Developing the respect and support of school administrators

Reposted from class Wiki. Original summary by Jonine Bergen 05/05/2011


Oberg, D. (2006, February). Developing the respect and support of school administrators. Retrieved May 7, 2011, from RedOrbit, Inc. website:
http://www.redorbit.com/news/education/397062/ developing_the_respect_and_support_of_school_administrators/

"Oberg discusses her findings of a literature review she completed which considered the importance of principal support of teacher librarians. She indicates that “Teacher-librarians tend to be invisible because the nature of their work involves empowering others, and building relationships with other educators-including the principal- is limited by their physical isolation in the library and by scheduling.” Orberg then focuses on her research looking at successful library programs and how principals support library programs. Finally, she indicates the importance of the teacher-librarian advocating for the library through regular communication and training. "Teacher-librarians gain the respect and support of their principals in three key ways: by building their professional credibility, by communicating effectively with principals, and by working to advance school goals." Simply, principals cannot be expected to support programs they know nothing about.

I think of particular importance is her observation that a school librarian must have credibility as experts in their field and be seen as school leaders.Part of this means having credentials in both librarianship and education. It is very difficult to have credibility with teachers if they do not believe you know what you are talking about. But, it is also important to realize that this takes time." -Bergen, J. (2011)

 

Reflection by Kara Carter: When I read this article, I found myself agreeing wholeheartedly with Jonine, which is why I also reposted her original summary. What I wanted to emphasize, that she touched on, however, is the lack of credibility and respect many teachers, parents and administrators have for teacher-librarians. Few people have any idea what it takes, education and experience-wise to become a librarian, let alone a teacher librarian. Many people still have the antiquated idea in their heads that librarians are spinsters, or people that fell into the profession because they lacked social skills and education when the exact opposite is true. Most parents still don't know that teacher-librarians have to be certified teachers in most states, with an MLIS and still yet, many teachers don't know that either, seeing the teacher-librarians as somewhat of a threat, where resources and funds are concerned, though the purpose of the teacher-librarian is to support their efforts at educating their students, and making their jobs more effective.

 

It is my belief that a radical overhaul of the press concerning the profession needs to occur. We, as the next generation of teacher-librarians, have to finally stand up and "toot our own horns", something that many of us are loathe to do. Not only do we need to display our credentials where anyone and everyone can see them, but we need to educate staff and parents on our expertise and function, which goes well beyond basic reading skills. We need to be visible entities in the school, in every way possible, in short, selling ourselves as any other product, to prove that we are necessary and that the school suffers if we are not part of it. Once that occurs, I believe that libraries will cease to be the first place that parents and administrators recommend for budget cuts, and they will begin to fight for them instead.

 

Posted by Kara Carter