Re: [LM_NET] GEN: Why don't teachers want to collaborate?

[Susan Grigsby <susan.grigsby@GMAIL.COM>]

I think it is because teachers don't really know how to collaborate and
don't understand the benefits of that collaboration. The teacher doing
biographies probably didn't tell his students because he didn't feel
comfortable delving into a technology that he hadn't already mastered
himself. I think many teachers see collaboration as an extra chore, an extra
helping on their already full plates, and an extra duty they just don't want
to deal with. Let's face it...true collaboration on OUR part is hard work.
It takes time. It takes energy. It takes effort. Many teachers just don't
want to venture outside of their comfort zone - they don't want to appear
ignorant of what's out there to help their students and they don't want to
appear foolish in front of their students.
Collaboration is, to me, an evolutionary process between a teacher and a
librarian. I was at my former school for 6 years and it wasn't until the
last year I was there that a handful of teachers (who'd been there as long
or longer than I was) decided to come to me for collaborative planning.
Believe me, I tried to "rope them in" from day one but it took them that
long to step over that imaginary boundary that holds many classroom teachers
back. I see it as an ongoing process rather than a goal to be achieved. Some
teachers will NEVER collaborate with you - ok, so let that go. Some teachers
will wait 6 years to plan with you - ok, be patient.
Celebrate the small successes. Those little celebrations will translate into
a positive atmosphere that will eventually bring in those reluctant teachers
for planning. When you reflect on this past year to your principal, play up
those small successes and play down those that didn't happen. Hope that
helps.... susan


On 5/25/07, Juliann Moskowitz <juliann14@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> It's the time of year when I have to write a self-reflection document for
> my supervisor. One of the questions that we are supposed to address is on
> collaboration.
>
> It has been my experience that few teachers come in to talk to us (me and
> my co-librarian) about what project their class will be working on. They
> just sign up for library time. Even when we talk to the teachers after they
> come in with the class and show them databases or websites  or books that
> can help their classes with research, very few of them will come in NEXT
> time to ask for our help.
>
> Why is that? Obviously the students can research more effectively with our
> help. I even had a teacher come in last week and his kids were researching
> biographical information so I told him we have a subscription biographical
> database that his students can use and he didn't even share that information
> with his students! I was dumbfounded.
>
> Why do *you* think teachers don't collaborate? I will post a hit if anyone
> is interested.**************************** Juliann T. Moskowitz Library
> Media Specialist Norwalk High School Norwalk, CT 06851
> juliann14@hotmail.com Reading is a means of thinking with another person's
> mind; it forces you to stretch your own.--Charles Scribner, Jr. A cynic is
> not merely one who reads bitter lessons from the past, he is one who is
> prematurely disappointed in the future—Sydney J Harris, journalist
> (1917-1986)
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-- 
Susan Grigsby, Teacher-Librarian
Tate Elementary School
Tate, Georgia
susan.grigsby@gmail.com

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