Deep Thoughts: Inside the LAUSD teacher evaluation hearings

Monday, May 16, 2011

Inside the LAUSD teacher evaluation hearings

I have quite a few librarian friends and relatives so I tend to follow library related news. A librarian friend sent me a link Settle in. It’s a long one. It a post about the teacher evaluation hearings used by the LAUSD to determine if a teacher will be laid off or allowed to continue teaching, and one teaching librarian caught in the process.

A bit of a disclaimer, before I dig in. I am not a reporter. I am a teacher, a librarian, and a writer. This account is crafted from my personal perspective, biased as it may be, and combines events from two days observing the hearings. As there were no reporters present, my point of view may be the only one available to the general public at this moment. I do not contend that the events detailed here are exact or verbatim. I do contend that this is the gist of it.

Librarians were the people who helped my odd brain cope with the boredom of school. I cannot believe they are considering closing libraries as a means to save money. What are they thinking?

The hearing process sounds tedious and bureaucratic. Why do we treat people like this?

Technorati Tags: Librarians,Bureaucracy,LAUSD

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deleted8470268 143p · 726 weeks ago

I have no problem with closing Libraries as book deposits . The truth is we now have the technology to digitize every book ever written making libraries more efficient ,smaller and better . Print is dead long live the trees ! Newspapers,Magazines,and phone books your NEXT ! Welcome to the Digital Revolution !

7 replies · active 726 weeks ago

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William · 726 weeks ago

Libraries were designed to allow browsing, imagine if people only start reading when necessary (although the current situation is not far from that), the library is a habit that people can be moved into by going during school.

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deleted8470268 143p · 726 weeks ago

Did you mean Habitat ?

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Mojoey 107p · 726 weeks ago

Libraries are necessary sources of information and services that are not made obsolete by the current digital offerings and the internet. Depriving children of books and of the knowledge and skills necessary to find information and do research is depriving them of their future.

The LAUSD is not talking about replacing libraries with digital libraries. They are doing away with them altogether. The holds true for the professionals who teach children how to use the tool that is the library. You don't just walk in a pull a book to read. You learn how to find the answer to your questions. Libraries and librarians are an irreplaceable resource. It's dangerous and does not bode well for the future of the underprivileged children that will loose out because of this shortsighted approach to a fiscal crisis.

I think you've confused a library with a bookstore.

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deleted8470268 143p · 726 weeks ago

I have confused nothing .Maybe you should read the comments I have posted.Nowhere did I mention the subject you are talking about. Libraries do fulfill a purpose ,I was talking about ways to make them better through Technology .Large grand deposits of books are expensive to maintain,and let's face it they are Public book stores. I simply was stating there is a better way .Would you rather see them closed or improved ? Ben Franklin set up the first of these over 200 years ago,and they have remained unchanged,and are now becoming out modded for modern times ,and are now at risk .They like all things must evolve or they will perish .

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Mojoey 107p · 726 weeks ago

I think that is my point. They are not becoming out modeled by modern times. They are more valuable today than they have ever been.

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deleted8470268 143p · 726 weeks ago

I have never argued that point. But they must update the technology,and find a way to be smaller ,and better data bases . We have the Tech lets use it or they will be closed. Let's not see them go the way of the dinosaur.

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No2Religion 85p · 726 weeks ago

As I stated below school libraries are full of technology and were the place that most school technology was first implemented. I think on average school libraries have done more to embrace technology than most school programs. Sure school libraries still have books but they also have a lot of technology and they teach a lot of technology. School libraries are no longer just about checking out a book.

When you look at these realities you can no longer say that school libraries are dinosaurs. However, unless someone works in, visits or has children using school libraries they may not know how advanced they have become.

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deleted8470268 143p · 726 weeks ago

True but we now have a better means to disseminate Ideas.Most books in Libraries are just wasted space,and fire hazards full of rotting organic waste material. Books worked for the past ,but they will also soon join the past.As obsolete a an 8 track player. I am not saying this is for the better it is just what the way technology is going. The entire composition of the written word available on a single device will make them obsolete. One cannot deny progress ! They will become like the Video Arcades of the 1980's welcome to the 21 century.

2 replies · active 726 weeks ago

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Tired_of_inanity · 726 weeks ago

One cannot deny progress, but one can deny stupidity.

School libraries do not exist to "disseminate ideas." They exist to help children to learn to read and, later, to do research. Kids learn to read by actually reading, for which they need books. Lots of books. On all kinds of topics. And they need a person who devotes her career to getting books into their eager hands: a librarian.

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deleted8470268 143p · 726 weeks ago

Google has made you obsolete ! Please go to disintegration sta 5. Your service has been of value.Good by.

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deleted8470268 143p · 726 weeks ago

Look guys I'm not the one taking away your books ,but I suggest you start hording them away because within the next few years they will become collectibles . Like LP's,or Papyrus Scrolls ,or Clay tablets,or cave paintings !

2 replies · active 726 weeks ago

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Mojoey 107p · 726 weeks ago

You do realize that libraries are about organizing, cataloging, and grouping information so that people like you can find it. Right? it's not just stacking books for people to browse.

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deleted8470268 143p · 726 weeks ago

I have never said otherwise. Just tracking future trends in literature. All things evolve ,and so does the carrier of that information.Otherwise we would still be communicating with drums instead of the Internet .

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deleted8470268 143p · 726 weeks ago

Tired_of_insanity try Prozac ! Or search the world wide web for more information .This message has been brought to you by the future !

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No2Religion 85p · 726 weeks ago

It is true that a lot of information has been digitized. I am a big supporter of digital text books and believe that digital reading is the future. However, this is not to say that school libraries are obsolete, quite the contrary. At least a decade ago school libraries were being transformed into Library Media Centers to reflect the many types of media available; audio, visual, technical and tactile.

While the book is not as prevalent in the school library and many school libraries order few new books, if any, school libraries are still an important educational tool for children. School libraries are especially important in inner city and impoverished schools as this may be the only place a child can get a book to read, a CD to listen, or a video to watch. Not to mention some time to safely search and explore the Internet.

The closing of any school library would be disservice to the children it serves.

2 replies · active 726 weeks ago

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deleted8470268 143p · 726 weeks ago

Always when push comes to shove people talk about the children . Your kids will not bother to walk across town or across campus for that matter when they can access any information of interest from the click of a mouse . Our generation will have the hardest time giving up the notions of the past system. They have already moved on . Do public Libraries serve a purpose yes ! Can it be done cheaper ,and better YES ! That is all I have been saying.If we fail to change it is the Kids who will suffer for our backward inability to change ! An out modded system of book warehousing

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No2Religion 85p · 726 weeks ago

For all the technology available to kids today - computers, smart phones, and the like - my daughter still prefers a book to a Kindle or other electronic reading. And my daughter is not alone as most of her friends are avid book readers. Despite the failure of newspapers, magazines, public libraries, and some bookstores I see no imminent demise of the book. This is not to say that the book hasn't been rather hard hit by the Kindle and other digital reading devices.

But, none of this should allow to us to make it OK to take away school libraries from our children. As it is schools across the nation have been particularly hard hit by the recession. Class sizes are growing, enrichment classes, AP classes, remedial classes and others are being eliminated. Schools are shortening their school days, school weeks or school years to account for significant budget shortfalls.

Ultimately, the shortage of class time, subject choice and school libraries will affect the children. So, yes it is about the children. Our children are our future is not just a cliche it is a reality. If we fail to educate our children properly to be competitive in the global economy then we might as well just turn them over to the theists and Republicans now.

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