Posted on by Vanessa Chavez

Where do they get those wonderful tools

Where do librarians get resources to support subjects related to STEM? At the 2021 IASL session entitled, “Supporting STEM Education in the School Library with Digital Tools,” presenters Johnston, Green, Thompson and Jones offered various websites, applications and digital tools to complement, enhance and support subjects such as math and science.

This type of collaboration and promotion of curated digital tools is clearly delineated in the Texas Library Standards. Strand 4: Dimension 1 states, “The library program effectively uses and promotes the use of technology applications and tools across all content areas for discovery, collaboration, critical analysis, creation, and presentation of learning” (Texas State Library and Archives Commission, 2017).

Here are some of the resources that I gleaned from this session.

Finding Resources

  • Concord Consortium – Offers interactive and free STEM activites for the classroom; five subjects which include physics and chemistry, engineering, earth and space, and mathematics. Has the option to filter between elementary, middle, high school and beyond and to filter by type – https://learn.concord.org/
  • OER Commons – is an open educational resource that functions as a hub for thousands of digital resources that include STEM subjects and more. Some subjects include ELA, law, physical and social science and arts and humanities. Many of the resources have star ratings and offer such information as the level, and the standards it addresses – https://www.oercommons.org/hubs/imls
  • Explore.org offers live webcams of different animals. Can be used to make connections to various lessons in science. There are an impressive amount of animal cams, ranging from cameras of bears, whales, orcas and birds (See Image 1).As example of the sheer volume, Nestflix has 48 streams of birds that include the bald eagle, spoonbills and hummingbirds.https://explore.org/livecams
  • NASA for students – offers a plethora of resources that deal with science, space, and more. The top part of this page offers drop down lists of topics, missions and galleries. The user is able to select the grade range for resources as well as search. In the NASA for students in 5th -8th grade, as you scroll down, there are additional sections that offer homework help, and stuff to make, do or print.
Image 1
Explore.org-Ocean live webcams

Technology

Engineering

Math

  • Phet simulations – offer interactive simulations for science and math. Include subjects such as physics, chemistry, math, earth science and biology. In addition to provding simulations, it also offers tips for using the website. https://phet.colorado.edu/
  • Neal.fun- is an engaging and fun way to expose math statistics to students. Options include typing in one’s birthday to discover – how many red blood your body has produce, how many times you have blinked and many days of your life you have been asleep (See Image 2). https://neal.fun/
Image 2
Neal fun homepage

These are just a fraction of the digital tools presented at this presentation. I must admit that I do not feel entirely comfortable and ready to provide instructional assistance across the STEM courses and subjects. However, this presentation offered so many tools for me and other librarians and future librarians. This in turn, gives us the confidence and “tools” for our “STEM toolbox.” With these resources, the librarian can truly provide engaging and enriching technology tools across all subjects.

references

Johnston, M., Green, L., Thompson, E., Jones, A. (2021, July 12-16). Supporting STEM education in the school library with Digital Tools. [Conference session]. IASL 2021 Annual Conference, Denton, TX, United States. https://iasl-online.org/event-3667867

Texas State Library and Archives Commission. (2017). Texas school library standards: Strand 4: Dimension 1. https://www.tsl.texas.gov/sites/default/files/public/tslac/ld/schoollibs/sls/Texas%20School%20Library%20Standards%20E-Version%20FINAL.pdf

Posted on by Vanessa Chavez

Face the Music – Being Honest About the History of School Librarianship

How would you react to history that goes directly against what you thought to be true? While obtaining my master’s in library science, I have come to consider the library as a beacon of truth, and a place that fights injustice and promotes equity and equality. My idea of the library has been a romanticized by my experiences and knowledge. Weigand’s keynote address at the 2021 IASL Conference, and follow up comments and reactions from other library professionals challenged some of my preexisting views on the library, its history and its role in the school.

Image 1
Carrie Coleman Robinson
(Weigand, 2020)

Weigand points out that there has not yet been a comprehensive history of school libraries in the United States. One big finding in his research for his book, American Public School Librarianship: A History, is that, “most of our history shows our professional discourse to be very positive, to be cautious of addressing issues that perplex us” (Weigand, 2021). He tells the story of a black library supervisor, Carrie Coleman Robinson, who was in charge of black segregated libraries in the South and later filed a discrimination suit (See Image 1). Weigand points out that up until this point, the library associations had not dealt with the issue of segregated schools. Then, when the Black Caucus asked the ALA to make a statement about Robinson’s case, they refused. In my mind, this casts a dark shadow on what I believed about the school library as an organization. In one of my first blogposts, I commented on how impressed I was about the comprehensiveness of the ALA and AASL resources and statements. When George Floyd was murdered, organizations, such as the ALA issued statements supporting social justice and the Black Lives Matter movement. They offer statements, definitions of terms, and links to resources to take action, from police reform to racial equity in the library. In addition, the ALA admits that in terms of diversity, “the librarian profession suffers from a persistent lack of racial and ethnic diversity that shows few signs of improving” (“Libraries Respond,” 2021). This, now to my understanding, is a transparency that is necessary to uphold the so called values of the library. However, this is history about which librarians and future librarians should be knowledgeable. It makes our work even more necessary and should us proud of how far the establishment has come, while considering how much more it needs to improve.

References

Libraries respond: Black lives matter. (2020, June 3). American Library Association. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/diversity/librariesrespond/black-lives-matter

Weigand, W. (2021, July 12-16). Conference opening ceremony and keynote address by Wayne Weigand and panel. [Conference session]. IASL 2021 Annual Conference, Denton, TX, United States. https://iasl-online.org/event-3667867

Weigand, W. (2020, October 6). Separate – and unequal.  American Libraries. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2020/10/06/separate-and-unequal-carrie-c-robinson-librarian-challenging-racism/

Posted on by Vanessa Chavez

Changing Representation One Book at a Time

In the Spring of 2021, I attended my first YA book festival, entitled, “North Texas Teen Book Festival,” or NTTBF. One common point that continually surfaced from the authors is the desire to represent a story that has a connection to their lives. Angie Thomas, in speaking about Concrete Rose, talked about writing from a perspective other than her own. She said that she was proud of the  “work that I put in…and the end result in writing about a 17 year old black boy…I was writing outside of my own experience for the first time” (Thomas, 2021). She said that writing out of her comfort zone has given her the pride and in turn the confidence to explore writing about characters outside of her comfort zone more frequently. Thomas is making an important statement for current and future authors.

During the 2021 IASL Conference, I attended “The Harper Collins author panel” which was made up of four writers. These writers include Joanna Ho, Jasmine Warga, Janae Marks and Brady Colbert. Like Thomas, they spoke about how they did not see representations of themselves growing up, whether Asian American, Black or Middle Eastern. However, there were topics addressed that went beyond the author process and addressed real questions about application of these types of stories in the school.

Changes in Representation

Author of Black Birds in the Sky, Colbert says that since the publication of her first book seven years ago, “I have seen such a big change since then..in what educators and librarians are actively recommending…diversity in race, sexuality, disability” (Meik, 2021). This is exciting to hear and author say and bodes well for the future of children’s and YA literature. In my own reading of these past few years, almost every book I read has a character, including many instances of being the protagonist that is identifies as LGBTQIA+. Before then, I had never had that experience.

Milissa Vo, moderator of the panel, poses the question, “As both an author and educator, where do you feel is the best place to start, when examining books in curriculum, particularly with early childhood educators, who may be using your picture books in their classrooms?” (Meik, 2021). This question is directed at Joanna Ho, author of the picture book, Eyes that Kiss in the Corners, who also is a high school teacher. She says, as an educator, it is about looking at the “whole offering and what is the narrative you are telling” and while you are trying to be inclusive, are you falling into the trap of the single-story such as “black pain” or for Latinx people —“immigrants” “refugee stories” (Meik, 2021). The danger is also when educators take a book that is diverse and to still use it in a way that supports white supremacy culture or values. Ho gives an example of and educator taking her book, with an Asian American protagonist. In this example, the eductor presents the moral of this book as being, “her eyes are different, but different is ok” or “her eyes are different, but different is beautiful.” This is still a way of dividing different groups of people. Instead, she suggests educators take a more critical approach. This means posing questions such as, “Why we need this books” or regarding the shape of the eyes of Asian Americans, “Why is that not a standard of beauty in our country?” (Meik, 2021). It is powerful to hear an author, who has experienced life as an Asian American, be candid about the direction educators should be guiding their students.

Every evening, after dinner, my husband and I take our children to our neighborhood park. One evening, I saw a young girl who looked like she was 10 or 11. She looked sad, bored and lonely. Her father was nearby, helping coach soccer. I asked her if she was alright. She said that her one friend had moved away. I asked if she could make new friends in the coming year – especially since next year would be like everyone was brand new. She said, “no, I am Muslim, and my friend was the only other Muslim. Now I am all alone in my school.” I told her I was sorry about how she felt.

Jasmine Warga, author of The Shape of Thunder, said a comment that made me pause and reflect on this interaction. Vo asks Warga about why it was important to write about the “intersectionality of identity and other specific experiences?” (Meik, 2021). Warga says,

“being a Middle Eastern American, can be such a fraught experience…especially in the wake of 9/11…. this experience of feeling somehow being Middle Eastern is in conflict with being American and being Muslim is in conflict with being American….It was a big struggle of my childhood” (Meik, 2020).

She goes on to explain that while she acknowledges that struggle, she now sees the beauty of being both Muslim and American. When I think of that little girl, I see her conflict. It was festering so much and so close to the surface, the she told me all about her feelings, even though I was a perfect stranger. What kind of experience would she have if she read a book in which she sees herself, a Muslim and American girl in a story? She would find that she is not alone and that others before her have felt the same way. She would see these things, but would also see and find hope.

Authors and Books from IASL Harper Collins Panel:

Jasmine Warga- The Shape of Thunder

Janae Marks- A Soft Place

Brandy Colbert – Black Birds in the Sky

Joanna Ho – Eyes that Kiss in the Corners

References

Meik, J. (2021, July 13) IASL 2021. Harper Collins author panel recording [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-AWActEsO4&list=PLXbDHLKtdGMnFGVh0Es6ARveZEjjeLK2f

NTTBF (2021, March 6).[Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfR-OjgsqUs

Posted on by Vanessa Chavez

Careful with those Picture Books

In our coursework, we have learned what to look for in a quality picture book. Children’s Literature, Briefly, indicates the way in which illustrations tell a story can be through:

  • establishing a setting
  • defining and developing characters
  • reinforcing the written text
  • providing a differing viewpoint
  • extending or developing the plot
  • providing interesting asides
  • establishing mood (Young et al., 2020, pp. 41-46)

The first thing that Donner did in 2021 IASL session was show and read her book The Day the Lines Changed: An Inspiring Story about a Line, a Pandemic and How Change Shapes us All. In it, a family and people are represented by lines and they change as the pandemic affects the world (See Image 1).

Image 1
Donner reading from her books The Day the Lines Changed
More identifying features is not necessarily better

When she started reading her picture book with a bunch of lines, initially I was unimpressed for a few reasons. First – they are just lines. Secondly – where are the faces of the unseen victims? Where are the representations of people of color, who died from COVID at high percentages than their white counterparts? My own biases and concerns created a filter that affected my impression of this work. However, when Donner followed up her reading of a portion of her book about lines with the statement, “it is easier to distance yourself from a character the less it looks like you…the more realistic a character becomes, the less you can relate to it personally” (Donner, 2021)” I stopped immediately and checked my first impression. Note: this is why it is essential to seek to improve oneself and challenge oneself and why it is important to attend session, lectures, watch TED talks, read articles, and books, etc.. So, what does she mean by this?

Donner explained this statement by first drawing a circle as a head, then eyes, and then a smile (See Image 2). She said that as soon as she adds more defining features, the representation becomes more exclusive. This means that if she were to draw pigtails and bows, those features would lessen the amount of people who would relate to the image. This deeply challenged my bias against her book, The Day the Lines Changed. What I saw as a missed opportunity for representing people, was actually doing the opposite. Donner is being as inclusive as possible by omitting, other than shape and color, any identifying features.

Image 2
Donner explaining how defining features limit
Donner, 2021

In the next portion of the session, Donner delved into cognitive psychology and addresses Theory of Mind. She addressed the struggles of children in deducing information and points in certain picture books in addition to counterfactual reasoning.

It was a fascinating session and challenged my thoughts on picture books and will for a long time to come. I plan to further investigate the connection between cognitive psychology and children’s books. See below for her latest publication in the Journal of Visual Literacy.

Further Reading

The impact of theory of mind barriers in interpreting illustrations used in primary school early readers: four brief case studies of false-belief scenarios.

Written by Kelley Donner

Published in the Journal of Visual Literacy.

References

Donner, K. (2021, July 12-16). (Mis)understanding picture books. [Conference session]. IASL 2021 Annual Conference, Denton, TX, United States. https://iasl-online.org/event-3667867

Young, T., Bryan, G., Jacobs, J., & Tunnell, M. (2020). Children’s literature, briefly. Pearson Education, Inc.

Posted on by Vanessa Chavez

Vision over Small Things

In 2010, I had the pleasure and honor of opening a new middle school in my district. I would be the first choir director of this school and would build its program. After two years, our first principal got a job as Assistant Superintendent for Student Engagement. Our new incoming principal, before the end of that year, sent a survey to the staff asking for our opinion as to the needs of the school or changes we would like to see. When we met him for the first time in the Fall, his observations of the survey were sobering. The feedback given by the staff, outlining changes they would like to see, were specific in nature, but did not address an overall vision of what the school and students in it could achieve. Later, he did something that would become an annual tradition during his tenure at our school. He read a book called, The Spyglass : A Book about Faith, by Richard Paul Evans. In this book, a king rules over a kingdom that is in ruin. A man comes to the kingdom and after having been given room and board in the palace, offers the king the spyglass. Through the spyglass, the king sees a bountiful and flourishing kingdom. This represents what the kingdom could be. The lesson of this gorgeously illustrated picture book, is that in order to achieve success or bountifulness, there must first be a vision.

In the brief, yet powerful IASL session, “Achieving transformational change in the school library,” Green states that if one wants powerful, meaningful change, a few things need to be realized:

  1. There are two types of changes
    1. First-order changes – small improvements but do not change the “system’s core”
    2. Second-order changes – “transformational” and are “deep and meaningful changes” in the system.

2. Change takes time – When one comes up with their vision, it may not take one, two or three years. It may be a goal and vision of one’s career

3. Try to align the library’s vision with the vision and strategic planning of the school, and/ or district. (Green, 2021)

When my new principal polled the staff about changes they would like to see, I suspect the responses he saw were “first-order” changes. For the staff, the annual reading of The Spyglass: A Book about Faith, was powerful. It demonstrated that in order to exact change, there has to be a vision shared with the community, in our case, teachers. This is powerful for current and future librarians, because as Green points out, it is likely that not everyone will support the changes you want. But if you share your vision and that vision aligns with their vision, insofar as the students are concerned, that will make your case more compelling and cooperative. That consequently, will help your vision become a reality.

This year will likely be my last year as a choir director before becoming a school librarian. In these last weeks of summer, it is easy to think of my beginning of the year to-do lists. It is easy to focus on second-order changes – how do we want to arrange seats, how should we go about “giving” music to students? However, through the lens presented by Green, I recognize the difference between these little changes and transformational changes. I am excited to spend ample time considering my second-order changes in addition to my first-order changes. What is my vision for this year and beyond? These reflections, musings, and short and long term goals will be the real precursor to change.

Green, L. (2021, July 12-16). Achieving transformational change in the school library. [Conference session]. IASL 2021 Annual Conference, Denton, Texas, United States. https://iasl-online.org/event-3667867

Posted on by Vanessa Chavez

Say what now?

How would you react to ideas that go directly against what you thought to be true? In my time while obtaining my master’s in library science, I have come to consider the library the beacon of truth, a place that fights injustice and promotes equality. In addition, to this, my idea of the library has been a romanticized by my experiences. In my mission statement when I submitted my entrance documents to become a student at UNT in the library science master’s program, I stated that the library is a “piazza.” Weigand’s keynote address, and follow up comments and reactions from other library professionals challenged some of my preexisting views on the library, its history and its role in the school.

Romanticized library history

One of the things that Weigand points out is that his book American Public School Librarianship: A History, to come out in the Fall of 2021, there has not yet been a comprehensive history of school libraries in the United States. In his research, he found instances in which the library, “Most of our history shows our professional discourse to be very positive, to be cautious of addressing issues that perplex us.” (2021, 01:20). He then goes on to talk about a story of a black library supervisor, Carrie Coleman Robinson (See Image 1) who was in charge of black segregated libraries in the south. When bringing to light discrimination, and filing suit. Weigand points out that up until this point, the library associations had not dealt with the issue with segregated schools. Then, when the Black Caucus asked the ALA to make a statement about Robinson’s case, they refused. In my mind, this casts a dark shadow on what I believed about the school library as an organization. In one of my first blogposts, I commented on how impressed I was about the comprehensiveness of the ALA and AASL resources and statements. It is important to note, however, that these organizations have evolved. When George Floyd was murdered, and the Black Lives Matter movement was again in full effect, organizations, such as the ALA issued statements about this movement, definitions of terms, and links to resources to take action, from police reform to racial equity in the library. In addition, the ALA admits that in terms of diversity, “the librarian profession suffers from a persistent lack of racial and ethnic diversity that shows few signs of improving” (“Libraries Respond,” 2021). This, now to my understanding, is a transparency that is necessary to uphold the so called values of the library.

Carrie Coleman Robinson, Image 1

The Library is the Heart of the school?

The second challenge to my mind is the tendency to compare the library to a human organ. Ross Todd said, “I have read the school library being the heart…brains of the school….I cringe when I hear these terms…I think it is a really timely challenge for us all to think about the language and labels that we ascribe to what we value (01:54). Ross then goes on to suggest that using this way in referring to the library “puts us in competition…[and] isolates us rather than integrates us” (Ross, 2020, 01:55). When he said this, it really stopped me because for the past three years, I have been espousing this idea that the library should be the heart, and hub and brain, and piazza and skeleton of the school. While I still need time to reflect on these comments, I agree with Ross’s statement. Aren’t we lessening the vitalness of the music class, the ELA class, the science class. Perhaps then, we as librarians should start to view each class as its own person, as its own body with a heart, brain, etc. I don’t have an apt metaphor for the library in this new view that I have, but I’ll be working on that.

Maybe we shouldn’t consider the library as the heart of the school…just saying.
Image by un-perfekt from Pixabay

References

Weigand, W. (2021, July 12-16). Conference opening ceremony and keynote address by Wayne Weigand and panel [Virtual presentation]. International Association of School Librarianship, Denton, Texas, United States.

Libraries respond: Black lives matter. (2020, June 3). American Library Association. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/diversity/librariesrespond/black-lives-matter

Separate – and unequal. (2020, October 6). American Libraries. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2020/10/06/separate-and-unequal-carrie-c-robinson-librarian-challenging-racism/