Jannath Khanom is a school librarian and joined my first round of Masterclasses. Here she shares her experience and learning.
For pretty much my whole librarian career, I've taken on a passive role. I would research, see what others are doing, and try and implement things in my own way. When things didn't go to plan, I would struggle and perhaps leave it behind. Doing this for many years, and working alone, meant that I had gotten used to finding my own way and getting frustrated that I wasn't seeing results. With many teaching practices out there, it is easy for a school to bring a new practice to the table and on a training day implement as much as possible. I was desperately looking for something similar for librarianship in secondary schools too.
I chanced upon FOSIL and then Elizabeth's posts, which always came across as supportive. When looking into her website, I was thrilled that I finally found a place to go for school librarians wanting to progress in their own areas. My specific interest is Inquiry led practice within schools, and I am very vocal within my school, that this should be a whole school practice that the library can lead. Again, the issue was I had no idea where to begin! When the email came in about Elizabeth's Masterclass I was overjoyed. I did some groundwork and managed to get to a position where I had a clear project in mind and needed help with executing it.
Once the Masterclass began, I could very quickly see the benefits. There's accountability - something which, as a lone librarian, I'm not used to! Ideas would become fabled, but with this Masterclass I could see within the first week it was very much a real working project. I was talking to my line manager, SLT, headteacher and department leads all within the first few weeks. This means that, whether or not my project was successful, I was talking to people about things I would necessarily not have had the opportunity to without the Masterclass. The library was officially on the whole school map!
It was incredibly useful to have a tool box of language to use when speaking with other teaching staff and SLT, which really boost my confidence. The further I got into the process the easier it was to visualise exactly what I would achieve. It went from a big vague project to a very specific well-intentioned set of aims and goals. In a matter of six weeks I was able to flesh out a skeleton plan, I could hold my own in a conversation with SLT, and I had the tools to implement the next time I plan a project.
The main aspect I'm really proud of and will always be thankful to Elizabeth for is that I'm able to position myself within the curriculum. I can plan in a manner that is similar to other heads of departments and use the same documents and proforma that they use. This presents the library as a department that works within the curriculum and legitimises the work we do. I will be presenting my work to all staff on a training day in September and they'll all be able to recognise the documents I'd be presenting to them, which will allow them to focus on the content and see how well the library is integrated into the school.
If you're on the fence about asking SLT for a budget for this Masterclass, I hope my insights behind the masterclass have helped you decide. All I can say as a school that's strapped for cash, like many other schools, go for it! Everyone will see the returns within just a few weeks. ! I can say there is no other tailored mentoring like it.
More information
If you want more information about the next Masterclass you can find it here... https://www.elizabethahutchinson.com/masterclass2024
If you have any questions then I would be delighted to answer them.
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