The Value of the Media Center in the age of Common Core

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When I was growing up, I often frequented the bus mobile, the library on wheels.  I grew up on military bases and the mobile libraries were a wonderful and convenient way to get new books to read.  When I began teaching in 2004, the library was the hub of activity in my school.  I taught a remediation class and my kids loved Accelerated Reader, racing to get to school in the morning to take an AR test, and trying to finish their work so that they could go to the library to trade in their completed book for a new adventure.  The library was also where small groups were held, children completed tutorials online, or students simply went to visit the librarian.

The school where I do my practicum has a beautiful state of the art media center with a bank of 20 computers.  The ceiling is high and vaulted, there is a study room for small groups, and comfortable furniture for the students is everywhere.  But the library is not on the block rotation, and often times it is surprisingly empty.  In the age of common core, and the focus on content and informational text, how, as leaders, do we keep our media centers an integral and relevant part of the curriculum and the school?

Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 16, 2015 at 8:29 AM

    In the age of the common core, content and informational text, we have to VALUE the media center as part of the curriculum and a student resource. We have to open the doors of the media center for students to use. In the age of personalized learning without textbooks, the media center can and possibly should be the hub of learning in the near future.

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  2. TraciNovember 16, 2015 at 2:11 PM

    Utilizing the media center is the only way to truly meet a lot of the components of common core. A lot of times teachers feel the utilizing the media center is just one more thing on their plate and they resist taking their students there. This is unfortunate as media specialist are there to help teachers. If teachers allowed the media specialist to collaborate with them, teachers would see media specialist actually make teachers jobs a whole lot easier. Media specialist need to advocate for the media center. When I was the media specialist at my school, I had a handful of teachers who allowed me to work with them. As I worked with them, other teachers saw the benefits and started allowing me to work with them. I did not expect the media center to be silent; as a matter of fact, I encouraged students to collaborate with one another. As Chris stated, the media center should be the hub of learning. To me, it should be the heart of the school.

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  3. UnknownNovember 18, 2015 at 5:12 PM

    What a great post topic! You all are so right...the value of the media center and its specialists can't be overstated, it must be valued, and many teachers do consider it as a check mark on their list or another thing that they have to do. What a shame too! Just like Rosalyn, kids should be eagerly anticipating a scheduled or unscheduled trip to the library. I never considered how the school leader could, or should, possibly shape the perceptions of all stake holders about the media center, but I'm definitely taking note now. It should be an oasis of learning and exploration and discovery and adventure. If I didn't have so much school-work and work-work to catch up on, I'd go to my local public library right now. Thanks for the post!

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