Deep Thinking

I tried out Heinemann-Raintree’s Ask A Librarian program and I really like it. Somewhere I can go for help besides LM_NET. I posted about bipolar disorder on my Practically Paradise blog this week. For those of you who are good at reading between the lines, you may figure out why my household life has been extremely stressful the past 6 weeks. Catch me for a cup of coffee & we’ll chat sometime. In the meantime, I need to stock up on more bipolar titles for my school and professional collection. My parents came to visit and I was able to show them the holes in my walls in various stages of being repaired. I think I need to include fix-it books in the school library collection also.

Bipolar Titles:
Visit the Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation Web site. The site includes indepth information on bipolar disorder and provides links to a variety of resources. You can learn more about the titles listed below, as well.

Anger Mountain
ISBN-13: 978-1412050661
The story of an elementary-age boy who is learning to cope with his anger management issues.

The Bipolar Disorder Survival Guide: What You and Your Family Need to Know
ISBN-13: 978-1572305250
Handbook by psychologist/researcher at University of Colorado. The book is described as, “Straight talk for teens and adults on taking charge of maintaining wellness while living with bipolar disorder.”

My Bipolar Roller Coaster Feelings Book & Workbook
ISBN-13: 978-1412054256
A 32-page storybook written from the perspective of a boy with bipolar disorder. The book is described as, “…a wonderful resource for children with bipolar disorder, their parents, teachers and clinicians.” The accompanying workbook includes exercises to assist children with bipolar disorder.

Brandon and the Bipolar Bear
ISBN-13: 978-1412039314
A fictional story about a young boy living with bipolar disorder. Readers will learn about symptoms and treatment from a child’s point of view. Includes vivid illustrations.

Embracing the Monster: Overcoming the Challenges of Hidden Disabilities
ISBN-13: 978-1557665225
A memoir of author Veronica Crawford’s experiences with ADHD and bipolar disorder. The book is described as, “Highly recommended reading for parents of children with hidden disabilities as well as adolescents and young adults with hidden disabilities.”

Everything you Need to Know about Bipolar Disorder and Manic Depressive Illness
ISBN-13: 978-0823937684
This book is part of the series, “The Need to Know Library.” This book is intended for adolescents upon first diagnosis. Includes examples and glossary.

Matt the Moody Hermit Crab
ISBN-13: 978-1891347054
Follow Matt’s onset, diagnosis, and treatment of bipolar disorder. Presented in novel-form for children 8-12.

Recovering from Depression: A Workbook for Teens (Revised Edition)
ISBN-13: 978-1557665928
Workbook to assist teens in understanding and coping with depression.

The Storm in my Brian
(Visit the Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation for purchase information)
This publication includes artwork by young people living with depression or bipolar disorder. The book description notes, “This is an easy to understand, colorful booklet that speaks to children about how it feels to have a mood disorder.”

Turbo Max: A Story For Siblings Of Bipolar Children
(Visit the Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation for purchase information)
For siblings (ages 8-12) of children with bipolar disorder. A boy’s diary, describing the challenges and struggles he experiences while learning to accept and deal with his sister’s illness.

Summer contemplation. Ah! I love the freedom to sit and think. Yesterday when my parents were packing to return to Northwest Iowa after their short graduation visit, I commented on how much I enjoy Tennessee between 5 and 6 a.m. It’s a beautiful time to sit outside, to read, to sip my coffee, and to think. Throughout the school year I am embarking upon a personal crusade to enable students (and teachers) to think more deeply about their learning, their habits, their goals, and their attitudes. Some of my favorite resources to expand my own thinking include:

Joe Cuseo, Faculty member and Psychology & Director for Freshman Seminar at Marymount College, who has an excellent page on Deep Thinking Skills. I appreciate this concise list and format because I can easily create my own list for students. He continues these questions and explains the difference between critical and deep thinking.

Jamie McKenzie’s ten year old article on Deep Thinking and Deep Reading in an Age of Info-Glut, Info-Garbage Info-Glitz and Info-Glimmer. Don’t you wish you could have created this fun title?

Robyn Silbey has created some math books to promote deep thinking.

Teacher Tap’s Critical and Creative Thinking - Bloom’s Taxonomy has an extensive list. I do keep a simple flip chart of Bloom’s Taxonomy next to my school standards manual and collaborative planning graphic organizers.

Kathleen Cotton’s 1991 article on Teaching Thinking Skills is still vital today and is available from NWREL.

Georgia’s Department of Education has created a Critical Thinking Skills program with activities K-12. Some links are no longer valid, but I have been able to find their original sources through some creative searching.

Virtual Salt’s Robert Harris has an introduction and comparison chart to CREATIVE THINKING vs. critical thinking. that I believe everyone should view.

Another chart that I have found valuable in my contemplations is from Saskatchewan’s K-12 curricula. Chapter 4’s Critical and Creative thinking.

Don’t miss James J. Messina’s Coping.org article on Tools for Improving your Critical Thinking. This article has sections of clear overviews and intense contemplation interwoven.

In my next post, I’ll link you to thinking questions and our web 2.0 technologies. At least, I will begin the process. I could spend the entire summer and actually start a PhD program on this topic.

Graduation services went very quickly. Two are now officially done with school. Even though you spend 13 years preparing for this moment, you still are not prepared for the moment they stand to cross the stage. The relationships we built with teachers in order to get these boys through school, the ups & downs academically and behaviorally, the frustrations, the successes, are all over now.

Two events that surprised me with their emotional impact:

1) seeing their friends crossing and realizing that those boys & some girls who practically lived at your house were now graduating and going off somewhere else. You knew your own children were leaving, not everyone else’s.

2) while the principal listed activities, organizations, etc. he asked each group to stand. When he called for the young men and women leaving for the armed forces, a HUGE number of our children stood - including both of mine. Instantly the crowd leaped to their feet for a standing ovation and I nearly lost it.

Three weeks from now there will be only two children left in my house. With the two dogs and one cat, I will feel like the house is empty. Fortunately during the remaining time, I am operating a revolving door of children. Someone is spending the night staying over every night and the refrigerator just keeps emptying. Perhaps teenagers eat so much that we will appreciate the moment we aren’t feeding them and actually get to keep some of our paycheck.

I was unable to load the pictures I wanted when I posted on SLJ’s website. Technology doesn’t always work. It may even leave you at the mercy of some tech service person who never shows up. FOrtunately, I know my building-level techie Mike and he takes great care of me. When I have a problem, I can email or call his blackberry and speak to Mike immediately. Some of our online tools hide their contact information and increase my frustration.

Anyway, here are some photos of our Whisper, Lucy, and Marshall.


These were taken by my #4 son who loves to capture the spirit behind the photographic subject.

I appreciate Doug’s reminder to indicate the bloggers who were cited in the May 2007 American Libraries article “Mattering in the school blogosphere.” I felt so incredibly in-touch when I realized that I have been to each of these blogs and subscribe to nearly all through my bloglines account (and Google Reader for redundancy). I don’t know how Carolyn Foote’s Not Too Distant Future fell off my bloglines, but I am putting it back on. Enjoy the links and be sure to subscribe so you are regularly updated.
Justin Ashworth School Libraryland
Rob Darrow California Dreamin’
Carolyn Foote Not so Distant Future
Christopher Harris Infomancy
Frances Jacobson Harris Gargoyles Loose in the Library
Sara Kelly Johns From the Inside Out
Doug Johnson Blue Skunk
Joyce Valenza NeverEndingSearch
Alice Yucht Alice in Infoland

Saturday son #2 enlisted in the U.S. Army. He leaves 3 weeks from today (graduates H.S. this Thursday) and will be a 68T - Animal Care Specialist (vet. assistant). Cool MOS. He is so incredibly proud of himself. His daddy is beside himself with pride. He is also gleeful because he leaves for basic training 3 days before his stepbrother (my biological son #1 who will be Airborne Infantry Ranger). They will head to different training sites but I anticipate their competitiveness will linger. Son #2 will enter as PFC (a rank ahead of son #1) due to 4 years of Navy Junior ROTC. Son #1 intends to excel at the P.T. tests and regain that rank. He is already busily working on correspondence courses to get ahead.

I am very proud of both boys. They have chosen ways to get the training and college funding for later in life. They know what’s ahead and are not afraid to step up to help. As son #1 tells me, the Army needs good intelligent people to learn to be good leaders.

The May 2007 American Libraries is out and part of my responses are there. You can read my letter on SLJ’s blog Practically Paradise when I responded to an earlier AL article. I wasn’t content with Leonard Kniffel’s response online either and have been waiting for this article to appear. I felt that his response didn’t truly look at why we were upset. Be sure to visit the comments, particularly Debbie Abilock’s.

I hope that other types of libraries are reading about our schools and that they respond on the blogosphere. Did anyone learn anything by reading the article? I believe collectively we had a TREMENDOUS amount to share. I hope that others will be galvanized to go blog.

If you are an ALA member, you can go online and read while you are waiting for your print copy. If you aren’t a member, you need to connect with one and discover why you should be a member. I realize that there continues to be discussion on LM_NET about the cost of membership. I think more people should look at the cost of NOT being a member of a professional organization. We continue to find low-cost and no-cost methods of belonging through blogs, wiki’s, Second Life, Ning, etc. but none of us has the time, funds, or expertise to be the collective expert that 65,000+ members provide through ALA. If you haven’t read Doug Johnson’s response, take a moment.

Just in case I need a reminder why school libraries are practically paradise, I had two wonderful experiences today.
1) Overhearing students exclaim that they can’t wait to go back to the library.

2) A student I’ve had since preschool sliding up to give me a one-armed hug at dismissal (very slyly so everyone didn’t see) and to tell me that I have always been special to him.

If I need anything said when I die, please let it be from the mouth of a child.

We have stopped circulating (although I have been researching heavily with first graders) this school year. Since we are following Karen Lowe’s methods of collection analysis and resource alignment, we needed to majorly shift shelves of books to make room for the new and updated titles. Our P.T.A. donated a large sum of money this month so I quickly ordered over 200 books to fill in the needs identified from our analysis. (Thanks, Karen, for reminding me to always be ready).

I have enjoyed meeting with teachers, ordering, and now processing these new books. Lots of concept books, government info, symbols, transportation, mathematical concepts, grammar, etc. We are entering them frantically in the computer so they’ll be ready to display the first day of school. Of course I can’t wait so I am already teasing teachers with them by putting them in their hands and telling them that they can’t have them yet. The teachers then grip the books even tighter and announce their intention to use them ASAP. Yes, I do feel diabolical.

What does all of this have to do with “Why we move books?” While I was shifting 3,000 titles this week, several students came by to return books and watch. Their immediate concerns were a) where did the origami books go? and b) how are we going to find the books we like to read over and over? They quickly spread throughout the school letting others know the nonfiction books were in new places. I overheard several of them chatting in the halls about this. One little girl indignantly explained to them, “That’s why librarians teach you HOW to find things. Then they move them every year so you have to practice.”

I love a good contest or activity with set goals, milestones, fun, and participation. I am so excited to discover the WOMAN challenge. For National Women’s Health Week, the Office on Women’s Health sponsors an 8-week national physical activity challenge called the WOMAN (Women and girls Out Moving Across the Nation) Challenge. They have virtual routes available for you to walk and tracking sheets. Individuals or teams can participate. While the free pedometers are gone, I am sure I can locate one for under $10 to participate. I need the exercise for my health and diet. There is a tremendous amount of stress in my life now and I need to physically get moving. Will you join?

T. Scott: Lookin’ for a Ladder… post about change, mindsets, and paying our dues made me do a little thinking today. While I don’t agree with everyone - and honestly tell me any deep thinker who does - I like the structure of his post.

Several years ago in TN, our school library organization did a survey of members. We discovered that we had large numbers of people entering the profession and large numbers leaving, but the middle group was very small. Contrary to most impressions we did have many younger members entering the profession. We worked hard to be sure the leadership is not composed only of people who have already taught 30 years and “know” how the organization should be run. I just chafe at meetings where they insist upon rehashing history to illustrate why extra precautions should be in place. I insist that we must seek out the new-to-the-professionals and get them involved.

Let’s face it. I’m not that young anymore! Gasp! 41 years old in fact. Received my MLS at the sweet age of 23 and if you do the math you can see I have been teaching a few years. I actually started teaching before that when I was 20 years old and still an education student, but on a year’s stay in Taiwan, Republic of China. I was hired there to teach English and honed many creative skills there. I also early on witnessed teachers from all over the world who were flexible, creative, and innovative. They were not overly concerned with tenure. They embraced professional development and learning in unique environments. (One of my final adult classes each term involved taking the students to an international restaurant and forcing them to use English in situations where they had none of the specialized vocabulary. They had to use adaptive strategies of language acquisition to survive, but when they did it right, they were well-fed.)

During library school I became involved with my state and national organization. I developed a mindset that our professional duties extend beyond the four walls of our library. I attended workshops for graduate credit on the importance of being a change agent. I chose to develop a mindset of embracing change within corporate structure. I chose to view my job as a small part of the profession and that my patrons and people-in-need included my colleagues. I also understood immediately that I must not be complacent, but should continue to attend conferences and workshops at every opportunity.

I speak to local colleges about our profession and encourage getting involved. This year I have two sons graduating high school and both will leave for the U.S. Army. During this period of reminiscing I looked back at my senior book and the speech I gave that year. The theme revolved around living a complete life of involvement, not just academically being the best but participating in a variety of activities throughout life even when you weren’t the best one in the group.

In school library organizations I do not believe we are so entrenched managerially to prohibit participation of others in professional organizations. If you are new and talk to me, I will connect you with someone and get you involved. That is a warning because I practice what I preach. Just ask those librarians I met socially in Seattle and through emails who are now all on committees.

Perhaps those who are concerned with others needing to pay their dues have forgotten how to listen. When you practice perceptive listening, you can help someone who is new hone their message and develop strategies to implement change. Mentoring is a wonderful thing. It helps me to grow constantly and forces me to live up to the standards that I preach.

Perhaps I am not as concerned with anyone’s paying their dues because there are not as many routes available for school librarians to advance. Take a look at your options. You can be building level librarian, possibly district level coordinator, and then a state-level coordinator (in just a few states left across the country). I was in a recent meeting in DC when someone asked me if I was the coordinator because I had an opinion that went beyond a building view point. I was able to experience that moment when a different type of librarian implied (intentionally or not) that if I didn’t hold a higher position, I might not be the most qualified to voice the opinion. Ouch! I pity the rest of our profession and the close-minded mentality that only”those who choose to leave working at the building level and directly with the patrons” are the ones who think about the profession.

Thanks for listening to my rambling thoughts today. If you are new to the profession or if you are not-new like me, but want to be more involved, contact me and I will help you get connected. Perhaps the dues for school librarianship are in pennies compared to academic and public librarianships higher dues costs.