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

[Toni Buzzeo <tonibuzzeo@TONIBUZZEO.COM>]

Oh, this is a subject dear to my heart!  Yes, why DON'T they?  And, 
also, why DO they (when they do)?

There are certainly as many shades of answers as there are 
teachers.  I think that some of the clearest answers have already been posted:

They are short on information (i.e. they don't know HOW).
They are short on time (especially in the age of never-ending testing).
They are short on confidence (they don't want to step into territory 
that is unfamiliar to them).
They are short on trust (they don't want to "share" the responsibility).
They are short on motivation (they don't have a personal desire to do 
so and there's no administrative imperative).

So, then, why DO some teachers willingly collaborate?

They understand the benefits to themselves and, especially, to students.
They understand that collaboration actually is working SMARTER 
(students learn more and more effectively in the same amount of time).
They are undefended (they trust themselves and us enough to step back 
and see what develops).
They are trusting (either by nature or because we've built that trust 
with them over time).
They are motivated (either, again, by nature or because a wise 
administrator has put systems in place that require collaboration 
with the librarian).

So where does that leave us?  I think it's already been noted that we 
all must "start with the living" as our colleague Mary Alice Anderson 
likes to say.  And we must also start with our principals, to build 
an expectation of collaboration in our schools.  Finally, we must 
work our way through the levels of instructional partnership and be 
aware (even tracking it on paper/screen) of where we are on the 
continuum with each teacher--Cooperation, Coordination, 
Collaboration--and think about how to move each teacher a bit further 
along the continuum.

All best,
Toni


Toni Buzzeo, MA, MLIS <mailto:tonibuzzeo@tonibuzzeo.com>
Maine Library Media Specialist of the Year Emerita
Maine Association of School Libraries Board Member
Buxton, ME 04093
http://www.tonibuzzeo.com
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Collaborating to Meet Literacy Standards: Teacher/Librarian 
Partnerships for K-2 (Linworth 2006 

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