Is “All the World a Stage?”

As I see many of you at AISL this week, you may notice two things about me. First, I take a lot of notes. I’m someone for whom the process of learning is greatly assisted by the practice of writing things down, even if I never return to the specific notes again. Though AISL conferences are so full of information that is relevant to me, I keep my AISL notebook in the drawer to the immediate left of my chair. So even if a presenter says the entire presentation will be online, I’ll probably still have my pencil in hand. Second, I’m generally pretty quiet in group situations. Like many introverts I’m listening and I may seek you out to continue a conversation on the bus but I would literally hide behind a pole rather than belly dance in an airport. (Just a little reminder of what a multi-talented group we librarians are.)

So it came as a surprise to me this spring when my advisees, who know me pretty well as far as students go, asked why I hadn’t yet given a chapel speech.

Me-“Guys, I hate speaking in public. There’s no way…”
First student-“What are you talking about? You love it. Pause. Right?”
Second student-“Right! You talk like all the time.”
Me-“What?”
First student-“Yeah in our classes. You talk a lot.”
(Cue sad face for student-centered classroom failure…)

And so that brings me to my main thought of today, particularly for those of you with flexible scheduling who depend on teachers to invite you into their classes for co-taught units. Many people harbor a stereotype of a silent librarian, but are we all, secretly, theatre people? At least in one way, my answer is assuredly yes. I follow improv’s “rule of yes” whenever I can. With both students and teachers, I think it’s important to think about why you’re saying no.

 “Oh, interesting that you can’t write 1750 words on Nazi propaganda because there’s not enough out there? NO, here’s a 257 page book entirely on your topic.”

But for many questions, consciously thinking about learning goals rather than tradition might move a no to a yes or at least a let’s think about how this could work.

 “I know it’s not really history, but I don’t understand Brexit, and I want to know if it’s really about refugees. Can I research it?” YES.

“I know you want us to have a website, but I found this really interesting podcast and it’s led by doctors. Can I use it? YES.

“I have to read a fantasy book and this one takes place in the real world except that ghosts are real. My friend recommended it, and I want to know if it can count for the assignment.” YES.

“I want to include an appendix with a picture of “Guernica” so my readers can see it for themselves.” WHY NOT?

Formal research is a tough process for our kids in today’s “infobese” culture. This is especially true for perfectionists who want to get everything right the first time. Keeping foremost the learning goals for an assignment, why not challenge yourself to say yes when there isn’t a contradicting reason to say no? As my mom says…

Along with this idea, when I’m collaborating I try to focus on the things within my control. This includes my interactions with my school community and my management of my library. For many of us, we can’t control our colleagues, their assignments, the work ethic of the students, or delays due to weather, illness or alternate schedules that pop up out of nowhere. I attend classes at the invitation of the teacher. They know their class dynamics and they are the ones creating and grading assignments. Since I ultimately want to provide support to the teacher, I try to think carefully before “correcting” a teacher, particularly in front of students. Not every project is going to meet both my research goals and the classroom teacher’s subject-specific goals. That said, it’s often possible to start tweaking a project to improve it for next year even as you’re assisting with the current version. I’ve found a variety of ideas can help as I try to link these projects to the learning goals I’d like the students to attain. Take the long view and suggest some “adaptations” for next time. Or ask if a project can be used to help you “test a database’s effectiveness.” Offer to grade the annotated bibliographies you fought so hard to include. I’ve found this comes easier the longer one’s tenure at a school. So breathe easy, continually do your best in promoting your library’s resources and leave your feedback below.

 

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8 Responses to Is “All the World a Stage?”

  1. Dave says:

    So much goodness in this post! I’m pretty sure that “infobese” is going to to be my new favorite word for at least the next year-and-a-half!

    • Christina Pommer says:

      I love it too! I didn’t make it up, and there are some awesome images and infographics you can find online…but they all disappear when you are looking for items you can freely share. Got to model what I preach!

  2. Heather Tannenbaum says:

    I feel like librarians are all performers, but some are more built for Readers’ Theatre while others are more built for Broadway.

  3. Chris Young says:

    I LOVE “Can you help me test a database’s effectiveness?” Who doesn’t want to see themselves as helpful? I’ll definitely put that question in my bag of tricks. Thanks for the great advice.

    • Christina Pommer says:

      I just finished several presentations this morning on Rogerian techniques. When you and your partners are working towards the same goals, it’s easier to get over the little hiccups.

  4. Shelagh says:

    So many things I love and appreciate about this, Christina!
    – first off, I hadn’t heard of ‘infobese’ before…expect me to sprinkle it liberally throughout all my conversations at #aislatl
    – I too am completely unnerved by speaking in chapel, which makes it even more valuable role-modelling (my kids didn’t know that I always feel nauseous when I’m up there until I finally clued in to share it with them)
    – thank you for reminding me of the value in the writing of notes (even if the notes aren’t revisited); I was sorting through my filing cabinet and berating myself for the amount of notes from PD that have gathered dust. My system of targeting 3 action items from each conference is working just fine, so thanks for giving me permission to use notes as process alone!

    • Christina Pommer says:

      Permission granted! It’s fun to see what I thought was important at the time and what actually changed as a result.

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