New Year's Resolution: Teach More, Librarian Less.

Litzinger, Vicki

CO

Ray, Mark.  (2012) New Year's Resolution: Teach More. Librarian Less. Teacher Librarian,  39(3), 52 - 53.

Summary

Mark Ray, as the 2012 Washington State Teacher of the Year, urges us to teach more, to be visible in our schools, and to point out to others when we've had a class of excellent teaching. He briefly discusses two other teacher-librarians in Washington State who are making a difference in their schools with an emphasis on being teachers and educational leaders in their schools. He points out that they do this by being active on educational committees and workgroups, working closely with their administrations and colleagues or by becoming specialists in a particular kind of teaching and learning style. They are "leading by example, effectively advocating for teacher librarians and school library programs by focusing on great teaching" (52) The authors final points are about emphasizing our excellent instruction and willingness to learn from our colleagues so that our students benefit.

Evaluation

We love libraries and librarians, and that is a major reason that most of us when into this profession. And now we are expected to teach, and we see our teaching responsibilities as equal to or secondary to our librarian roles. Ray is telling us to change our thinking and completely refocus on being teachers first! The author details several concrete examples of how to do that from being very visible in our schools, actively participating on educational teams,  and to seeking out colleagues with whom to share and learn from. It's all about advocacy for ourselves, our programs, and our students.