Your chance to "debrief"! We all love our work (otherwise we wouldn't be
doing it), but it is manifestly obvious that it's not all beer and skittles
in the school library. I'm wondering how others view the shortcomings of
their particular workplace, so...in your opinion, what's the worst thing about being a teacher librarian?
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| ...being isolated - having separate recess/lunch times from the rest of the staff so it's harder to develop relationships, professional and personal |
| ...having to continually "tout" for business. Most teachers in the high schools i've worked in are interested in CPPT when i tell them about it, but they rarely actually turn up/organize to do it. |
| ...dealing with teachers who won't share their knowledge with others, keeping it hidden and using it as a source of power. |
| ...not being able to say no when clients seek our help [timewasting] |
| Some teachers' total lack of respect for resources - put them back any old how; and their selfishness as to how long they hang on to a resource. |
| My gripe is that everyone thinks the T/ls time is not important. Any planned use of time by the T/l's is taken into consideration after everyone elses. |
| The worst thing about being a TL is the isolation. |
| Not being valued for the assistance I can give. |
| The snide comments eg. all she does is sit on her bum all day and read the paper(I wish!) tend to wear me down. |
| It's staff (particularly executive) who don't appreciate what it takes to run a school library properly. |
| I feel totally undervalued and over extended |
| Not having enough time to do all the things I would like to do |
| Having to read so much ... on listservs |
| A lack of understanding about the work we really do by our colleagues. |
| Being the conscience or nag...-always being in the wrong place at the wrong time for the teacher photocopying or using the 'illegal' bit |
| Having the school plant a parent spy in the library, on open day - who then reported the ONE negative thing that I said (but none of the positive ones) |
| My supervisor has no library training or experience, and then tells me how to run the library |
| The worst thing for me sometimes is the loneliness! |
| Too much to do & not enough time |
| Being told to advocate from the ground up when from the top down they don't seem to know what we are supposed to be doing. |
| Seniors playing games on the computers during study lessons. Then when asked to use them for work or research they complain and argue because it is their "free" time. |
| Being invisible. Who am I anyway? |
| The pay!(and I'm on the top award!) |
| Only 24 hours in one day |
| Being taken for granted |
| Probably a completely inadequate budget |
| The ignorance of some (not all, by any means) people with either power or a loud mouth. |
| The need to negotiate with teachers who do not see much relevance for libraries and research skills. |
| The misconception that all we do in the library is sit around and read books all day. |
| Classes arriving that haven't been booked in, especially when the library is fully booked, with very little to do. |
| Students, especially seniors, thinking the library is an extension of the playground. |
| Endless supervisions |
| It's the little flicks that make me feel as though I'm not seen as professional as the "real" teachers |
| Not being assigned to the library (despite being a qualified teacher-librarian), and placed in a classroom |
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I have coped with no budget, rude students and poor resources, BUT the worse thing ever was having my phone used to bug the Library work area by Adminstration! I kid you not: there was also a phone bug in the Common Room.
("Liberated Librarian" -long since with much better & caring employers) |
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What could be worse than having to watch your partner, admired and recognised
for her skills in her previous schools, statewide and nationally, being
bullied, stressed and injured for two years, and then forced to leave the job
she loves, because nepotism and power at her school was more important than
kids' education through the library.
(husband of a teacher librarian) |