“You have no books that I want to read!”
This quote is from a five year old boy who was being shown around the school library. He had just been playing hide and seek during the book exchange time. I had only just begun my role as teacher-librarian and I didn’t know the collection all that well at the time. I tried books on dinosaurs and cars but he wasn’t interested. He could only tell me about a video game he played.
Shortly after that experience I surveyed staff and students on what books they wanted in the library. I started holding comic book fairs and building the collection to meet everyone’s needs. I advocated for funds from the school council and the school budget. I was determined to improve the collection so that every student could find something they loved to read.
Graphic novels became a hot commodity; especially ones with characters and story lines from movies, video games and card games. Non-fiction books relating to popular sports, video games, animated features, and pets started flying off the shelves. We couldn’t keep up with the shelving and we started a reading club.
It all started by listening to a student whose needs weren’t being met.
Our students have such diverse learning needs and special interests but it’s not always easy to get the right resource or learning tool. Sometimes there will be obstacles like money, lack of knowledge or understanding. I’ve written before about advocacy and how important it is for teachers to be a strong voice for their students.
One of the most important things we can do to reassure students that we have their interests at heart is to listen without judgement. Listening builds trust and creates a safe learning environment. Besides using surveys and other written tasks, we can listen to students through discussions, group work, audio and video.
I’m happy to say that we eventually got the right book into that student’s hands but he still liked playing hide and seek when he got the chance.
