Teaching Life Skills in the School Library by Blanche Woolls

Author:Blanche Woolls
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ABC-CLIO
Published: 2019-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

PRICKLY CITY © 2018 Scott Stantis. Dist.

By ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION.

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

Figure 4.1 As students begin to branch out, meeting new people who may be different from them in a variety of ways, they may begin to question their family values, which can be stressful or difficult, depending on how that questioning is perceived and/or handled. You might generate a wide variety of books and other resources that give varying points of view on issues, include stories from diverse perspectives, and include characters that face a variety of challenges. Biographies and memoirs begin to fill a place for these students who are just beginning that road to discovering their unique identity.

Parents’ night in the library provides an opportunity to “lobby” for students to take an active role in meeting government officials both to share what is going on in the school and to make suggestions for improvement if there is a problem. Obviously, the depth of the problem will dictate, to a certain extent, whom to visit, what to say, and what response is to be expected. Students should be able to attend a school board meeting or county or city councils.

Attending a school board meeting or some event in city or county government will not involve as much planning as visiting a state or national official, but these are two groups of people who have widespread impact on citizens. If an issue is relevant to students and they could offer assistance in visiting a member of the state legislature or Congress, their presence and voice during the interview will be very important. Most officials enjoy being in the company of younger students and explaining what they do, how they feel about issues, and how important it is for young people to be interested and engaged in community, state, and national issues. Officials also enjoy having a picture in the local media, and that draws attention to your library too.

At the time of writing this book, citizens from all walks of life are gathering to march and hold important discussion on issues facing citizens today, including school shootings, blatant racism, bullying, and sexual harassment. These marches and meetings can become volatile and put up more walls than creating effective communication. As their older siblings march and organize, junior high students are watching and taking note. You can be a trusted adult to help organize information and offer speakers to come visit classrooms or libraries to help identify ways that these students can proactively help their communities with issues that are important to them. Facilitating deep discussions on hard issues is an important service that you, as a librarian, can take on with the help of the administration, teachers, counselor, and community members who work in community-building professions. Taking action by helping others can help these young people recognize that they too have an important role to play in their school and community.

Understanding the governance of our country is usually taught in the context of U.S. history. One of the most recognized officials is our president.

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