The Daring Librarian

 How to be a Teacher Librarian Rock Star - Branding Tips & Tricks First thing I gotta say, I don’t know that I really love the term Library Rockstars because I think ALL Teachers, Librarians, Teacher-Librarians, Educators....we're all rock stars or each of us has an inner rock star just waiting to come out.  I also think it sounds a wee bit elitist. OK, a whole heck of a lot of elitist.  But who doesn’t want to rock it at their job? (BTW, I was asked to write this "Rock Star" article for another publication and using the Rock Star theme was their choice - So, I'm answering their questions - I did the best I could! They highly edited my responses, and I think I ended up sounding like a total prat, but here they are in their entirety.)  To what do you attribute your success? I try to...... Work hard Be Reliable Be Reflective Be Positive Hard work, a sense of humor, tenacity, and a stubbornly fought for positive mental and professional attitude. Yes...

This article is planned to be published in the May issue of NEA Today Magazine  (sadly, without my nifty custom graphic) but it's already online ! So YAY! I guess I can share it with you early! I’ve been sharing on social media professionally for eight years now, and I have to admit, it can be kinda tricky. There is a goldmine of information out there for teachers, but also landmines that can be quite treacherous if not deftly avoided.  As educators, I passionately believe we should use social media to push the positive, celebrate student successes, share resources with our colleagues, and connect with parents and the community.  But how do we professionally use these tools without torturing ourselves over every Tweet, update, or Instagram pic? Easy! Try these six tips to share sensibly online. Follow School District Policy   Does your district have a technology and social media policy? If so, read it and follow it to the letter. I’m so proud that my distric...

When we comment we model. When we Tweet professionally, we show our kiddos how they should behave online by our example. Or at least that's what we should be aiming for, right!? Creating a positive digital footprint so that our kiddos can see what that looks like. Ethics: Why Aren't We Teaching This? I think it's important to teach our kiddos the right and wrong ways to interact with each other. Why aren't we doing this already is more the question!? I'm not talking about basic "home training" I'm talking about creating situations,  throwing out some shade, & seeing how they react. Perhaps work in small groups & brainstorm reactions then have a discussion about the choices. And NOT just online -- Oh no! Ethics are ethics. Let's  focus on choosing to do the right thing in real life as well as online. How to react with empathy to haters & people who provoke. Have them ask themselves before commenting (in the hallway, at lunc...

I hope that the click-bait blog title got your attention. It was designed to! But you may ultimately find it misleading. Please keep reading! Before any admins out there start sharpening their pitchforks for me, I gotta say that I really don't think teachers need to train new principals. Principals come to us already accomplished, trained, vetted, and hand-picked. Nor are Principals or Assistant Principals really dragons...but then again, dragons ARE protective! And a new Admin does sorta have to take control of the school which may include a little fire breathing now and then. Are you still with me? The conversation I really want to have is with YOU - or rather, with US!  The classroom teacher, school librarian, and educator of any subject who is NOT in charge of a whole school.   I actually think it's the teachers and staff that needs to be trained to be more tolerant! Cut Me Some Slack! Why do we seem to give all kinds of slack, assistance, mentoring...