Hello,
This week I’ve enjoyed being with a couple of schools as they get their heads back into the year. I really like this time: full of dreams of how the learning will be awesome, full of reflection, full of ideas.
One thing I’m not enjoying is watching all the plants we put in in the spring suffer terribly in the heat and endless days of dry. :(
How’s your week been?
I love libraries. I think it’s a real shame that so many schools haven’t invested in one, or have squashed it into a small room ‘out the back’. I had the honour of being Teacher with Library Responsibility for a few years, and it was one of the highlights of my time teaching. That school took its library seriously, so we had a good-sized budget for books and were well staffed with proper librarians (yes, plural - sorry).
Given the strong connection between the development of literacy and access to books, mixed with the love for literature that libraries can foster, I wonder why libraries are not seen as essential by schools? Pretty much all schools have a strong focus on literacy, and teachers tie themselves in knots over it.
Here’s something from Neil Gaiman along the same lines: