Having successfully completed my part 1 Teacher-Librarian online course, and having been rewarded by my principal (always let your principal know when you are taking a course!) with a section of library in the fall, I decided to enroll in part 2. So, my blog lives on!
Additionally, I’m feeling more reflective of my teaching practice lately: the pandemic really challenged educators like myself. I was already teaching an online course (but was re-writing the content for a new course) and had already integrated Google Classroom into my practice on a regular basis, so while that part was very time-consuming, it was manageable for me. What was most challenging for me was dealing with a pandemic (and the various government responses to it), managing my classes (including managing my expectations), and then watching the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. Not only was this a watershed moment in American and Canadian politics, but this meant equity issues, anti-racist education, and culturally responsive teaching suddenly moved to the forefront of priorities for many educators. As I am working through my teacher-librarian course materials, I am re-thinking the fall semester not just through the lens of the pandemic, but also through an anti-racist lens. I’ve been engaged in re-thinking things through an anti-colonial lens for a while now, but it’s time to make significant changes. I will share more on this later. As many other educators have already noted, we have the opportunity to re-visit and change how we approach school and our classes in the fall.
So happy to hear that you’re motivated to continue and that you’re being rewarded with some library time. Can’t wait to see what you do next, Laura!
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