I like order. Order and purpose and focus. In the world of education, however, order is hard to find. We try. This list of spelling words this week, that list of spelling words next week--in order. Math worksheets done in order. Rows of desks in order. "Get into line order." The order of the day is reading, special, recess, math, lunch . . . We need ORDER!
But, is there ever really order? Perfect order? Probably not. As I took classes in Library Science as an undergraduate in college, I dreamed of working in a library where the books were always in their right places, students came in and checked out books in an orderly fashion, and everything was neat and tidy. Well, in the real world, that dream bubble quickly burst. My library did not look like the one in the picture above. No, mine looked like 300 elementary students had come in and had a party. Not just one party on one day, but a continuous party day after day after day.
Was that so bad? To me, at first, it was. I would spend hours trying to clean up, read shelves to get the books in order, push the books to the front edge of the shelf so they looked appealing, and on and on. Needless to say, I was not in my comfort zone. I was aggravated, frustrated, and exhausted.
It wasn't until I finally let go of order that I was able to relax and embrace the warm ambience and charm that can be found in a busy little elementary library. It is fascinating to watch the buzz of small students all excited to check out a book. They do forget their shelf markers, they do drop their books and put them other places, they do bring their books back and "helpfully" put them on the shelf for us (before they are checked in). But, is it really that huge of a deal?
No . . .
Until the students grow a bit bigger and are looking for specific books by title, author, and call number. Not only is the process of looking up a book on the online library catalog a new skill, but the process of taking the information from the computer and transferring it to finding the actual book on the shelf is also novel. Then, when you think you have it figured out, you can't find the book on the shelf. Arrgh! Students holler that "it says the book is in" and "it has to be right here." Well, maybe the book is two shelves below, maybe someone borrowed it fast for a lesson without checking it out, maybe it is lost in the stacks who knows where.
This is when order in the library starts to become important again. When a student recognizes that there is a reason--a need--for order. That is why, in an elementary school library, we try for a balance of order. There just is never going to be perfect order. A bustling business anywhere will never have perfect order. It is always being used. But, there has to be enough order for students (and teachers) to find what they need.
And now, trying to get to the point of this whole thing . . . order in the library, order in the school, order in education. While we may never achieve perfect order, there are numerous tools to help us stay, let's say, organized.
As a current graduate student, working on my master's degree in Instructional Technology, this past semester I have had the privilege of studying, gettting to know, and playing with a variety of organizational tools.
The culminating project was to create an ultimate---21st century---learning experience. While not nearly flawless, you can see what I came up with by clicking on the Integrated Technology Learning Experience tab at the top of this blog. The unit I describe incorporates the Universal Design for Learning components, Gradual Release of Responsibility lesson structure, Technology Integration Matrix information--(a.k.a. UDL, GRR, and TIM)--and more. These elements help create an order for student learning. Not a perfect order, but a good order that will help students learn. An order that we can now have. (You can see how I tied the unit in with working on order in the library!)
