I Pass My First Class

The good news out of library-school land this week is that I passed my first class. It is, funnily enough, the class that required me to create this blog. Unless you get a waiver, everyone enrolled in the MLS program must pass the basic "Computer Based Information Tools" class. I decided to get this done first, as it is a prerequisite for many other classes in the program. It is a pass/fail class, and I found certain parts of it challenging. I was nervous about not passing. So nervous, that this kept on popping in my head:

I wasn't sure what to expect from it at first, but it was an independent class. The students did everything on their own, with guidance from our professor if there were questions. There were tutorials on different "tools" for computer learning. These were accessed through Adobe, right on the campus server. You could take the tutorials as many times as needed to pass, and then at the end there was an exam (4 exams total). They included everything from basic "this is the Internet" chapters to word processing chapters, and then the final chapter dealt with more complex issues, such as creating databases. The tutorials also tied in this computer knowledge with libraries. I was surprised by how much I didn't know! During the chapter for cataloging, which I figured I'd ace, (having worked in a cataloging department before) I was surprised by how many technical terms were unfamiliar to me. It knocked me down quite a few pegs, I'll admit.

In addition to the tutorials and exams, we had four proficiency exams that needed to be submitted. They included everything from creating a blog, liking the school's Facebook page, creating a spreadsheet and doing Internet research, to the last project, which I struggled over for a few weeks: creating a web page from raw html codes. I knew a few html codes (how to bold something, etc) but I had never actually created an entire web page from it. After some cursing and trying-again and again-I finally got it to work. It wasn't anything fancy, and I still had a few problems with some tags, but it was enough. I'm glad I learned how to do the basics, but I'm not sure if I'll ever use it again. But-never say never, right?

I'm going to keep this blog going, as I find it's a good outlet for me to write about my school and work experience. I also created a basic website using Weebly, but I'm not sure if that will be updated. Even though it was a pass/fail class, I'm proud of the work I did. It was my very first class, and taking an online class was a new experience for me. It also helped that I had a great professor who was always available for my questions. Now, I have one class left for this semester, then a quick break until my first summer session starts. Hooray!

Working in a High School

After working several part-time jobs in public libraries, I decided to accept a full-time position as a media assistant in a high school last October. There were several reasons I jumped ship: money was one, of course. the money was double what I was making at any of the public library jobs; location (close to home) and I simply thought it would be good experience. Perhaps it would make me want to become a school media specialist.

The media center is currently housed in a temporary location, as the entire high school is going through renovations. We are located in the former "consumer science" rooms (or Home Economics to you old schoolers like me) and thus cramped for space. Most of our non-fiction is in storage, waiting for the "real" library to open up again. The renovated library, meanwhile, was set to open this spring but will now probably open in September. After school starts. Oy.

The job is pretty tame compared to what I did as a children's assistant and a technical assistant. A lot of my time is spent keeping an eye on the students, making sure the books are nice and neat (it takes about 30 minutes to shelf read the entire library-no joke), and doing various little errands my supervisor gives me, such as putting magazines in the teacher mailboxes or copy cataloging new books. There is a lot of free time and I'm not used to that. I always had ways of keeping busy at the public libraries. Here...not so much.

The library has laptops and Kindles, but it's not as sophisticated as I thought it might be. Again, the permanent library will be different when it finally opens, but my supervisor already told me he doesn't believe in "maker-spaces" or putting a lot of technology in the library. He's a bit traditional, and used to be a teacher for years-he's only been the media specialist for the past five years or so. We tend to butt heads over certain library trends. But in a good way. I like hearing his thoughts and opinions. I just feel sometimes he doesn't have a lot vested in the library. He'd rather be out teaching classes (which he still does frequently) than running the library. One of these days I'll have to ask him why he made the jump from teacher to media specialist.

The biggest challenge I have in working in the high school is the attitude of my fellow employees. There are quite a few teachers who won't even say hello to me. They'll walk in the library and ignore me, even if I say hello. The same happens with certain teachers in the hallway. I always make sure to wear my badge, so people know I'm not a student (I do look young) but I still get ignored. One time a repeat offender came into the library with someone who was student teaching. She introduced the student teacher to another teacher in the library-and ignored me completely. The student teacher actually walked over to me and say, "Hi, and you are?" It made this long-time teacher look like a jackass. And I wasn't sorry about it at all.  I don't even eat lunch in the staff lounge anymore because I can be ignored in the library and not have to listen to the gossip about students.

There are a few teachers who I've become friendly with, and they are warm and welcoming. I was discussing how hard it was to adjust with one and she agreed (she's a part-timer and said it's hard for her too), saying there was a stigma against paraprofessionals (my official title) because they weren't "teachers" and some people wrongly think they aren't educated. There is a lack of respect. I joked, "Maybe I should wear a big sign that says I have a masters degree so they know!" That kind of thinking is hurtful, though. I love and admire teachers, and their job isn't easy. However, it would be nice if they could reciprocate the feeling. Everyone works hard in the high school, and just because someone is "certified" does not mean they are better than anyone else.

After working here I've decided that being a media specialist isn't for me. Too many restrictions, to much red tape. I don't like not being able to put certain books on the shelves because one parent might object and ruin it for everyone. And please, I'm not anti-teacher. I have no idea if this goes on everywhere or nowhere else. This is my personal experience. If you're in a similar situation let me know!

Book Review: Mark of the Thief

Being a huge fan of Jennifer Nielsen's Ascendance Trilogy, I could not wait to get my hands on her new book, Mark of the Thief. Unfortunately, it fell short of my expectations.

Mark of the Thief  had everything I was looking for in a book: ancient Rome, a scrappy hero, magic, and mythical beasts. However, I found the story tedious. Nic, a Roman slave, is forced to work in the mines, while trying to protect his younger sister. One day he is "chosen" by a general named Radulf to go deep in the mines to find a mysterious treasure. Once down there, he finds a griffin guarding a treasure horde, and he steals a "bulla" once belonging to Julius Caesar . A magical symbol appear on his back when the griffin scratches him. He learns that the bulla is guarded by the goddess Diana, which gives him magical powers. After escaping the mines he realizes many people want the bulla he stole, including the emperor and various senators of Rome.  Nic doesn't know who he can trust. He makes bargains with too many people while on the run and they betray him, and he gets captured. Many times. Rinse, lather, repeat.

My eyes actually started to glaze over at one point, and the very end of the story was rushed. A few characters get killed off in about two seconds, and we get a  "family legacy" story in about a page. I felt that some of this could have been explored in the second book (which it might, in more detail. We will find out). I didn't fall in love with Nic the way I did with Jaron in Nielsen's The False Prince, but I'm hoping the second books improves with the characterization and pacing.