Is this the school of the future?

Providing computers to elementary and high school students is not a new idea. It’s been discussed and experimented with for ten years or more, but now we have a chance to look at some of the results. The school district in East Mooresville, North Carolina, issued a laptop to each of their students three years ago. Since they the district has worked out a model of teaching allowing students to progress at their own rate with the help and supervision of teachers. Some of the kids, according to a N.Y. Times article on the schools describe this as “like having a personal tutor”. Scores for students have moved upward and so have graduation rates for high school students. The schools are almost overwhelmed by educators from around the country who want to observe this success in action.

What does this have to do with librarians? Well, it strikes me that this school is educating students in a way that is a lot like the way a library works. Children’s libraries, whether in schools or public libraries, operate on an individualized learning model. Libraries make resources available, help children to choose appropriate ones, and provide the guidance to use resources effectively (although budget cuts have made it difficult for many librarians to interact individually with patrons, but that’s another story). The model provided in libraries has proven to be effective in schools. The laptops aren’t the real story—the provision of individualized attention and support are what matter. Even if the results at the Mooresville schools prove not quite as great as they now seem to be, their success during these years is a vindication of the idea of libraries.

Public libraries, ever since their beginnings, have been an ideal setting for individuals educating themselves with the help of public resources. Now schools too are discovering that in a world where people can be overwhelmed by a deluge of information, children need to learn how to steer a path toward educating themselves. It is a great time for libraries to partner with schools to discover the best ways to help in this endeavor.

Gotta Keep Reading

As of today almost half a million people have watched the video "Gotta Keep Reading" made by students at a middle school in Florida. Like many other useful and valuable items about reading, it was made famous by Oprah Winfrey who featured it on one of her TV shows. Any teacher, parent, or librarian's heart will be warmed by watching the students, each one clutching a book, sway to the music and sing about the joys of reading a good book. The children look natural and happy, but it would be fun to see them actually sit down and start reading those books. Someone ought to consider having a sit-in for book reading, where students would sit down in the schoolyard and read quietly for a few minutes. That might be an effective video too, although the sound track would be far different. Let's hope this video encourages kids not only to pick up a book and sing, but to have some quiet time to settle down and read.