Points of Inquiry: A chance to rethink our purpose?

If you haven’t already read the British Columbia Teacher-Librarians Association’s Points of Inquiry document outlining the role of teacher-librarians’ in our schools in the twenty-first century as important contributors to the success of learning for our students you NEED to.

I strongly encourage all BCTLA members and advocates for digital literacy to take some time to read and share this document with their school (and district) administrators. The BCTLA is one of only a few organizations world-wide that has created a position statement outlining the tremendous impact that the role of a professionally trained teacher-librarian has on student learning supported with the current and most reliable research on digital literacy education in the 21st century.

Our colleague at Kelowna Secondary School, Al Smith, offers resounding and unequivocal support for the notion that this is a document that teacher-librarians can be proud to share, support, and rally their school library programs around:

I’ve been working out some ways to adapt our teaching practices toutilize the BCTLA Inquiry document with our teens. Although this is a K-12 guiding document, it is never too soon to change the way we do business in BC School Libraries. The more I return to this document to rethink, the more I am again reminded what a fabulous document we have here! It is simply amazing and so professional. I am in awe! Everything I know, but cannot express, this Inquiry document has it. I’ve been revisiting our collection and debating how it figures into our practices.

Personally, as a teacher-librarian, and an advocate for teacher-librarians, school-libraries and our 21st century learners, I commit greater attention, time, and focus towards the Points of Inquiry that it deserves. And I also recognize that I need to work with a greater diligence and sense of determination to better utilize what I can to more effectively help my students, fellow teaching colleagues, and school leaders, but taking an active role in this endeavour. The Points of Inquiry document is the perfect opportunity to do so.

I encourage others to revisit and to reframe what it means to be an effective teacher-librarian in the BC in the 21st century.

So, how about it? Are you prepared to embrace and understand and get messy with the Points of Inquiry? On so many levels, we’d really be foolish not to…