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Loved talking to the teacher-librarians at Maroubra Junction Public School in the eastern Suburbs of Sydney.

 The Reading Hour is on the 25th August – mums and dads, teachers and kids, grocers and butchers, life savers and dog trainers …. EVERYONE … are going to pick up a book and read for the National Year of Reading 2012.

Pick up a book and read – in a group, under a tree, with friends …. it’s cool and colossal.

www.love2read.org

Kate Colley shared her favourite new books – you can always count on Bloomin’ Books.

I shared ‘Ships in the Field’ and the complex issues within Anna Pigantaro’s painting:-

- the dog of war and the dog of hope

- the fighter planes becoming birds of hope

- refugees who are transparent and become so small as they board the ships

- and …..

-with some of my favourite people – teacher-librarians.

Well this could be a total disaster!
I received this email last night from Georgia at the HUB ... in part it reads:

There has been pressure from all state departments of education for devolution, flexibility and choice in school staffing. Teacher librarians, where they have existed, are often being “cashed in” for classroom or other specialist teachers, for extra administrative staff or pushed increasingly into the classroom themselves.

TLs ARE an endangered species.
They always were hard to spot in WA primary schools.
They are going extinct in Tasmania. 50% of state schools there have no TLs.
TLs are endangered in Victoria. 35% of schools don't have one.
One third of South Australia's school libraries are understaffed or staffed with non-qualified personnel.
Don't even ask about the NT!! (only 5% of schools have some TL time. Makes you understand why Therese Rein is running indigenous literacy project.)

.... We hope you might add yourself to the Friends of the Hub -- FROTH (http://hubinfo.wordpress.com/froth/).

I did ... so join the call and leave a comment. Here is mine....

Where is the heart beat of the school?

Who is the heart beat of the school?
It has to be the library and the person is the teacher librarian.
The school librarians are vital to Australian authors and illlustrators but even more so to the schools and the community they lovingly serve.

Who is able to match the child to the appropriate book?
Who is able to say to the child I know you will love this book – I’ve read it too?
And what about the classroom teachers who need the support material for their lessons – who do they turn to?
The teacher librarian – who knows the books, who has been scouring the web for the programs and resource material that will enhance their classrooms.

And what about the parents who need support … they can turn to the teacher librarian who will show them the latest kids books, books to read to their child, or the age appropriate book to be reading to their child, or who can lend to the parents books on parenting that are held in the library. And those preschoolers and parents, where can they go while waiting to pick up their child after school – the LIBRARY and who do they talk to the TEACHER LIBRARIAN of course.

A brighter, smarter, literate Australia needs school teacher librarians.

Now it is your turn ..... go to FROTH at the Hub (http://hubinfo.wordpress.com/froth/) and leave a comment!