This past year, as
strapping men and women in hard hats frequently traversed our library's
grand
staircase in pursuit of a 38,000 square foot addition to our marvelous school,
the librarians decided (wisely, we thought) to lay low. No matter how many beautiful articles Laura Bishop might pen about the value of school-wide reads,
2017 didn't seem like the right moment to dream big in terms of our library
program. Nevertheless, our eyes glistened (with excitement? tears?) when the
charismatic Head of Middle School Humanities approached us with the idea of
launching a new type of summer reading program for our middle schoolers (grades
4-7).
Upon their
return to school, Chapin’s middle school students will be clustering to discuss
a common theme (kindness) as it appeared in the books they chose to read over
the summer. The hope? To give seventh graders in their last year of
middle school the chance to be leaders in mixed-age discussions while
reinforcing two cherished community norms (reading + kindness!)
As I sit at
home awaiting my own participation in these "Choose Kind" breakout
sessions, I thought it might be -- well, kind, really -- to briefly share
what I learned from getting this not-quite-Book-Day program off the ground.
• Never be anything short of super-enthusiastic
about a new community program, no matter how ill-timed it seems. Negative
chatter is the bane of any school. I indulged in it briefly and got
called out on it by a beloved colleague. Until then, I didn’t realize how
desperately administration members relied on me as a standard-bearer of
positivity. Lesson learned.
• Put most everything else aside -- and by
that, I mean all those nagging everyday tasks -- recataloging and weeding come to mind -- and focus on the new program instead.
In the end, you’ll never be remembered for your perfect collection….but a
new program? Yes. Or, at least -- hopefully.
• Set up a time for the kids to physically
interact with books that support the new program. In my case, it was
hosting a book tasting of books that met the “Choose Kind” criteria. This was in the final days of school
(no small scheduling feat given all the end-of-year activities) but the
girls were so eager to mingle and write their shortlist on a homespun
bookmark. In the end, I was able to guilt most of my colleagues into
giving up 15 minutes of their classes that final week so that the girls could each choose a book appropriate to their personality and reading level.
• Keep reading this blog and attending
HVLA’s wonderful meetings. It’s a great way to force yourself to dream
big and stay open. And the post-meeting social always reassures me that
no, I’m not going crazy, our job really is that complicated.
Hope to see
you all at our next event!
Natasha
Goldberg, Middle School Librarian, Chapin
