Breaking the Google Habit

A study by Alison Head and Michael Eisenberg shows some unexpected research behaviors by college students. This study involved 2,318 survey responses from college students at six different institutions. It found that they usually began a research project by looking at course readings, but their number one go-to-resource was Google. These students were likely to use the databases provided by their colleges, but they were not likely to consult a librarian for assistance.

Although there are some differences between the research habits of college and K-12 students, I think some of the findings would be the same for public schools. In my experience as a school librarian, the first stop for students doing research was to hit Google. For some students, this was their only stop!

Somewhere along the way, we are failing to help students understand that there sometimes better ways to address a research topic. A student doing research on John Steinbeck would be much better served by starting with Contemporary Authors. They could then find a biography about the author. Both of these sources would give them reliable facts about Steinbeck. Google could then be used to find some nifty tidbits, such as primary source documents, to add to their paper.

So, how do we break students of the Google habit? I don't have the answer to that one. If you do, please post below.

Revisiting the Four Freedoms

The awesome blog, Free Technology for Teachers, posted some wonderful links yesterday to resources for Franklin Delano Roosevelt's "Four Freedoms" speech.  This was Roosevelt's 1941 State of the Union address to Congress.  The focus of the speech, as you might imagine, was the threats to the U.S. from outside its borders and the war that was raging in Europe.  Roosevelt discussed the need for more defense spending, which would require tax increases, and stated that American's should "put patriotism ahead of pocketbooks" (Roosevelt, p. 5). 

He also discussed the roots of the unrest in the world, saying, 

"Certainly this is no time for any of us to stop thinking about the social and economic problems which are the root cause of the social revolution which is today a supreme factor in the world.
For there is nothing mysterious about the foundations of a healthy and strong democracy. The basic things expected by our people of their political and economic systems are simple. They are:
Equality of opportunity for youth and for others.
Jobs for those who can work.
Security for those who need it.
The ending of special privilege for the few.
The preservation of civil liberties for all.
The enjoyment of the fruits of scientific progress in a wider and constantly rising standard of living.
These are the simple, basic things that must never be lost sight of in the turmoil and unbelievable complexity of our modern world. The inner and abiding strength of our economic and political systems is dependent upon the degree to which they fulfill these expectations." (Roosevelt, pp. 4-5)

Have we lost sight of these expectations in the "unbelievable complexity" of our modern world? 

He ended his speech with the "four freedoms".  These are what he called "the essential human freedoms" that every person in the world should be able to expect.  They are freedom of speech and religion and freedom from want and fear.  It seems to me that the first two freedoms are non-existent in many of the countries in the world involved in conflicts today.  They have been threatened in recent years in the U.S.  Hate crimes have been on the rise in some regions.  The political and social climate, which has been referred to as bearing a lack of civility, has been, in fact, an attack on freedom of speech.  When town hall meetings end in shouting matches and the President of the United States is called a liar on the floor of Congress, this is not a lack of civility; it is an open attack on free speech.

It is the last two, however, that truly give me pause.  Do we have freedom from want in America?  I don't think we do.  A story in the Tulsa World today about school closings due to the incredibly cold weather referred to the fact that 60 students in one middle school had no coats.  The Oklahoma Kids Count Factbook for 2009 reports that "almost two hundred thousand (196,160) Oklahoma children live in
poverty. Each year, nearly thirteen thousand (12,911) children are abused or neglected." (p. 6)

Poverty isn't, of course, isolated to Oklahoma.  We see video almost nightly on the national news about businesses closing, unemployed adults who cannot find jobs, families who have plummeted from middle class to poverty.  What has America's reaction been to these tragic events?  Some have rolled up their sleeves and worked to help alleviate pain and suffering in their local communities.  Others, however, protest government programs that would help the disenfranchised.  They are much more concerned about keeping every penny they have than they are about helping the less fortunate in our midst.  They are putting their pocketbooks before their Christian ideals if not before patriotism.

I believe it is time that we look at FDRs four freedoms again.  The "conflicts" in which we find ourselves embroiled are based, for the most part, in the lack of these basic freedoms for the people of those nations.  We also need to remember that charity begins at home.  We need to admit that most of the people needing assistance in this country today, particularly the children, find themselves in the position they are in at no fault of their own.  We need to actually embrace the "Christian values" that are so often espoused.

Another Great Book

The Evolution or Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly is another wonderful children's/young adult book. (It is listed as grades 5 to 8 or ages 10 and up.) Calpurnia Virginia Tate, known as Callie Vee, is a 12-year-old who believes herself to be a budding scientist. As the only girl in a family of seven children, she is the one who studies insects, observes the world, and befriends her grandfather in his "laboratory". Unfortunately, Callie's mother and society in general in 1899 Texas have other plans for her. She is expected to learn to cook and do needlework, when she is only interested in studying nature.


The story is told with humor and tenderness. The reader feels Callie's frustrations and roots for her victories. This is a completely satisfying book.

Hitting a Moving Target

Education in the 21st century amounts to attempting to hit a moving target.  In January 2007, Scott McLeod released a video (an edit of Karl Fisch's video) called Did You Know?  In it, he stated that the top 20 jobs in 2010 would be things that didn't exist in 2004.  An article in the Sunday Daily Oklahoman confirmed that this was true in Oklahoma.  "As a new decade begins, Oklahomans are toiling at jobs that weren’t around 10 years ago, and adapting to modifications to others that have evolved significantly along with advances in technology."  So how do we educate students for jobs that we can't even imagine?  The answer is really very simple...we give them the skills necessary to be life-long learners!

A great number of those skills fall under the loose heading of "information literacy" - how to locate, evaluate, and apply relevant information.  Who teachers information literacy in your school?  In the average public school, the answer is the library media specialist.  There are several problems, however, with this scenario.

First, in Oklahoma during the last school year, 45% of schools did not have a full-time library media specialist.  Even if a school does have a full-time person in this position, he or she is responsible for teaching information literacy skills to the entire student body.  In addition to doing this, of course, he or she is also creating a love for reading; introducing students to new books; buying materials for the library media center, processing and shelving them; circulating materials; collaborating with teachers and providing resources for them; doing public relations for the library (and often the school); and accomplishing a myriad of other duties.

To prepare students for a future that is changing as I write, we must ensure that they are digitally literate.  In order to do this, we must ensure that all schools have a certified library media specialist who can provide the leadership to meet this goal.  Teachers must also, however, be willing to work with the library media specialist and to reinforce information literacy in their daily lessons. 

Ensuring that our students are prepared for the 21st century is a tough job, but it is one we can achieve if we all work together.