It's been too long!!!

THE BEAR & THE DOG & THE DODO-BIRD

I've actually been trying to post this for four days now and keep having it rejected because of some prefix or somesuch. It's been constantly rejected. I'm wondering if it has anything to do with preparing in Word and copy/pasting into the blog. Well here's try number seven or eight?

[song]

The bear went over the moiuntain.
The bear went over the mountain.
The bear went over the mountain
To see what he could see.

And what do you think he saw?
And what do you think he saw?

The other side of the mountain;
The other side of the mountain;
The other side of the mountain
So what do you think he did?

The other side of the mountain;
The other side of the mountain;
The other side of the mountain -
So what do you think he did?

He went back over the mountain.
He went back over the mountain.
He went back over the mountain
To see what he could see.

And what do you think he saw?
And what do you think he saw?

The other side of the mountain;
The other side of the mountain;
The other side of the mountain -
So what do you think he did?

He went back over the mountain.
He went back ov . . . . .
[ad infinitum: ad nauseum . . . . .
Anonymous

I feel like that bear!

Like the proverbial dog that expends huge amounts of energy chasing its tail - and never catching it, I work non-stop in the library on my three days but at the end of each day I feel as though I've achieved absolutely nothing - - - Does this end when you're an experienced librarian? - - - Can I look forward to looking patronisingly at new librarians and tell them that there is a light at the end of the tunnel - they just can't see it yet? - - - Are there things that I'm not doing that everyone else is, that are successful? - - - Are there things that I am doing which really 'stuff-it-up'?

As I think I've mentioned before, before I began working in a school's library, I'd always consideres teacher/librarians to be 'minders-of-books' and largely peripheral to the business of educating students. I seldom used the library spaces other than for debating and tghe thought of collaboratinhg with the librarian in programming and/or presenting learning, never crossed my mind - or wouldn't have had I had one!

Further; the concept that those teacher/librarians were actually experienced teachers with extra skills from whom I might be able to learn was anatheme.

Unfortunately, this has come back to bite me. I find that I am frustrated by the "me"-clones who still inhabit the classrooms in my sc hool. I can't seem to convince them that collaboration is an option. I can't seem to convince them that "real" resources can be programmed into a unit as an integral part, rather than inserted superficially after programming to meet a requirement or to engage the ". . . kids who finished the work before everyone else" as a reward. I can't seem to convince them that resource-based learning is actually student centred and teacher facilitated and monitored; rather that teacher structed and directed, and student completed - apathetically.

# I need to become annoyingly visible.
# I need to invite everyone to come up to use the library - anytime.
# I need to target some poor, unsuspecting soul and so 'cultivate' her/him that he/she will accept some help and ideas. [in short - collaborate]
# I need to seek out the 'dots' on the 'i-s' and the 'crosses' on the 't-s' of the units and topics and subject matter being presented; and then create a number of alternative ideas for RBL.
# I need to work out how to become a 'doer' rather than a 'gunna'.
# I need to find out how to overcome a dibilitating case of "Solitaire Syndrome".

See you soon

noel