Fear Itself

The topic of fear among our students is very intriguing. Our instincts are to protect them from fear, to always make them feel safe and nurtured. In a literal sense, yes, we should do everything within our power to keep our students safe from harm, whether it manifests itself as a third party, or stems from what we're directly doing in our classrooms.

Here's where things get interesting: how do we address what students fear?

"The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself." - Franklin Delano Rooselvelt, 32nd President of the United States

When faced with a difficult research task or concept, I tell my students that in order to become fearless, they need to fear less. What frightens students, and most people, I'd imagine, is failure. I know that's true for me. For students, this often comes as a result of receiving failing grades, a polarizing phenomena best left explored in a different post.

However, I always reassure my students that because I don't grade them when I co-teach a class, they have no reason to fear failure. Instead, they only need to be afraid of fear itself, because that is their only obstacle in achieving success. We all know that "success" takes different forms for individual students, so being able to overcome this fear and harness that strength to become fearless are the first steps needed for us to teach and live our mission in my library: to create competent, confident and independent users of information and technology.

To some degree, I believe that fear is a good thing. It teaches us humility and can keep us grounded when faced with adversity, affording us an opportunity to make decisions, make mistakes, and learn.

How do you address what students fear?

Skyping with the Stars

Last night, my ed tech grad class had the pleasure of Skyping with a renowned, teacher-librarian/rockstar from NJ, Elissa Malespina, whom I've recently joined up with as a member of my Personal Learning Network (PLN) on Twitter. I wanted to know more about how librarians can become more involved with co-teaching and implementing technology in their schools. Conveniently, Elissa's "mantra" says it all.

To further add to her street cred, check out the great quote emblazoned on her coffee mug, as she addressed our class from her Jersey homestead, taking time away from her family, and an apparently thirsty dog, just to share her thoughts with us:

"They (librarians) are subversive. You think they're just sitting there at the desk, all quiet and everything. They're like plotting the revolution, man. I wouldn't mess with them." -- Michael Moore, American Filmmaker

            

I facilitated our conversation with a few general, guiding questions about Elissa's experiences with librarianship. For example, what can you tell teachers about the benefits of collaborating with their school librarian? How do video (digital storytelling) and social media (Twitter) play a part in her role as a school librarian? What advice could she give to encourage students to take risks using educational technology; or teachers?

Her responses were both practical and inspiring. Elissa said that any good librarian should be able to co-teach with students. I was grateful for this comment, as it made me reflect on my own co-teaching practices and sometimes tenuous relationships with teachers and students in my own school. She also encouraged tech leaders to make participation in Web 2.0 experiences and sharing their work online an opt-out clause of their school or district's Acceptable or Responsible Use Policy (AUP, RUP). I think the experience of sharing and writing for a wider audience would help our students become better digital citizens, and maybe even improve their literacy skills in the process.

Possibly my favorite response from Elissa came from our question about risk-taking, encouraging teachers to let their kids know: "I'm learning this, too. We're learning this together, and it's not gonna stop us from doing it."

It's both empowering and scary for teachers to think of relinquishing that all-coveted "control" we have, or think we have: over ourselves, our students, their perceptions of us and everyone's level of ability. I think the most powerful tool in overcoming the fear associated with using educational technology is a positive, open mind, and accepting failure as an opportunity to make mistakes and try again; to be resilient and to learn.

I'm truly grateful to have had Elissa join our class, and for the opportunity to chat with these amazing mentors and like-minded people. I'd be grateful for your thoughts as well; what's inspired you to think differently and take risks, or who is your rockstar in education?

The Boss seems to be on board; are you?