ETL 401 - Module 2

I'm guilty of undervaluing the role of the teacher-librarian ... but at least I'm honest enough to admit it!  In my recent reading for this subject I have been frequently reminded of the Diploma of Business, that focused on leadership, that I completed a few years ago.  Being an effective leader is about being able to work with, an motivate, a wide range of different people and personality types; a teacher-librarian plays (or should play) a very important leadership role within a learning community.

Unfortunately at the school where I work this is far from the case and I suspect that many of the staff are completely ignorant to the support the the library could offer to their existing programs.  The best of intentions of a few usually fail to translate in to a reality ... primarily because the school lacks the tangible support of the management committee. Many of the staff would like to embrace a collaborative relationship with the library, but it is left up to the discretion of individuals, whereas the whole school culture must embrace the role of the TLs for the relationship to really be of value.

It's interesting to think about why some schools don't embrace this resource.  Is it because of poor time management; skewed learning priorities; an overcrowded curriculum; or simply a lack of understanding?  Whatever the case might be, the fundamental skills that students need to remain literate in this post-literate world can be taught by our TLs ... so why not embrace them??