Leigh Hobbs knows the value of teacher librarians to literacy and learning. As Australian Children’s Laureate this year, he intends to convey this message to parents and principals and the press at every opportunity. Support his passion.
See more on his facebook page.
Download this new A3 poster and A4 handout produced by ALIA to inform your school communities how your library powers high performance schools. Keep up the campaign for professionally trained teacher librarians in every school.
An excellent article in Kids Spot by Kylie Matthews. Parents unite! Our kids need to increase their declining literacy and it’s teacher librarians, other children’s book experts and parents who lead the way.
Dr Robyn Cox (‘‘Results won’t improve overnight’’, August 4) and Education Minister Adrian Piccoli (‘‘War of words over worth of Gonski model’’, August 4) are certainly both correct in stating that literacy and numeracy results take time to improve.
However, Dr Cox needs to go further in her opinion that more focus is needed regarding teacher professional development in knowledge about language and teaching strategies about reading.
Why do we continually believe that literacy, taught as a standalone program in the classroom is the answer to increasing literacy standards? What happens to a student after leaving school, who may have improved their literacy level according to a standardised test, but who never develops an actual reading behaviour, enabling them to actually develop that love of story, to read critically and to believe that reading is an essential, valued endeavour? Literacy programs must revolve around quality of story and the engagement of the reader.
All schools have a library, but the quality of that library and its intrinsic value to a child’s engagement with reading is unfortunately in sharp decline. The answer is staring Mr Birmingham et al in the face. Well resourced school libraries and a qualified teacher librarian working with classroom teachers (and even parents) in whole school reading (and writing) programs to develop a reading culture holds the key. Not only in improving the literacy results politicians are so focused on, but to set a child up with a lifelong behaviour of the joy and value of reading.
Sharon McGuinness Thirroul
The sixth annual survey of Australian school libraries has expanded to include New Zealand Schools. The first survey was done to inform Softlink’s submission to the federal Inquiry into School Libraries and Teacher Librarians in Australian Schools. Survey results are an invaluable source of information on school library staffing and budgets, to inform advocacy.
Of the 9404 schools in Australia (ABS, 2015) and 2538 schools in New Zealand, 994 responded to the survey. While a low percentage of respondents, no other such statistics are collected by an Australian body. These statistics provide a much needed snapshot over time, and reinforce findings of other studies internationally.
For example:
Further findings, including information on mobile device uptake and e-books, can be found in the report available at http://www.softlinkint.com/2015-softlink-australian-and-new-zealand-school-library-survey-report
Congratulations, Softlink, for your on-going support for teacher-librarians.
Illawarra Mercury article June 20 2014TLs defend role in digital age
Schools are failing to teach children to read
Read what authors and educators are saying is behind lower reading results
