Texas ASCD

I was fortunate enough to attend Texas ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) this past Sunday through Tuesday. I learned a lot, some of which I will be sharing, but right now there is something I think libraries and librarians need to be pondering as we look at our own role in education. One of the Keynote speakers was Lee Crockett of the 21st Century Fluency Project. He made several predictions about the future that we have all heard before, he showed some really cool up coming gadgets to us, and he said a few things to make people uncomfortable. Mainly, that change is coming. He was more specific about the nature of the change, and while that is not my topic for today, I think it is interesting to note that this is not the first time I have heard this message. However, I think the message has more clarity and more urgency now, as we have all begun to realize that something in our educational system has got to give. We pour more and more resources into it with less and less result. Kids graduate who are unable to think and make decisions based on evidence, and this cannot continue. So, what will we do? Mr. Crockett along with several other speakers talked a lot about the 21st Century Skills. Yes, I know librarians are intimately familiar with these, as they are basically information literacy with a different name. Here is what really got to me. Information Literacy was spoken of over and over, yet until my own session on Tuesday, I did not hear libraries or librarians mentioned. Not once. This phenomenon has been going on for quite some time. Ladies and gentlemen, we need to quit talking amongst ourselves, and hit the road preaching the good news that there is a system in place already to teach students all about critical thinking, information fluency, information literacy, evaluation, analysis, all of the things wrapped up in 21st Century Skills. You see, we have spent all of our time preaching to each other, and now, when it is almost too late (school libraries closing anyone?) we are trying to tell everyone that we have something to offer that they desperately need. It is time for the rest of the educational world to know what librarians have known at least since 1998 when Information Power came out. Libraries are all about Information Literacy. I suggest we insulate ourselves less and step out by going to (gasp) non-library conferences. Network with people who are NOT librarians. Librarians need to present at conferences with other educators, not just librarians. I know there are some of you out there who are already doing this, but we need more libarians to get out there and evangelize. By the way, when asked, Lee Crockett said that he saw the role of the librarian as teaching information literacy. However, he did not say that in his presentation. Any ideas how can we get people who already know about us to tell other people?