A Sore Reminder

Jane David's column, "What Research Says About … Media Literacy (March 2009) is a painful reminder that many educators in leadership positions have never been exposed to quality school library media programs staffed by a certified school library teacher. Numerous studies done across the United States reveal that students with access to a good school library have higher academic achievement. This research has been collected and updated each of the past four years by Scholastic Library Publishing in School Libraries Work.

Good school library teachers and media specialists have extensive education and teaching experience on the issues addressed in the column, such as Web site evaluation, proper and ethical use of the wide range of print and electronic resources available to our students today, and much more. Many of us provide hours of professional development to our colleagues and local organizations on current topics in information technologies, effective integration of information literacy skills into curriculum, and critical-thinking skills. In 2008, the American Association of School Librarians published Standards for the 21st-Century Learner and has begun to unveil a national implementation plan of these skills called L4L, Learning for Life.

I strongly urge you to spread the word to all education administrators and leaders today. Every child today needs these skills to enter the 21st-century workforce. While we are paying attention to critical-thinking skills, STEM topics, and creativity, we must remember to provide students with the building blocks, learning laboratories, and skills to learn them. This is available in the school library. (A newer term is the learning commons.) Schools move so painfully slowly when we need to change. This change needs to happen now. Every child receiving a free public education today deserves it.

—Sandy Kelly

Certified Library Teacher

President, Massachusetts School Library Association

Letter to Jane David

Have you ever met or talked with a library media teacher? You are in California where they have cut nearly all of their media programs to the absolute bone, so maybe you don't know about us. Let me tell you about what we do.

We are technology integration specialists. We come highly trained, usually with one or more master's degrees. We are technology and 21st-century-skill teachers who try our best to get into every classroom in order to help subject-area teachers integrate media content within their lessons and projects. We are also here to hold those classroom teachers' hands as we help them design better assignments and construct new knowledge rather than cut and paste Web sites into a report or project without any thought.

Knowing that we are out there trying to prepare students for college and life beyond the classroom, don't you think every single school in the United States should have a library media teacher? It would seem that every state would demand a media specialist in every school. Your column points to a lack of library media specialists in our schools. Thank you for giving us ammunition to take to our next school board meeting.

—Tori Jensen

Media Specialist

Spring Lake Park High School

Minnesota Youth Reading Awards