30-Day Blogging Challenge: Playing Catch-Up With Days 4, 5, 6, and 7

Last week, the first week of school, caught up to me, and although I had the very best of intentions of blogging every single day like the challenge is supposed to work, I didn't. Here is is Day 7, and I'm catching up.

Day Four: What do you love most about teaching?
I love matching people up with the right book. There is nothing better than knowing that a kid is going to go out of the library with a book they just can't wait to get into. It doesn't matter to me if it's Clifford the Big Red Dog or Dora the Explorer in the hands of a primary student, an elementary student who has been waiting for the latest Guinness Book of Records or Wimpy Kid title, a middle school girl who has been waiting for the newest in the Pretty Little Liars series, a high school kid (rare these days) who needs a biography to read for a class assignment, or a staff member who needs books to supplement and complement a unit on Ancient Egypt - I'm happy to see that they all get what they want, whatever the reason. I'm excited when new books arrive, and even more excited when the students see them, too. Purchasing material is a fun, although somewhat long, drawn-out affair, because I spend a few month compiling an order through my favorite vendor, who while I can't put the newest paperback titles into a classroom library as quickly as a teacher can, I know that I am purchasing books that will engage readers across our K-12 campus.

Day Five: Post a picture of your classroom

My classroom is a library. I'm a teacher-librarian, and my classes are taught in the library, and students are served in the library when I'm not teaching a high school class. What you are seeing is about half of the library. You are looking at the picture book are, and the tables which serve as student desks. What is out of the picture are the fiction shelves. It's a fairly large room. The door you see leads outside; I call it the Servant's Entrance, a little joke that isn't always appreciated.

What I would like to see would be the classroom that is adjacent to the library, labeled 'library classroom' on the blueprint. It could be used as a classroom space/computer lab for the purposes of teaching my classes, so the library isn't unavailable to everyone, library classes, so it is a more formal instructional space, and as a meeting room so the furniture doesn't get moved around all over the place. Currently that room is used for the middle school language arts/social studies classroom. While my current neighbor is the best I've had in the last three, it would be nice to have a room that clearly says "this is an classroom", and a library that is used for the purpose of being a resource to all grade levels, all of the time.

Day Six: What does a good mentor do?
Good mentors are guides. They support the person or people they are mentoring, they work with the person when necessary, and they develop a collegial and professional relationship. They are more than just a colleague; they are there to help out when there are questions, support when there are problems, and celebrate successes. Answering questions, providing information that might just help a lesson or a student - mentors are there for you.

Day Seven: Who was your most inspirational colleague, and why?
My most inspirational colleague is our current fourth grade teacher, and she has been my guide to technology. *S* has been using technology forever; I was in denial, and she was probably on some freenet site! We have somehow became the tech team at school, and she knows way more than I do! I learned about Facebook and Plurk from her, both social sites which have expanded both my personal and professional networks. I learned about Moodle from her, and it's the platform I use in my classes. My library website is on Weebly - *S* introduced me that, too. I would not have applied for, and received, a grant the state was funding several years ago about integrating technology in the classroom, if she hadn't led the way. *S* was cohort 1, and I was in cohort 3. We have gone to technology conferences together, and also presented together. Her ideas for using technology are innovative, and give students tons of experience, as well as wonderful skills, and I think she is is probably the best resource about all-things-tech that we have at school. Because of *S*, I have been exposed (in a good way!) to ideas and techniques that have improved my instruction so much, and I can say in all honestly that my friendship with her has changed my relationship with technology forever. So, if you are reading this, *S*, thank you, and it's ok with me that Pinterest is not your cup of tea.