The music hat
500 Hats
by Barbara Braxton
1w ago
Sadly, many of our colleagues in less-enlightened schools are asked to take responsibility for teaching a particular strand of the curriculum during their time with students, often in that time when they are covering teacher preparation and planning time.  And while that can be a way to embed the information literacy skills that are an integral aspect of each strand of the Australian Curriculum, often the teaching and learning becomes a content-building exercise and tends to be limited to subjects like Science, Geography, History or Humanities and Social Sciences, or in some cases covers ..read more
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The do-we-do-Dewey hat
500 Hats
by Barbara Braxton
1y ago
      To Dewey or not to Dewey?  Or even modify or simplify this scheme developed by American librarian Melvil Dewey in the late 19th  century that is still used in libraries around the world today. In an age where there is a belief that “everything is available on the internet” so non fiction print collections are being discarded at worst, and reduced at best, this is a question that has vexed teacher librarians, particularly, for some time.  Even with the access to records that are already catalogued and just there to be downloaded through service like the Aus ..read more
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The rules-and-regs hat
500 Hats
by Barbara Braxton
1y ago
        Over the past couple of weeks there have been two significant events in school libraries in Australia – the start of the school year and Library Lovers’ Day. And because the two can be linked directly, they present great teaching opportunities that can be solidly supported by outcomes from the Australian Curriculum, thus underpinning the Educate-Advocate Hat. From conversations on several TL networks, it seems that many TLs use the first weeks of the school year to set the rules for the library.  Rules which pertain to behaviour, circulation, the care of the ..read more
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The educate-advocate hat
500 Hats
by Barbara Braxton
1y ago
  Sadly, there are still many teachers and PTB who view the teacher librarian’s role as the reading expert and the keeper of the books. Despite all the years of advocacy – something no other professional has to do to justify their daily existence – those in high places (including government, education authorities and schools) are yet to learn that there is a reason that to be a teacher librarian entails a post-graduate qualification, involves specialist knowledge and is so much more than their childhood recollections of a place filled with books. The key issue seems to be a lack of unde ..read more
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The safe harbour hat
500 Hats
by Barbara Braxton
3y ago
          As children of the 50s my brother and I knew what a safe harbour meant, literally. Growing up in a small port town, we would roam the beaches, the rocks and the wharves until the tide or the weather turned or it got dark. The chances of us getting into strife were minimal as all the while we were supervised by invisible eyes all of which knew us and our parents and grandparents. I was Queen of all I could see…. But times have moved on and not all children have that same carefree childhood.  Too many students have so many impediments in their lives th ..read more
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The first week hat
500 Hats
by Barbara Braxton
3y ago
What does your first week of “library lessons” look like? Have you programmed the usual round of sessions where students are reminded of where to find things, how to borrow them, how to look after them and how to behave? Another barrage of I-talk-you-listen  Another barrage of white noise that confirms their belief that the library is a place for downtime for them? Or have you planned something to stimulate their thinking and reflecting on what they know, where they talk and you listen and together you build an anticipation and excitement for the year ahead? Thirty years ago, in Mathemat ..read more
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The newbie hat
500 Hats
by Barbara Braxton
3y ago
Your TL degree is so new and shiny that the dust hasn’t had time to settle on its frame yet, but in a few short weeks you are going to be stepping into your dream job – the one you’ve been thinking of for years and have undertaken hundreds of hours of gruelling study to achieve. Yet even though you might have excelled in your assignments and learned that being a TL is so much more than being a reading expert and circulating books, where you once thought you had this thing mastered, suddenly your brain is empty and you’re wondering where on earth you start.  There just seems so much to do ..read more
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The “I’m here” hat
500 Hats
by Barbara Braxton
4y ago
          This post is being written as the world is gripped by the COVID-19 pandemic and in the blink of an eye, schools, while technically still open in Australia, have switched to a remote-learning model that is based on the availability of and access to technology.   Like those they teach, teachers have as many issues with learning to use new platforms, programs, apps and so forth and for many the learning curve has been steeper than that of the spread of the virus itself.  They are being bombarded from all sides with new demands and expectations f ..read more
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