineconference.org/ as well as a conference schedule at http://home.alltel.net/lanihall/k12online2007schedule.html .
Tons of exciting presentations and discussions are planned, including a keynote address by David Warlick and sessions in four main categories -- Classroom 2.0, New Tools, Professional Learning Networks, and Obstacles to Opportunities.

Flowers for Algernon

I had a 5th grader ask for Flowers for Algernon today. We don't have it, but I didn't know if it was even something I should offer to ILL for a 5th grader. I don't remember it all that well...all I remember is that Charlie gets smart, gets dumb again, and then dies...but are there any sex scenes or anything? I have no idea. I'm also assuming it's above her reading level, but at least it's short. I'm thinking I'll just casually forget about the whole thing for a while...that is so lame, but I just can't be involved in any more decision-making right now! Haha...

Chris Crutcher

I went to a Banned Book Week author talk by Chris Crutcher tonight -- it was awesome! I really like him. He was funny and smart and kind of cute in a 61-year-old man with a beard kind of way, and I recommend everyone listen to him speak if you ever get a chance. He has a really interesting past -- he has worked as a teacher, at a last-chance high school, as a counselor, and seems to have just picked writing up randomly...I don't know about that though. So that's my story.

Libraries Learning from Bookstores

An interesting article by a high school student for people who work in high school / middle school libraries. It reminded me of my high school library and why in high school I would never have considered working in a library.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/viewpoints/stories/DN-drusch_29edi.ART.State.Edition1.4229cbf.html

Grades in the Library

Does anyone have to issue grades in the library? We do, and at first I thought it was weird, but now I think it holds me and them (the students) accountable for the work we do, and it helps me get the older kids to take it more seriously and involve parents when I need to. We are planning to move to a standards based report card next year, and the specialists (library, gym, art, computer, music) are supposed to evaluate how we will fit into this. It turns out none of us really want to give up grading completely - it makes it to easy to dismiss us as non-academic subjects - but we can't have a 14 page report card for each kid either. We are exploring developing a set of standards that apply to all specials (participates in lessons, follows directions, etc.). What are your thoughts/advice?