MSLIS News

As I complete my final semester of the MLIS program at Syracuse and look for full-time work as a school librarian, I have been substitute teaching at a local middle/high school (6-12) for a computer teacher who is out on paternity leave. Not only has this kept me busy and active in a school setting, it has provided me with some valuable classroom teaching experience. Many of my fellow MLIS-ers are former teachers, but I come to the library from the science field. Even though I spent a semester student teaching, substitute teaching is pushing my classroom management comfort zone. Students can smell fear or hesitation, and they will take advantage of the fact that you may not be familiar with every school procedure. So I have been struggling to refine my teaching style and develop lesson strategies and management skills, and I am getting better at it. However, I was initially worried when I was assigned to cover the in-school suspension room for a couple of periods each day. The ISS room is home to the “problem students,” the ones who don’t behave properly in their regular classrooms. How could I handle these kids?

But it didn’t take long for me to realize that I like working in the ISS room. I get to work with the students on a one-to-one basis, carrying on conversations, helping with homework, responding to inquiries. This level of interaction doesn’t happen in a busy computer classroom, and it is much closer to the point-of-need interactions with students that I enjoy in the secondary school library. When removed from the distractions of friends to show off for, teachers to antagonize, and the opposite sex to flirt with, these kids are…just kids. For the most part, they are calmer in the ISS room than in the regular classroom and I’ve enjoyed my conversations with them. For example, one day, the three students in ISS were wondering how many people were in the United States. I showed them the US Census website and they spent an entire period looking up the populations of cities across the country. That type of inquiry-based learning isn’t always possible in a classroom setting.

Yesterday I had my first tough customer in the ISS room. A frequent discipline problem, this boy has trouble sitting still and tends to be verbally abusive. Plus, he’s a lot bigger than me. But when I arrived at the ISS room, I was intrigued to find the student sitting calmly and quietly. How did that happen? He was being read Ben Mikaelsen’s Touching Spirit Bear by another student. He was mesmerized by the book. When she got to the end of a chapter, he demanded that she read more. He expressed hope that they would have time to finish the whole book! Was it a fluke? I decided to try it for myself, and today when I had a different student with some serious ADHD issues and an equally difficult time sitting still, I pulled My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George off the shelf and began to read. He sat. He didn’t talk. He complained about being bored, but he listened to every word, even asking a question now and then. I don’t know if this will work every time with every student, but I’m willing to try it whenever I get the chance. Reading to a student is a very pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

The other thing I like about covering the ISS room is that I am forging a bond with these students. Perhaps someday, when I am working as a library media specialist, I can entice some of them to come down to the library and check out some books. Or maybe I will just make it a practice to occasionally go up to the ISS room and read to students.

Feel free to comment here or on the Syracuse iSchool LIS facebook page.

Posted by Rebecca Buerkett, Syracuse MLIS distance student, rlbuerke@syr.edu.

I started the School Media MLIS program at SU during the summer of 2008, and after what seems (oddly enough)  like simultaneously a blink of an eye and a lifetime, I’m now taking my final class. I can’t believe how far I’ve come or how much I’ve learned in the past year. And while I’ll truly miss being able to read all the great discussion posts by my fellow students and professors when I’m no longer a student, I’m looking forward to getting out there and actually working in a library. I’m ready. Or at least I will be once I finish my last class, IST661, Information Management in School Libraries. It’s a pretty important class, and I’m glad I’ve saved it for my last semester. Having so much coursework behind me and being so close to working in a library is making this course that much more meaningful to me.

Topics we will be covering include managing personnel, what to do when a book is challenged, marketing, program evaluation, managing library space, budgeting, and collaboration, among others. The course instructor, Dr. Renee Franklin, is doing a great job of pulling in real-world scenarios and resources for our discussions and readings. For example, when we were discussing collection development/ acquisitions, Dr. Franklin asked a book sales representative to participate in our discussions for the week. Also, each week she posts tips and advice that she has directly solicited from working school librarians to inspire us newbies.

So how much can theoretical knowledge prepare us for the real world of school librarianship? I do think that my SU MLIS education is striking a good balance between theoretical and practical knowledge. As a distance student, I find that being able to ask questions of both my professors and fellow students via frequent Blackboard discussion posts provides the opportunity to gain more practical knowledge in areas where I may need it. And certainly, the 400 hours of fieldwork and student teaching is a great way to begin to apply what we are learning. But there’s no substitute for the Real World. My practicum site advisor told me it will take at least 5-6 years after beginning my librarian career before I will will really feel comfortable and knowledgeable in my field. So bring on the Real World – I’m ready to have at it!

Feel free to comment here or on the Syracuse iSchool LIS facebook page.

Posted by Rebecca Buerkett, Syracuse MLIS distance student, rlbuerke@syr.edu.