Comments on: Libraries and Riots

By: Zed

Zed — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 16:28:32 +0000

Well, I don’t know about “not rioting against anything” – the riots started because the police shot a man without provocation, and because people came together to protest in his name. The violence started as a result of rumors that the police had beaten a sixteen year old girl who threw a rock at them. Sure, people got involved for a number of reasons after that, but I don’t think it helps to deny that these riots reflect a lot of pent-up dissatisfaction with the police, the government, and socioeconomic and race issues in general.

By: Zed

Zed — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 16:05:45 +0000

The mayor of Philadelphia did not “institute” a curfew. I have seen a lot of news sites report this, and it’s not true. Philadelphia already had a curfew. The mayor made the curfew earlier in certain parts of the city (even though the “flash mobs” have mostly been occurring during daylight hours).

By: opal casey

opal casey — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 22:02:47 +0000

Thank you Fletcher. What a condescending, paternalistic statement from AL. He needs to stay on his yacht. When do we start asking people to take responsibility for their own actions and stop blaming some nebulous power that needs to save them. Why are they destroying the shops? They are not “the man” keeping them down.

By: Fletcher

Fletcher — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 18:56:59 +0000

The people rioting in the UK are not “mostly brown people and foreigners”. They’re mostly white native born citizens. And they’re not rioting against anything. They’re rioting because they want an excuse to steal TVs.

By: Spencer

Spencer — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 16:01:45 +0000

So, school librarians are teachers when their jobs are on the line- and they’re not when other teacher’s jobs are on the line?

Sounds like some union work to me.

By: Jen

Jen — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:50:00 +0000

To comment on the first half of the post: I’m a school librarian in NJ, and I consider myself just as much a teacher as any other teacher in my school. I write lesson plans, I adhere to state standards, I hold certifications as both an “Elementary Teacher” and “School Library Media Specialist,” I lead groups of children in learning activities – I’d call that teaching. Even though I don’t have a traditional classroom or teach math and science, I’m still a teacher. I think the question of whether or not we’re teachers or librarians comes from personal experience. I started out as a teacher with a BA in Elementary Ed and after a few dissatisfying years in the classroom, got a masters in Library and Info Science and now consider myself a teacher-librarian. I have colleagues who started as a librarian (public, law, corporate) and eventually made the switch to public schools, and they see themselves more as strict librarians and not teachers. It’s all in the mindset.