An organic 2011

     

photo © 2009 Martyn Hutchby | more info (via: Wylio)

I spent a lot of 2010 making myself crazy. Immersed in my RSS feed, I saw so many new things I could accomplish for our students. Our learning commons is a sign of change in our school and over the past few years, I have been working very hard at leading the charge from the front.

This year I am in a very different place. Why the change? It isn't because the need for ratcheting up collaboration in curriculum planning to include information and media literacy skills is any less crucial for our students. It isn't because students no longer need to understand the power of their digital footprint and what citizenship means in 2011. None of that has changed.

The change is in how I approach student learning and progress. We will still be keeping data on curriculum, skills, and standards. I'll still be teaching as many classes as I can shoehorn into the day. But the watchword is going to change. It has been "21st century skills," and I will tell it to you true, everybody hates that phrase. You can see the hackles rise. It is too strident, accusatory, and has become empty jargon.

Leadership from the front spreads the message, and I think the message is pretty much out there.  Leadership in the field is what we need right now - nurturing new skills and new literacies with personalized professional development when and where it is needed.
This year my watchword is going to be "organic."  I'll cultivate students and teachers by focusing on their specific need or task and build the skills into the educational moment.  I'll look to nurture each student and teacher with what they need, when they need it.

I came to this model after reviewing what worked over the past academic year to date.

• Our new student CCHS YA Galley Group Blog.  New staff member and YALSA Teen's Top Ten Committee Chair, Jennifer Barnes (you can read Jennifer's blog here) worked with our passionate student readers to create a review blog for YA galleys. These students are credentialing themselves in their joy of reading and publishing to the world. My favorite part is they not only assign a number on a scale in their reviews, they describe the book as a food experience. An example from a recent student post: "The combination of terrible emotions and timeline, yet satisfying ending that gives those silly characters what they deserve add up to give the book 3 stars. Imagine a funny tasting candy that's nice to just crunch down on and finish."
  
• Our new ebooks aren't gaining as much traction as I would like, but this is okay. We are building the information infrastructure ahead of need. This is important behind the scenes work that will keep our school moving forward and well situated for the coming transition to a more digital learning environment.
  
• Introducing new, more user friendly databases is working. Text-to-speech functionality and UDL compliance are the nectar luring teachers to this one.
  
• Supporting teacher requests for more rigorous source evaluation skills for students is working.
  
• Supporting teachers in more rigorous citation expectations is working.
  
• Supporting teachers and special education staff requests for guidance in identifying and obtaining alternate versions for students with reading disabilities is working.
  
• Supporting students in media production to synthesize their learning is working. Our media lab is busier than ever and the role of learning commons staffed skilled in advanced media production more crucial than ever.
  
• Going to a paperless pass system, making life easier for faculty and more accountable for students, is working.
  
• Establishing the learning commons as a place for academic as well as community building activities is working.

All the things that have worked best so far this year have come from an organic need. They dovetailed with work already being done and/or served our community. Transformation has come by nurturing and tending to teachers and students based on a personalized approach that goes beyond good, responsive patron services. It is both more holistic and more effective.

So for the balance of the 2011 academic year, I am going organic. I'll be working in the fields alongside teachers and students, checking in on them, seeing what their needs are, and seeing how we can support them. The nutrients will be skills and resources, and the sunshine will be collegial service with a smile.

Wishing my fellow teacher-librarians an exciting 2011 filled with happiness, health, and a wonderful harvest in June.

Farmer Robin : )

      photo © 2010 Uberto | more info (via: Wylio)

Double Rainbows

The week before Thanksgiving is a unique opportunity to reap a harvest. This is when students who have graduated stop by to say hi, email updates, and as an educator you get to peek further down the production line and see the fruits of your labor.

Not only do returning students tell you how they are doing, stories of roommates and their plans for travels and their thoughts on a major, they bring social media.


This one had me hanging on the table and laughing so hard I couldn't breathe. It builds. Wait for it. Every human emotion in one heartfelt rant.

Double Rainbow - So intense



And then comes the social media mashup. Pitch perfect!

Double Rainbow Song



This is a double rainbow week. Happy holidays and safe travels.

Photo Credit:
Flickr Creative Commons
Double Rainbow

Close the library?

This post first appeared as a guest post on Doug Johnson's Blue Skunk Blog. Thank you for the opportunity, Doug!

As we wind up the academic year, I've been thinking about our transition from a traditional school library to a learning commons. It became official this year, and judging by our traffic and circulation numbers, it’s been a big success.

The kind of work that students are now engaged in looks different than it did even just five years ago. Our instruction reflects this and has evolved, with lessons that now include topics such as source evaluation, advanced search skills, web-based information platforms, and fair use media. Our website has turned into a 24/7 support portal featuring tutorials and rich resources for students working out of school hours.

The things that are working:

    * rewarding collaborations with teachers for extended research activities and multi-media projects (instructional class use went up 74% over the past year!)
    * media production - through the roof
    * new informational web tools for :
          o location
          o evaluation
          o synthesis
          o presentation
    * new formats
          o eBooks
          o CD / MP3 audio books
          o web-based sources for free digital content
          o graphic novels of classics and for curriculum related topics

The things that are not working:

    * lines of students waiting to get in because we are often beyond seating capacity
    * requests for extended hours which we struggle to staff
    * learning commons staff stretched t-h-i-n by our increased student and class use

And one thing that surprised me:

    * a few teachers who prefer the traditional library model of silent, individual study

I was genuinely taken aback when someone expressed to me that there were a few faculty members who weren't pleased with the new learning commons model. Where I see engagement, creativity, differentiation, diversity, collaboration, and relevance, they see noisy students. Where I see new sources of information with text-to-speech, translation options, and ways to manipulate and understand digital content, they see students using computers instead of reading books. Where I see innovation, they see distraction.

Books are wonderful, but they aren't necessarily accessible by all learners. Common decency, and the US  Federal Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 Universal Design Law, demand accessible alternatives. While handing out a xeroxed reading packet may be a comfortable tradition, it does not allow access for all students nor does it allow them to learn the skills of navigating links to original sources, annotating for web-based collaboration, or seeking alternative perspectives. These are critical thinking skills, and it is our job is to advocate for students who are otherwise locked alone in an analog world.

During moments of self-doubt, when I wonder if perhaps we've gone too far, I look around at other programs in our state where a number of traditional libraries have been closed due to budget cuts. At the same time, many other districts, including some in highly cash-strapped towns, are protecting their learning commons. Why?

Perhaps it’s because the learning commons has taken the lead in educating not only students, but also faculties, in new informational technologies. Perhaps its because the learning commons has become a leader for incorporating special tools for students with learning disabilities. Perhaps it’s because the learning commons has become essential to the educational mission of the school.  

As I have been thinking about these things, an interesting blog post appeared in my RSS feed. In YALSA Blog: Save Libraries? Linda Braun posted her recent discussion with  YALSA Blog manager MK Eagle. They talked about the Save Libraries Campaign, advocacy, and the quandary of what to do about bad libraries. They gave voice to the unspeakable. Do all libraries deserve to be saved? What is our obligation to advocate for poor programs?

This to me highlights the perception gap between a "traditional" library and a modern learning commons. Here we have professionals in the field of librarianship talking about the difficulty of supporting library programs that fail to maintain their relevance to modern educational needs, and yet I know there are a few people in my own building who long for the days of books, hard-copy periodicals, and silent individual study.

For the next academic year, I will continue to try to improve communication with the remaining holdouts in our building. I will continue to build collaborative bridges with these colleagues who question technology and the new terrain of information literacy.

Nevertheless, I know that no matter how hard I try, I will not be able to convince everyone. I sometimes feel like a missionary who finds a few souls that do not wish to be saved. So they won’t be.

Nor will traditional school libraries. They will continue to close.


Photo credit:
R. Cicchetti
CCHS Learning Commons

The BEST reading incentive program evah!

This will be the best 5:07 minutes of your day.

They get it at the Ocoee Middle School. Taking a Black Eyed Peas hit and a flash mob dance this (as originally seen on the Oprah Show) is a beautiful example of a joyous celebration of reading. These students will never forget this event, and reading will always be associated with fun and achievement.

This is also a great example of the adaptive use of copyrighted material. The Black Eyed Peas should be very, very happy.

Congratulations and kudos to the teachers who pulled this together, and the administrators who supported the project.

Working hard or hardly working?

Come by the CCHS Learning Commons and you will see a lot of students, doing a lot of stuff. Are they working hard, or hardly working? Two recent blog posts had me thinking about this.

New tools are replacing the familiar, and work looks different. With students what might look like messing around on Facebook may actually be very valid work.

As an example, in Jenica Rogers post, Attempting Elegance, she reflects on transliteracy as literacy in using new media. She was pulling photos off her iPhone and communicating on Facebook and Twitter during a seriously busy day. Why? She was studying her library's  Facebook presence because they are "about to use it as a reply venue for our lobby’s suggestion board". She was Twittering a source regarding assessment data. All work, all important, and these are the tools that are most efficient for her and the stakeholders she works with.

Stephen Abrams writes in his blog, Stephen's Lighthouse, about building relationships as being of primary importance to libraries, and perhaps more relevant data than circulation statistics. Harder to quantify as well. "...the foundation of library relationships is communication – one to one and one to many. It’s not really what we measure a lot – circulation. And it’s not easy to measure."

We need to be doing more with these communication methods  in the CCHS Learning Commons. We will definitely be creating a Facebook Group as well as a Twitter feed. Our wiki portal will be updated to include a photo stream from our account for images of the work and fun we experience daily.  So if you see us typing away on Facebook, you might think we are hardly working, but we will be working very hard to build our relationships with students and staff through these dynamic communication tools. Just like our students.

Photo Credit:
Abram, Stephen. Stephen's Lighthouse. 2.25.10
The Foundation of Library Relationships
http://stephenslighthouse.com/2010/02/24/the-foundation-of-library-relationships/

via
The Proverbial Lone Wolf Librarian's Weblog

Invisiblity - Thoughts from the Circulation Desk

Some kids really believe they are invisible. They come into the library with their heads down trying to avoid drawing attention to themselves. Kids don't start out being invisible. It happens over time and for a variety of reasons. These are the names I learn first.

We see hundreds of students every single day, and it can be easy to slip into complacency and let the crowd surge by, taking note of the kids who are good at making themselves known. They have the confidence to say hi, chat a bit, and the expectation that you will remember them.

The quiet, invisible kids don't have that expectation. Earlier this year I said good morning to a new freshmen using her name. She stopped in her tracks, looked at me with big, widening eyes, and said "You know my name?"

And you know what? That simple hello is like sunshine on a plant. I swear, they bloom. In the days and weeks that follow they say hi, chat, ask for your opinion, and they glow with the confidence of recognition. 

This is one of the daily joys of working in the CCHS Library.

Photo credit:
Flickr Creative Commons

Flower Starting To Bloom

Uploaded on June 12, 2008
by Zero Talent Photography

Check your book shelves!

School budgets are tight and the CCHS Library is reaching out to our community. Please consider donating a book you may already own. Check out our website for a full list of books we hope to obtain through donation.

The CCHS Library doesn't want your money. We need your books! Please consider visiting our donation site and see if you have a good condition copy you would be willing to give to our library.

CCHS Library Donations

Thanks to CCHS parent Jim Philippou for his generous gift of time. Jim created the donation portal for us. Thanks, Jim!

Visions for 21st Century Schools

A fascinating presentation designed to promote new thinking around education and planning a school for the next 50 years. The CCHS Facilities Planning Committee and CCHS NEASC Committee attended, along with school administration. What follows are session notes.

The discussion touched on the skills required for work today, new models of education and how the space supports these goals and models. It is easier to make the building flexible than it is to make the institution flexible.

Frank Locker "We are educational planners, working across the USA and in England guiding the creation of innovative schools that improve teaching and empower students. We seek to prepare and position schools for the demands and opportunities of 21st Century learning."

Initial Discussion

Frank Locker met in OMR's office a few weeks ago to talk about education. Focused on weaving a story about changes in education and what we are trying to achieve in the 21st century. The presentation has slides that speak to education, and slides that are school examples - buildings that speak to educational practice and student outcomes. We are now grasping that we have to make learning visible.

We want our buildings to support step-change over time on a thoughtful basis. Empower students and teachers to work in ways that help students learn best. Clear leadership from the top establishes the plan and subsequent work needed to shift the paradigm. We are on the cusp of increased ability to change our model of education.

Delivering on the Promise outlines steps toward making an educational shift to project based learning. Variable is seat time, constant is what you learn. Logical progression from 80's > 90's, even if we have gone to far with NCLB standards. Basic re-thinking of education delivery.

Current model is an institution of inertia and vested interests. This model does not accommodate the world today. Politics, information, economies, critical thinking skills more important than having "knowledge". New skills needs required for 21st century. Traditional testing indicators will say there is no problem, but 21st century indicators might highlight gaps.

Thomas Friedman The New Untouchables - those workers who do corollary work in a changing work. You don't lay these people off. They handle sales, marketing and the skills to build growth, not manufacture widgets. A new paradigm for learning activities requiring active learning, making things through architecture/design/engineering programs. New kind of building. New concept of market and value. Ideas/innovation/design now priorities.

Presentation

Wayland discussed moving beyond the department model toward an inter-disciplinary approach. They launched the building plans along this model even though the faculty is resistant to change. Media Center core of building and "the place to find people". Everything migrating into the media center/"farmers market" of the school. Very different from traditional series of boxes - the usual lay out for high schools.

Hanover - Concept to bring greater alignment/overlap with community. Public coming into the building as partners/tutors/service learning. Introduced Freshmen House system with a choice of learning themes for grades 10, 11, 12. Engineering, environment, humanities are examples of themes. This happens best in a facility that allows learning spaces that correlate to a theme to be near each other. The building becomes a platform to facilitate these communities. Features small learning communities with building wrapped around media center.

Educational Values

Mass Dept of Education - 21st Century Skills in Action (8th item on page, scroll down for pdf download)
Example - Advanced French class - Arlington High School, MA Grade 11
Students assigned to create a restaurant in Paris - design, menu - the whole project, all in French. Greater realms of thinking applied to a concrete project.
Schools have to compete for attention of kids, and most schools tell them to leave web/communication devices at the door. How relevant is our learning?
Our work is to shift delivery and content toward more things that make it interesting, engaging, personalized, tied into the student to have a constructivist learning experience.

Meet student where he/she is, and grow learning from where that student is - very different from empty beaker approach of transferring content from teacher to child.

Different power structure. Learning happens in a relationship manner. It is a social activity.
We are all victims of our schedule, so this needs to be on the table.

20th century = century of the teacher
21st century = century of the learner

Howard Gardener's Multiple Intelligences - 25th anniversary
People tend to teach based on their own intelligences, and they are carrying on in this tradition. How do you reach kids who are high in other intelligences? Differentiated instruction is a way to address this reality. Project learning with a variety of approaches/products can get you there quickly. This is the buzz across the country.

Community

Clayton Christensen, Disrupting Class
Looking at the business/field of education in light of what is coming at us - complete, major shift because of computers and the Internet. He predicts 50% of course content online in 10 years. What does it say about school and the role of teachers? Don't need the boxes or the "sage on the stage". Why come to school? There are still good reasons, but not the old fashioned/traditional reasons.

• 2014 - 25% of HS courses will be online
• 2019 - 50% of HS courses will be online
  

Blended learning - partial Internet, partial face-to-face (this can be virtual) is more effective than teacher working with classroom in a traditional manner. We see blended learning at college level, but it is coming to high schools.

Need to question time, classroom, teachers, forums - the whole shebang.

Recommendations:

• teacher is coach/facilitator with student worker
• reorganize traditional dept structure to meet needs of more integrated curriculum

Relationships

• How many students can principal know by name? 300-600
• How many teachers can collaboratively make a decision? 25 or so. How big is the conference table? Teaming, group decisions a stronger model than top down decision.
• How many students can a teacher know well? Depends on educational model.
  

New Classroom Concepts

No longer self-contained spaces but rather spaces that work in concert with each other. Common spaces with break out areas/flex zones. Make passing areas useful/multi-tasking spaces.

Grade level based Advisory: 9th Transition to HS, skills; 10th Graduation portfolio; 11th Life after HS; 12th Senior Portfolio. What would this mean for spatial relationships?

Looking for a variety of spaces with lots of setting because one size does not fit all. No richness in uniformity. Need a tool box of diverse spaces.

Shift space as well as the nature and organization of school.

Examples of Schools / Flexible Platforms

Glacier HS, Kalispell, MT
Visioning moved away from dept organization. 9th grade transition academy with areas of defined career clusters: business, wellness, arts
Incorporates houses and small learning communities clustered around critical spaces. Empowering teachers to talk to each other and break chain of isolated classroom - foster common planning.

Lakeview HS, Battle Creek MI
School built around library, designed to make connections. A common zone for interdisciplinary connections. Library is food court in 2 story mall with 2 walkways around it - no walls. When bell rings kids flow. Small learning communities, computer hot spots, teacher planning center in courtyard, transparent. School circulates around teacher planning spaces - antithesis of department model. School as access.
Note: Librarian fought this design tooth-and-nail. Later she embraced the design. Check out the photo - beautiful!

Fredrika Bremer Upper Secondary School
Haninge, Sweden
Moved from dept to relationship school: natural sciences; social sciences; arts, health care, media.

HUMEX Oxford Hills Comprehensive HS
South Paris, ME
Relationships: Teacher Planning Centers
Teachers have complete command of whole day alternating with every other day schedule for project work. Students move through space based on their academic needs. Master teachers co-teach with new teachers. All work matched to Maine learning outcomes.
Course running from Sept - June for inter-disciplinary, sequential set of projects. Ex: "How should humans interact with the natural world and each other?" Opportunity to create a civilization opened standards-based learning on all fronts. This model was extremely effective using measures of motivation, creativity, relevance, fun. Students learned about themselves, made connections with teacher, learned more from fellow students, more responsible - social/emotional skills all successful.

Erie HS
Erie, KS
250 students, won the moon buggy contest 2 years in a row. While they were building a new school rented out old the Woolworth's and called it the Project Center. Personalized, project-based learning. School is central and visible to local community.
Library morphs into other areas, and students have their own work stations.

Thomas Jefferson for Science and Technology HS
Arlington, VA
#1 US News & Wold Report for 2 years in a row
Last period of every day is unassigned, a break from schedule for independent work and/or connecting with teachers. This time is considered time-on-learning.

Canby HS - Created an Applied Learning Center
Canby, OR
Program has service learning and integrated multiple discipline learning. Ex. service project to develop new seed strands for local farmers. 21st century skills of testing ability to work with others, speak and present to others.
Instructional Areas: bio-ag; engineering; communications; board room
Teacher offices inter-disciplinary, non-departmental.

Hull Academies Future Learning Center
Hull, England
Addresses changing model - mostly accommodating teachers reluctant for change. Heavy tech integration, flexible space, portable flexible walls and furniture, project rooms, student workstations.

Australian Science & Mathematics School
Adelaide, AU
3 years, ungraded project based learning, year 12 didactic teaching for state tests. Open flex zones interspersed with closed spaces: teacher prep center, conference, room, video project room, tutorial spaces, presentation pace, learning commons. Everything on wheels. Intentional creation of varied spaces.

New Line Academy Oldborough Learning Plaza
Kent, England
Furniture designed for group discussions. Propeller table - relationship building through furniture design.

High Tech High
San Diego, CA
Great outcomes with challenging demographic. Old warehouse building. Lots of student work stations. Learning is visible, glass walls, student projects very diverse.
Digital Arts Alliance (Mobile Learning Institute)

John Grey HS
Cayman Islands
Teacher teams meet student where space is most appropriate. DaVinci Studio dedicated to convergence of art and science.

Minnesota New Country School
Henderson, MN
Personalized, project-based learning. Above average test scores with 40% SpEd population. Standards based grade 8-11, not grouped by grade level. Work project based and student initiated. 21st century model of education. Teacher as guide/facilitator.

Photo Credit:
Flickr Creative Commons

ツ Some look at these pencils and see colors... I look at them and see possibilities

Uploaded on March 25, 2009
by ahannink

Chairs w/ Alan November - notes

K-12 District Team / Chairs session w/ Alan November

Chairs w/ Alan November
Sept. 2

Cellphones in the classroom – invite but demand performance
PollEverywhere.com – we Have ActiVotes, same concept.

Unfair advantage to tech savvy students? Are there parents who don’t want their kids to use technology? It is a personal value, not pursued.

Assessment – is writing overlooked/surpassed by presentation and aesthetics of an assignment? Does glitz of technology mask the major component(writing)of assignment?
• AN – final paper – how did student get to the writing? Google docs revision history
• Takes draft to a whole new orbit – provides data to understand final doc in a new way.
• Have we given teachers enough info to do the best possible job? New tools give insight into the process of learning than ever before.

Research – how do we ensure that kids are taught tools/skills in K-12 continuum?
• Google Custom Search – design your own search engine. Power of Google limited to sites you put int. 100 people can be on design team, unlimited access. Create content search engines built by classes. One student tasked with being researcher-for-the-day. That student finds the worlds best resources while teacher teaches. Teacher can answer questions – or teach students to get their own answer.
• Teach kids they are building a search engine (design team) they will take ownership of it.
• The best tech teacher in a lab can teach, but it has to be reinforced in every classroom.

Overwhelmed by Technology
• Comprehensive plan to support teachers is needed
• Need teachers to model
• Scale up the pioneers in organizational design
o ActivBoards

Paradigm / Practice Shift
What could support look like to put this into practice and make this change.
• Start with curriculum – what is the toughest to teach
• What works the best
• What works the worst – where do kids struggle
• Give that list to your tech leaders to help
• Create bridge between tech and pedadogy
o Embedded specialists in each department
o Kick the wheels, play, choose a few things to start with, enlist the kids in helping you learn
o Manage tech you don’t know how to use, but know what is possible. Know the CONCEPT
• Specialists give suggestions for pedagogy

New Tools to make learning more powerful. Nothing new. Addition of new tools in communicating content to new learners. More attractive to kids.

How-To Research
Do we need to teach this? Discipline behind the knowledge, with reinforcement and practice. Technology isn’t an option but a core requirement.
• Secondary teachers use collaborative word processing
o Leaders models this so it filters down

Scotland and other small and developing countries – takes tech seriously, in a global economy they can’t afford to lose 1 kid. They get that there are new rules, and Internet as new tool for opening up economic opportunities.

Student Voice
SpEd – new opportunities for these students
Find new formats to find voice and contribute to their won learning
Task students with designing tutorials – they know it has meaning to others
Ownership of product > learning > publishing globally > authentic

Design
Skills are merging in student projects, and collegial support for student production needs to be a design feature.
Professional community on the web - free

Robin's TO DO:

CREATE NING
TEMPLATE DEPT CUSTOM GOOGLE SEARCH WIDGETS

Why you should tweet

This is a terrific article courtesy of ReadWriteWeb:

Evolution of a Revolution: Visualizing Millions of Iran Tweets

During the height of the political protests in Iran it was possible to follow an amazing stream of tweets, and witness history. Twitter was the main conduit for getting news and images out of the country, and for protest coordination within. Iranians outside the borders worked feverishly to unblock government filters to protect Twitter access.

Tracking the "computational history" of the event gives real insight into the evolution of social clusters, and the organic nature of these platforms. Analysis like this provide compelling evidence that digital tools like Twitter are vital for students to use and understand if they are to have a true global understanding. We need to change how we teach to include these new literacies.

Library Barista

Libraries are a lot like coffee shops. People have their favorite places, but how much of that is really about the coffee? It's nice to have a daily routine, drop by, and have the barista already preparing your regular order, greeting you with a smile and a quip, welcoming you as well as setting you up with a good start to the day. Libraries have regulars, too. Good libraries know their regulars, anticipate their needs, and make everyone feel welcome.

The CCHS Library is no different. The morning scrum for library passes often feels like the queue at Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts. Students are a little stressed and focused on the day ahead. Knowing kids by name, knowing what block they will need and pulling it before they ask for it gives them that warm, coffee shop feeling. They are regulars, and we try to send them on their way with a warm feeling and a good start to their day.

So, what prompted this July reflection? I was working in the CCHS Library today, and it was cool, quiet, orderly and simply awful. No buzz, no crowds, no mess, no requests, no drama. I like a busy coffee shop.


Photo credit:
Flickr Creative Commons

Starbucks cup by pixy-dust angel

Google Launches a Community Service Search Engine

"All for Good helps you find and share ways to do good."
Google continues to lead the pack in organizing global information.

The All for Good website has a very nice video from First Lady Michelle Obama (just love Michelle!) explaining the program. I can see this as particularly useful for students looking for U.S and international opportunities for community service. It will be interesting to see how this platform develops.

This link from the indispensable social media guide, Mashable, also explains it very nicely.
Google Launches a Community Service Search Engine

Photo credit:
Flickr Creative Commons

sky repair........ by *hb19

152.4 - Emotions & Feelings

According to the Dewey Decimal System, emotions and feelings are cataloged as 152.4. This is worth noting, because the CCHS Library is the most romantic place on earth. Assignations in the study carrels, conveniently next to the books pertaining to Emotions and Feelings (love) - 152.4, is where more established couples have regular study dates, occasionally having to be interrupted with a gentle warning when the books get pushed aside in favor of more - how do I phrase this - intimate studies.

Other examples of library love? Two students sitting in the stacks, side-by-side, reading quietly, elbows almost but not quite touching, gentle sparks filling the space between. Romance budding over books. There was recently a flirtation over the Scrabble board resulting in a fairly competitive game that required adjudication.

"Is faireth a word?"
"It is if I say 'you are the faireth in the land'."

Who am I to correct with "fairest" and toss the dictionary at them? She is thrilled that he thinks she is faireth, and he can't believe he worked up the courage to let her know he thinks she is pretty. You won't catch me challenging that one.

Working in a high school library includes being witness to all sorts of emotional upheaval. The girl who lasers her attention on a boy and before you know it, they are walking around hand-in-hand, the boy looking a little stunned. Or the guy who swaggers through the door with confidence and attitude, oblivious to shy glances from girls who believe they are invisible. Then there is the gay student who keeps a crush secret and close to the heart.

Sometimes it is darker. A knot of concerned friends huddled around a girl with red rimmed eyes and a damp tissue being slowly shredded in her hands is the sure harbinger of a romance that has hit the rocks. The boy conversely, is isolated, hands jammed in pockets, too angry to socialize. His friends give him distance. The emotions are raw, and incredibly powerful.

And now prom season is upon us. The stakes ratchet up as self-worth gets tossed into the human soup of hormones and anxiety. Will I get asked? Will she say "no"? What if I'm the only one without a date? Should I ask now, or is it too early? I've never been kissed....

The library is a refuge for students who come for work, relief, diversion, and sometimes, for sanctuary. It's tough being a teenager.

Going home in the evening I carry these stories with me, along with notes I have stuffed into various pockets throughout the day. Teacher requests, grocery items, meetings, a host of unrelated trivia. Sometimes my husband finds a stray note, and I find him puzzling over an item. "Burn journals?" he will ask. "Hiding the evidence?" (Actually, The Burn Journals is a book recommended by a student. I put it on our summer order.) My cryptic notes are usually good for a laugh.

Lots of 152.4 when I get home - but without the drama!

Photo Credit: Flickr Creative Commons

LOVE by Little Nora