This week an article appeared on BBC News about the Education System in Finland. It outlines the move towards more personalized learning in this already successful education system and explores the desire of some teachers to do away with separate subjects altogether. I was curious about whether this leader in education had school libraries mandated for all schools. The answer is no BUT there is a high regard in Finnish society for public libraries and a growing demand for the establishment of school libraries, (Applegate, 2011 & Sinko, 2013).
I have just had two months away from school to recover from hip surgery. It was a complex surgery and was a challenging recovery – I am still walking with a walking stick. While I was absent from the day to day demands of school life I decided to bring this blog back to life and to use it to explore how I can support and develop personalized learning through our school library.
I firmly believe that libraries have ALWAYS supported personalized learning. That brilliant freedom to choose whatever you want to read, to explore whatever you want to explore beyond the confines of the classroom has always been available in libraries. Some of the questions I want to explore are
- How can I encourage and celebrate that freedom of exploration and development?
- How can I show that to students and colleagues and parents?
- How can I develop a collection which is responsive to the needs and interests of our students?
These are just a start.
So watch this space and join me on this exploration next year….
References
Applegate, S. (2011). School libraries, student research skills, student success: Observations from Finland. Retrieved from http://photos.state.gov/libraries/finland/788/pdfs/PDF_final.pdf
BBC News. (2011, May 29). Why Finland is changing its top ranking education system. Podcast retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/av/education-40043254/why-finland-is-changing-its-top-ranking-education-system
Sinko, P. (2013). School libraries in Finland. Scandinavian Library Quarterly, 46(1). Retrieved from http://slq.nu/?article=volume-46-no-1-2013-10