The Daring Librarian

I'm proud to teach in Howard County Maryland. We are a rich tapestry of many threads that reflect the global community and complexity that is the Washington DC Metro area.   Warning, this post might load slowly because of a lot of embedded cool social media!  Coming up with our duct tape drivers license ideas w/ our cool 6th graders #makerspace A photo posted by Gwyneth Jones (@thedaringlibrarian) on Sep 18, 2015 at 8:40am PDT Being Fabulously Diverse Since 1997!  Our kids are delightfully multicultural and come from diverse family backgrounds. Some kids live in 500K houses, and some live in apartments, townhouses, homeless shelters and mobile homes. We have 35% free & reduced lunch - one of the highest in our county. Before Social Media I used to say we were the best kept secret in Howard County. Because, when people visit from the other side of the county, they're always amazed at how shiny, beautiful, bright, and of the positive school vibe ...

Last time I blogged about Change, Innovation, and Tenacity and this time I want to finish this discussion by tackling Positivity and Collaboration.  Among my friends I've sometimes been accused of being a bit of a Polyanna who chooses to be happy. I think that's because I truly believe that ....Happiness is a Choice or that Stay Positive by Staying Out  of The Teacher's Lounge! And some days, it's an EFFORT! LOL I'm going into MAP testing season tomorrow, so I'll be having my waitress smile on most of the day. Yes, I was a waitress in my 20's when I needed 2 jobs to live in Downtown Baltimore...one of the best experiences of my life!  Taught me how to fake it, till you make it, stay positive, let things roll off my back, and keep smiling. (Even when inside I sometimes wanna let the expletives fly!)  All great training to be a middle school teacher! Don't Be a Funpire! Anyway, in my 23+ years of teaching I have noticed that sometimes the e...

Hey gang! It's the beginning of a new school year, so let's put into perspective why we're here. Why we do what we do. And even when you may be testing 89 days out of 180 - there will always be time to do some really great things for our kiddos. Even one or two lessons of AWESOME can change a life, mind, and outlook of a reluctant learner (or fellow teacher!) And gee, I think this post will have to be in 2 parts and please bear with my conversational tone which is high overdrive today. This is a blog not a novel.  Change & Innovation So embrace some change in your school or classroom. Try something NEW this year! Even if it scares you. Especially if it scares you! I'm in my Danielson evaluation year this year & am quietly freaking out over wanting to do a GREAT job in my observations. I really haven't been observed formally in YEARS!---- Try something new, and if you don't like it, you don't have to keep doing it! I know, I know... I ...

  Longtime Flocabulary Fangirl I've been a Flocabulary & Week in Rap fangirl since they came on the scene and have blogged about them back in 2009 and 2011 ...and they just keep getting better!  Every week, sites, companies, and startups email me trying to get me to blog about their product - and while that's really flattering, this blog can't be bought!  My street cred is important to me! I only blog about sites and products I truly LOVE....and though I've was given a Flocabulary T-shirt once, they're not paying for this!  Flocabulary is Hip Hop Learning that is Out of this World! What's new?  Week in Rap, Jr! Now...just for the little K-5 Kiddos, there's a weekly news Rap-up (get it!?) for the small fries! Appropriate, timely, and educational - get the news in a super engaging way for the younger crowd. Week in Rap, OG - for the Middle to High School students is still rocking and is now year round!  Play the video embeeded belo...

I've been inspired by the amazing Jennifer LaGarde who has written such brilliant post about the important people and pivotal moments in your past that made you a lifelong reader.  Jennifer's post is evocative, thought-provoking, and inspiring! It was so good I wrote a flippin novel of a comment that will make up much of this posting! Her well written words caused me to smile and fondly recall those individuals, pivot points, and circumstances that made me into a reader. And it wasn't a book report, diorama, or a standardized text passage that did it. Shocker. Before writing this part, I called my Mom to "fact check" my memory of my pivotal reading moments and spent a great 45 min recalling both of our reader love stories. Which turned out to be - surprisingly similar! Narnia by Candlelight One of my earliest happy reading memories was in Miss Cooper's second grade class at Capitol Christian Academy. Every day after lunch, Miss Cooper would let...

  Dare Everyday. You know, my brand is sometimes a lot to live up to. I'm not always daring. I won't buy a 3D printer until I know I can get projects kiddos create cranked out in a timely fashion or that we can reliably afford the materials and upkeep supplies and I don't think I'll ever ditch Dewey.  You don't ALWAYS have to be daring in BIG ways, consider daring something small every day.  Dare to keep smiling to that kid who never smiles back. It's easy to smile to the kiddos you adore & have a connection with. But try to smile consistently, to that kiddos who is all prickles and burs. You will be surprised at the results. It took me 8 months once to get a reluctant grin back. Dare to take pictures of your kids being awesome and daring every day.  Consider daring to Say Yes! To a School Instagram ! We always have our phones handy, consider using Instagram, Vine, & Flickr to share great moments with parents and the community. When thinking...