Teacher Librarian as Leader

Is change hard? Is change easy? The answer to both of those questions is "yes." If you reflect upon all that is done to "change" schools, you would probably think that policymakers think change is hard - very hard.

Creativity: It's been maligned, neglected, and misunderstood. But it's finally coming into its own. Here, creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson makes the case for creativity as the crucial 21st century skill we'll need to solve today's pressing problems. Sir Ken led the British government's 1998 advisory committee on creative and cultural education and was knighted in 2003 for his achievements. His most recent book, The Element (Viking Adult, 2009), looks at human creativity and education. He is also the author of Out of Our Minds: Learning to Be Creative (Capstone Publishing Limited, 2001).

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) proudly supports the "Declaration for the Right to Libraries," a component of Barbara Stripling's 2013 American Library Association (ALA) Presidential Initiative, "Libraries Change Lives." School library programs change lives by empowering students to become effective and independent users of information and ethical and productive members of our democratic society. The declaration champions the nation's right to quality libraries of all types - public, school, academic, and special - and the expert teaching and guidance provided librarians and library staff. Guided by the AASL learning standards, school librarians teach students to think critically, create new knowledge, share knowledge, and pursue personal and esthetic growth. . AASL is an advocate for the indispensable role of school library programs with school librarians, for best practices in school librarianship, and for the core values and ethics of the library profession. It is within this capacity that AASL endorses and encourages the profession to support the "Declaration for the Right to Libraries."

"As we move deeper and deeper into the information age, more and more professional learning will occur digitally, and that professional learning will be more and more dedicated to digital learning for students. If a school leader is unable to create a digital culture, his or her school will struggle. While individual educators can develop the skills necessary to help students succeed in the new economy, if that capacity does not spread throughout the school, and if the school lacks the tools needed for teachers to effectively instruct in the digital world, ultimately, students will suffer."

"In more than four decades of studying businesses and consulting to organizations on how to implement new strategies, I can't tell you how many times I've heard people use the words "leadership" and "management" synonymously, and it drives me crazy every time. "

VIDEO: What makes good LEADERS

"The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) has been working closely with key education stakeholders to develop the Australian Charter for the Professional Learning of Teachers and School Leaders (the Charter). The Charter describes the importance and characteristics of high quality professional learning in improving teacher and school leader practice. "

The success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social gifts

This list has been around for some time and is useful in placing the elements in order and the problems associated with them if any are missing.

"This presentation for school library professionals provides an update on what Australian school library professional associations are doing in preparing for the introduction of national professional teaching standards and identifying ways in which teacher librarians need to think differently, act differently and learn differently."

"The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) has a role to establish a shared and agreed platform from which the quality of teaching and school leadership can continue to grow."

Studies conducted over the past two decades show that students in schools with endorsed librarians score better on standardized achievement tests in reading.

"The Learning Futures programme was established in order to find out more about how best to make schools more engaging places to learn. Engaging learning involved good leadership in learning environments. This document is well worth exploring as it positions schooling within a culture of 21c learning

Lisa Oldham, Development specialist for school library futures at Lisa Oldham, from the National Library, discusses the future of school libraries. Lisa describes how school libraries are a great way to achieve the creation of skilled students who are able to navigate in the knowledge economy.