Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Quiet in the Library??

So, when I was in high school, my librarian scared the bejeebers out of me.  For the sake of this blog, we'll call her Mrs. G. She was MEAN and I was a "good" kid.  I went to the library as necessary but I went solo - never with friends because I knew if we sat together we'd be screeched at by Mrs. G.  There was a NO tolerance policy with her - it was silent. Period.

My library is rarely, if ever, totally quiet.  It's not loud, but it's certainly got a busy buzz to it on most days.  Kids are chatting, texting, doing homework, flirting, typing, reading, maybe sleeping, but it's busy.  Most kids get things done.  Most kids look busy.  And most days, I can handle it, but some days, I feel like I've lost total control and I need the library police.

 

But then I step back and really listen.  If I pay attention to the conversations, I hear collaboration, discussion and questioning.  I watch as kids assist each other, answer questions and guide peers on how to complete the next to impossible lab report for a notoriously strict science teacher.  There are always going to be kids who don't need to be in here, but then I have to remember that of all the places they could have gone during their free time, they chose to come to my library :) 
 
I hope that my library continues to be a place of busy learning and that kids don't remember me the way I remember my librarian. 

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