The past and future of School Libraries ETL401 Topic 1

I am making detailed notes in Word as I work through each topic. I don't think that I should be just dumping all that information in here. Neither should these be a duplication of my forum contributions. So, I propose to use this blog for short personal reflections on the significant or the interesting thoughts that arise from each topic.

I was taken with the egalitarian nature of RBL. This quote in particular:

"We are in the post-industrial revolution where information exchange and communication are at the forefront of economic activity and economic competitiveness … We are going to rely more and more on our capacity to think; to deploy information in the making of innovative designs and in the finding of solutions … Beyond the economic imperative is the cultural/social imperative. Unless all citizens learn how to access information and subject it to critique , societal divisions will be increased in the information age. A well-functioning, cohesive democracy depends on the development of a well-informed, inquisitive and successfully-accessing society.” (Boomer, 1987, pp. 8-9)

The slightly disjointed approach of the Federal government to this situation comes to mind. The DER supports the central importance of digital information exchange and communication but the emphasis on national curriculum and NAPLAN testing suggests that basic regurgitation and formulaic responses are what is required.

I appreciate the commentary of John Ralston Saul on the effect of globalisation on the democratic process. I see in our students young people who have yet to acquire the inquiring nature to become well-informed by accessing information and developing discernment. Generation S accept The Simpsons at face value perhaps because, after twenty years, the premise upon which the satire is based has been lost or is so foreign that the satire has become the reality. On the other hand, they are quick to question the values and authority of their parents and teachers, while taking the "word"of current affairs shows, "celebrities" and the Internet as wholly reliable.

I also learnt a lot about Resources-Based Learning, which comes up again later in this course. Chiefly, I found encouragement and support for what I have been doing and help to fix the things that I haven't been doing so well. Most importantly, I found a useful label for a helpful learning strategy to which I was introduced by my local teacher-librarian.