Feedback to Group Member 1 (Felicity) https://readingwaves.wordpress.com/2016/10/01/genrefication/ Hi Felicity, I really enjoyed reading this blog. I think for as long as we remember we go to Library lessons at school and for the first few lessons we learn all about how to catalogue and to read the labels and decimals on the books. I do still think this is an important skill to learn, but at the same time I think more and more people are wanting to choose from a selection of theme/genre related books, rather than authors. When I go to the airport I go straight to the Crime or Autobiography section as they are the genres I love and want to read all the time. Although some people have their favourite authors, each author usually tends to write the same sort of genre, so to be honest, most of the authors books will be categorised together anyway, based on the genre the author usually writes. I know for example, I love crime books and most of the time I don't know who the 'best' crime authors are, but I love to go to the Crime section in the book store and read through the blurbs and look at the front covers. I think the fact you are considering the move and looking into this sort of thing shows a great example of a teacher who is willing to change their ways based around students' interests. It is clear from reading your blog that you want to make it as easy as possible and accessible for people to grab a book they enjoy and to browse for hours in a genre they love. In terms of your comment of worrying about children always reading the same genre, I personally believe if they are reading, does it really matter that they want to read comics all the time or Harry Potter? I do think it is important for students to be exposed to a variety of texts, but I think they get enough of that in High School, so for students to be able to freely choose their favourite genre all the time is liberating for them and makes them enjoy and develop a love of reading. Perhaps it would be been interesting to comment on how other countries structure their library cataloguing? That would be been interesting to read and maybe something to add for next time. I really liked this blog as it made me think about some up and coming discussion points in school libraries! Great Job :) Megan Gorringe Feedback to Group Member 2 (Shani) https://whatisthemessage.wordpress.com/2016/10/07/hero-perry-moore/ Hi Shani, What a thought provoking blog! I think it is really exciting to see more and more books geared towards issues effecting young adults today. There are many gorgeous picture books that could even relate to young adults and the problems they are facing. I have seen some stunning books about disabilities as well, making sure the children know they actually have a super power! I think it is true that teenagers who have feelings that they might be gay are really troubled by it, and speaking from experience with my best friend, they become depressed and even suicidal because they really fight with the fact that they could be gay and they really don't want to be. I think books and literacy are great ways to ease this pain as they can read books from the point of view of people who are going through the same thing. It is really important for these communities to stick together and provide as much support as possible. By reading autobiographies and also books that there children can connect to, it allows them to know that they are not the only ones going through this and it is not an uncommon occurrence. Unfortunately the awful hate feelings towards religion and sexuality will not go away, but we can educate people better about these peoples' lives and ensure we have the best support system available for everyone going through these tough times. It is so great to see you are looking for books to help these children and young adults. It would even be a thought for the future for you to have all these books on display - or even in a quiet reading section to allow these children to go and read in private and have access to these books without having to go and ask the teacher where they are, as this might be stressful for them. If they have a stand and a private area where they could browse on their own and read privately, I think this would really help. You would need to be careful in how you would present and display the books, but at least give students the opportunity to find the books themselves without having to ask a teacher or librarian where these sorts of books can be found. It starts at the home and school these hateful thoughts, so we really need to make sure we educate and turn the negative ugly thoughts into positive pretty ones! Thank you for bringing this topic to my attention, I enjoyed reflecting on this aspect of literacy and novels for young adults and will definitely keep my ear to the ground about any possible books and novels for you to add to your collection! Great Job :) Megan Gorringe Feedback to Group Member 3 (Kereth)
http://libraryleanings.edublogs.org/ Hi Kereth, I really loved reading your post on ‘The School Library’ because I am a classroom teacher, most recently doing a stint as an I.T teacher, but mainly my expertise is in the classroom so I love reading about the lives of librarians. I have always dabbled with the idea of being a Librarian, matching your reasons for loving Literacy, books, reading and making connections between the students lives and the books they are reading. Whilst I agree with you that things like Minecraft and Digital means are making their way into the library, and don’t get me wrong – they definitely have their place – I really hope we don’t lose some of our ‘old school’ library elements such as a nice, quiet, secluded corner where you can get lost in the books. I think we almost need a ‘smokers room’ but for the gamers! Something with sound proof walls so they can get lost in their digital worlds whilst the book worms can get lost in their books in a quiet, private space – wouldn’t it be great if Libraries had a whole heap of money?! We could do so much and make them into the most spectacular alternate universes! As I am currently an I.T teacher, I really connected with what you were talking about with coding. It took me a while to get the hang of it, but it has definitely opened up so many doors for children and the best thing about it, is that there are so many relevant real life connections. I often talk to my students about all the jobs in the world that you can do these days that include coding and how there are millions of real life coders out there that are behind all the amazing Nintendo, Playstation and online games they play regularly. If I had one suggestion, it would be to possibly create a hyperlink in your text to the references you list, just so the reader can click on the reference and read the full article J I really enjoyed reading your blog, it is beautifully written and has given me more of an insight into the wonderful world of Librarians! Thank you :) Well done :) Megan Gorringe Feedback to Group Member 3 (Yvonne) http://yopocute.weebly.com/blog/fanning-the-flames Hi Yvonne, Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to read your blog. I found all your topics very interesting and relatable to my teaching experiences. I had always heard of Fan Fiction but I was never 100% sure as to what it was in its entirety, so thank you so much for providing me with further knowledge on this topic. I also agree that copyright can be a tricky situation, because as you say, as long as the writer doesn't gain anything out of it, it is ok. However, I wonder about this, surely people who write fan fiction are gaining some sort of financial or fan following out of it? It is a rather thankless job if you put hours into your work and then are not allowed to gain anything out of it. Perhaps if it is a side hobby it is fine, but you obviously cannot make a living out of writing fan fiction? I never really thought about using it in the classroom, but as you mention, we already are! Often as teachers we tell students (or even get angry about it) that they cannot base their story around one that already exists. We are always saying to them - get your own ideas! This story sounds exactly like Harry Potter?! However ... is this really a problem? I think I will use your blog as inspiration to now actually allow students to use past stories and write some fan fiction! If I had one suggestion for your blog, it would be to include hyperlinks to your references in text and in the list. This always helps the reader to click on the in-text reference and go to the source and read more about what you have read. It also adds to the visual appeal of the blog as it adds a splash of colour! There are also one or two spelling errors - no major concerns - it is beautifully written. Thank you so much for posting your blog. You have really thought about your topics and done your research. Well done! Megan :)
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Miss Megan Elizabeth
Australian living in Johannesburg, Primary School Teacher, IT Teacher, World traveller |