On Librarianism

Reactions to chapters 1 & 2 of the text How People Learn:

This book seems to be familiar territory to me, both in terms of study at UMSI and in terms of my own beliefs regarding pedagogy and the best possible teaching practices. It echos something which I strongly believe in, and have dreamt of creating my own school along these lines for some time. It states that new concepts are best learned in the context of pre-existing schemas--that knowledge is built on scaffolding, and it is imperative to make sure that the scaffolding properly supports the weight of the new knowledge. It lists a number of ways this should be achieved: first by understanding how students already understand concepts so that their understanding can be enhanced, and also by making connections to other areas where connections can be made.

The second point there is my biggest concern. I am forever and ever carrying on about how schools are teaching subjects all wrong. I am a humanities person. I have a bachelor's degree in English Literature. I have always excelled in reading, writing, and the social sciences. These are things I always enjoyed. But now, here I am, pursuing a master's of science. I like to joke, "Hah, me, a master's of science? Who would have ever seen that coming?" And really it's library science which I am studying, which isn't the same as, say, biology, in terms of science. But that title gets me thinking. I actually always did well in science in school. Well enough, anyway, and I didn't hate it. And although I am not at all mathematically (or logically, for that matter) inclined, I actually did well in my math classes in school because I knew that I was terrible at it and to keep from failing the course I would need to work extra hard at it. It's because I worked extra hard in my math classes that math was consistently my highest grade in high school. But immediately after the class was done, the information was gone. When I took the ACT before college, I had taken up through trigonometry in high school, and I swear that I had never in my life seen questions like the ones asked on that test.

What I am trying to say through my retelling of high school is that I had every aptitude necessary to pursue a career in the sciences. But the problem was that I could not make the connections between math and science, or any other subject. Math in particular is taught in this void. Here are some abstract concepts; Apply numbers and calculations; Find solution. As a young student, math had absolutely no relevance in my life, or anyone's life, for that matter. Science was only marginally better. There are some theories, and they apply to the world around you. Now you know! But the thing is, as I look around, as I study in a master's of science program, as I am surrounded by technological advances, as I am about to marry a man who is adapting to a prosthetic leg, I can see that science is all around me! Math is everywhere, and infinitely useful! Math and science are one in the same. Math belongs to science, and science belongs to people, and people belong to the world.

I envision a school where all the subjects are intertwined. Hands get dirty, students explore with guidance, and it is undoubtedly extremely difficult for the teachers. Most importantly, math isn't just math. Science isn't just science. English isn't just English. These things are all connected.

I'm getting a little out of hand. I'm supposed to be writing on my thoughts about chapters 1 & 2 of the text. But when I was reading, all I could think was that the text was describing how I feel learning should be. And then comes the problems. How do you measure deep understanding instead of factual knowledge? The government relies so heavily on standardized testing in the U.S. that it is actually impeding the learning happening in the classroom, even when I was a school child. And how can educators appeal to lawmakers to say that the current system is hurting students, and therefore the future economy? A challenge indeed. Different, more successful structures do exist in other countries, particularly Finland and other European countries, which could be used as models. Unfortunately, I have little faith that the American educational system can be fixed anytime soon, since other things take priority.

And what does any of this have to do with libraries at all, anyway? Well, I'm not really sure if I understand that just yet, myself. Librarians are educators, resources, and guides, the same as teachers but in a more open and unstructured way. We create paths and opportunities to knowledge, instead of dispensing it. People can use library resources to further any learning they wish.

Switching gears (almost) entirely, is my reaction to the Josh Hanagarne keynote Internet Librarian speech, which I thought was really very poignant and inspiring (Click to view). Particularly from his speech were some thoughts on homelessness and mental (or behavioral) illnesses, which in many cases go hand in hand, and in my experience are often found in libraries. When I worked for a public library, we were located around the corner from the homeless shelter. I would estimate that 85% of our patrons were homeless, and a great deal of them had some form of mental illness. And what I liked so much about his speech is that he kept asking patrons, "Why libraries? Why here?" And they kept responding that the library was the only place they could go and be dignified, just by stepping inside. They could be as invisible as they wanted, but they knew that if they ever needed a question answered, they would receive unqualified help.

We are not social workers. We are not police officers or first responders, but we are essential to our communities. We offer help in a way that patrons can help themselves. Knowledge is power, as they say. "Power is power, Lord Baelish."

Josh Hanagarne made me cry more than I would care to admit in his speech, and inspired me both as a person and a professional. Libraries are important. Librarians offer compassion when needed, and withhold judgement. I haven't worked anywhere as large as the Salt Lake City Library, but I have seen some amazing things in my time, too. I have seen a blind woman teaching another blind woman to read braille at one of our tables. I have seen the same librarians, several times a day, tirelessly answer the phone and pronounce a word, over and over. It turns out we have a middle-aged man, probably with some kind of learning disability, who is teaching himself to read using only the King James Bible. I have seen a family of gingers, 5 children, all homeschooled, and they check out what seems like every book on every possible subject twice a week. And I have seen smelly men sleeping somewhere warm and safe, too.

Libraries are important. Libraries are relevant. Libraries matter.