I was fortunate to work with some amazing media specialists during my time as a classroom teacher. The best could guide students toward books that fit their interests, sponsored after-school book clubs, taught students how to use the various tools available for research and producing their own texts, and guided the school in various activities throughout the school year that contributed to a culture of literacy. So I was saddened, if not shocked, to see the article that a near-by school district has cut out the jobs of media specialists, as well as reading coaches and instructional technology specialists, combining these three positions into a single position.
I've seen a school that has been without a media specialist for a few years, and it isn't pretty. The many books in the media center are only available for student check-out for a short time each day. No literacy focused school activities are evident outside basic instruction within the classroom. And let's not even talk about the school's achievement scores.
According to the article, the superintendent, "...suggested that classroom teachers have come to rely too heavily on media and technology specialists, who often help integrate computers, programs and software into lessons, while also troubleshooting technology problems. The goal, he said, is to have teachers better able to incorporate technology and literacy into their work, with support from the specialists." Wasn't supporting teachers in integrating technology...well, wasn't that part of their job? So, doesn't it make sense that teachers would come to count on these folks, since they are the experts? This explains the shift in language...media specialists, not librarians. Specialists in media, including technology.
This leaves me with many questions and I will be watching the situation to see how this all plays out.
- Will there be a change in reading achievement in these schools?
- Will the resources in those school media centers still see use or will they be forgotten?
- How will this decision change the literacy culture of these schools?
- How will this new role support teachers in integrating the technology and literacy into their instruction without the teachers coming to "rely" on these people in turn?
- And, if the district has a roaming "geek squad," how will that affect the push for on-line testing that is already stressing out school computer infrastructures?
http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/pasco-school-board-cuts-literacy-coaches-and-media-specialists/2119608
This is a concerning new idea to me as well. The idea that teachers should be operating in silos, rather than utilizing the support staff in positive ways seems absurd. And, to your point, I expect we will see the geek squad predominately focused on online assessments rather than meaningful instructional tools.
ReplyDeleteI am afraid to see how this will limit the amount of books available to students, especially those who do not necessarily have access to book outside of school.
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