Mike McQueen's Page

nice

Gday Mike,

Your history sounds like it has been substantial in making you into a TL who really makes a difference. I have been a TL in secondary schools in Australia for 35 years and I never cease to be amazed at the enthusiasm and ingenuity of my colleagues. Although I love technology, I still find being able to encourage and inspire kids to read books for sheer enjoyment gives me  a real buzz. I have some brochures I am happy to share about Boys and books. I also find that making things visual for older readers allows them to grasp difficult concepts.  At present I am in a school where there is a high Non English Speaking background - finding resources with advanced concepts but in simple language is a real challenge... P.S. I LOVE picture books.

This is such a shame. Our district is cutting 9.25 Library Clerks leaving a 3/4 time clerk for Jr. High / Sixth Grade School. We are a large district in Central Iowa. We will be leading the way, too, I am afraid. I am at the large high school as Teacher Librarian. One TL will rotate to the Jr. High / Sixth grade school, opposite the clerk. The other three TLs will have eight elementaries to manage. I wonder how teaching literacy and 21st C literacy Core Curriculum will work under these conditions of lack of assistance in the Library. You know it's not all about putting a shiny digital device into the hands of our youth and expecting them to get these literacy essential skills we are trained to teach. What to do?

Hi Mike,

Thank you for writing.  I was saddened to hear that your district is having financial problems.  I have worked for two districts that have financial problems and eliminated their librarian position.  It is too bad that many school-board members do not think librarians are as important as teachers.  

I recommend using the statistics found in a national widely-known study, Reading Counts, as a means of showing how important librarians are to the success of a school's students.  Remember that you are fighting the good fight, and librarians will prevail in the end, despite the tough times we are going through currently.  In the future, I recommend working at a school where the school-board, community, and principal are strong supporters of the school library and feel that it is an integral part of the school.  I will do what I can to raise awareness of your potential plight by writing about it on my blog, The Pen and the Paintbrush.

Best wishes and God bless,

John Wellcome

Librarian

Valdez City Schools

Valdez, Alaska

johnwellcome@gmail.com

blog:  The Pen and the Paintbrush

Mike, just commented on the  Support School Libraries FB page - here's hoping that the powers that be make the decision that is in the best interest of the schools and the learners in those schools & keep the teacher librarians on board.  I find it ironic that Colorado was the state that started the studies showing the correlation between properly staffed & funded school libraries & student achievement.  Ironic & sad.

Thank you Mike for making me aware of the Facebook page.  

Maggie

Hi Mike,

I just "Liked" your Support School Libraries page on Facebook. Keep up the great work, and best of luck to you!

All the best,

Gabe Kaufman

Hi Mike

Thanks for the FB invite.   I signed up last week!  :-) 

Just wanted to let you know that I was sharing some JCPL links last week with 4th graders at Meiklejohn when a little bird told me about your family connection.  Nice to "meet" you!  The boys were a little excited to know that you had a site just for them!