A new brief from Jobs for the Future reports that over 75,000 high school students nationwide—most from underserved populations—are learning college-level material and earning free college credits in early college high schools. In Minnesota, our terminology is slightly different, but we certainly see how popular our PSEO and Senior to Sophomore programs are in a down economy. The brief reports that 94 percent of early college students earn some college credit for free, an average of 36 college credits, saving 30 percent toward a bachelor’s degree or 60 percent toward an associate’s degree. We know that families appreciate the financial break on college tuition, but what does it mean for the student after high school? It is also interesting to note the increased graduation rates and no great surprise that these students attend college at higher rates. And, we know how depleted media center budgets have been during the last decade. We need to ask ourselves if our high school collections contain the materials to best support these students? Read the full press release at http://tinyurl.com/cyrrm6x and be sure to click on the Fact Sheet in the left frame too!
Recently, I was amused to read a post on A Librarian’s Lists and Letters blog by none other than Brassy Librarian. As I read her post, I wanted to yell “ So True”! Inevitably, when I tell people I am a librarian, I get weird comments back and I’ll bet you do too! And yes, males still seem to be hopeful that you might be the naughty librarian too! What was just as much fun as reading the post was reading the comments that followed; almost like a librarian’s support group! Certainly not scholarly in nature, but a good chance to feel the lighthearted support of others in the profession, and add to the love too!
As we wrap up School Library Month, it is especially timely for Maureen Sullivan, president of ALA to write a blog post specifically about the importance of school libraries. Maureen mentions cuts to specific federal programs that may have impact on our school media centers in Minnesota. She also mentions that “The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project Online Survey of Teachers found that although the Internet has opened up a vast world of information for today’s students, their digital literacy skills have yet to catch up. Twenty-four percent of those surveyed stated that students lack the ability to assess the quality and accuracy of information they find online. Another 33 percent reported that students lack the ability to recognize bias in online content.” This reinforces the critical role that media specialists possess in our schools.
It is still April and a month long celebration of school media specialists, AKA teacher librarians. We received lots of positive feedback about our April 3rd post on 100 Things Kids Will Miss if they Don’t Have a Teacher Librarian in their School so thought our readers may want more of the same. Never stammer if asked what you do….have your elevator speech ready! To help you formulate or flesh out that speech, we recently uncovered another great document authored by Dr. Joyce Valenza/teacher-librarian at Springfield Township High School in Erdenheim, Pennsylvania and Gwyneth A. Jones, teacher-librarian at Murray Hill Middle School, Laurel, Maryland. Check out their document, titled What Do TL’s Teach?
Things are hard in library land right now, we get that! So, if you have been feeling the least bit gloomy about your future as a librarian, you need to read this piece. It appeared recently in Library Journal, and was authored by Barbara Fister, librarian at Gustavus Adolphus College. Barbara cites ten reasons she loves being a librarian, and it is a refreshing reminder of what is positive and noble about this profession. The post is called Ten Easy Pieces: The Profession of Librarianship. I hope you come away feeling as hopeful and refreshed as I did. Enjoy!
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