Your Classroom Library and 20%

I was at Sunday morning #CoffeeEduNJ this weekend when my friend Denise (@smilingteach) shared the following quote:

"If you're not losing 20% of your classroom library each year, you don't  have the right books."

Do you ever just hear something that resonates with you? Something of an "aha moment" that makes you think you've been doing it wrong all these years? Well, that quote did just that for me.

It sounds trivial, but really struck a cord with me. I have not been able to find the original person who said this, so for now I will credit Denise Weintraut.

Each year, I talk with classroom teachers who worry about students taking books home to read, worry about books leaving their classroom, all over the fear of a book not finding its way back to it's home in the classroom library.

So this quote got me thinking.

Aside from the books that get lost in student desks and lockers, where else do these books go when they leave the classroom?

If we truly want to get books into the hands of all students and develop a passion for reading, does it matter if some them stay forever in the hands of a student who went on a journey with it, learned from it, or connected to it in some way we will never know?

OK, I understand that ever-shrinking district budgets and lack of funding for classroom libraries plays into this worry and somewhat possessiveness over the books in our libraries. Teachers work...and spend...to build up their libraries and don't want to risk a never-ending battle to continually replace lost books while still adding the latest authors and series.

It comes to down to looking at it another way.
If books are missing from classroom libraries, it is because a student has it. A student. And isn't that the goal in the first place?

Why Mentors Are Important...and Paying it Forward

Who are your mentors?

Who has had the most influence in guiding and supporting your educational journey?

I've been reflecting on this lately, and the importance mentors have on who you become as an educator.

I feel very fortunate for those who I have had the pleasure to know and learn from over the years; mentors who supported and guided me during my first years of teaching and even today.

When I began my first year of teaching, I was fortunate enough to be placed on a 1st grade team with five other amazing teachers who were all at various stages in their careers. They each took me under their wing, supporting, engaging and inspiring me through my first and ever-important year of teaching. To this day I remain grateful to Jean, Brenda, Lorraine and Jan. I still have regular contact with Jean and Brenda, even though they are now enjoying the life of retirement. Their passion for children and learning has never waned.

During my initial years as a primary teacher, I also had the privilege of working under an inspiring literacy leader in my language arts supervisor, Dr. Joanne Monroe. When I expressed an interest in getting my M.Ed., she encouraged me to pursue my studies in reading and become a reading specialist. After earning my M.Ed. in Developmental Reading, she introduced me to the local chapter of the International Literacy Association, and before I knew it I was president of our local chapter. Those few steps have truly impacted the road I have taken. 

I have had many mentors and influences over my 25 years in education, but I would have to say that it was those early in my career who truly helped to guide my path. 

Paying it forward...

Although I continue to learn and grow as an educator, I will never "know it all". I feel it is part of my currently responsibility to make sure I am serving as a mentor to others. It is my goal to encourage and support young or new educators as they begin their own path towards affecting the lives of our children. 

Dr. Crystal Edwards hired me into my role as an administrator, and she once shared that one of our goals as leaders in education is to be continually growing the "next me". I would take that one step further and say not just the next me, but a better me; someone to grow beyond what I will accomplish during my time. For it is through this, that education and educators can continue to challenge the status quo and impact the lives of generations.