New Things In My SLLC

There are two new items in my school library learning commons. One was based on my request while the other was not. Both have been noticed by the student body. Here's the overview and how it might change the way things get done in the library.

1) Chomp Saw

My wonderful friend, Jennifer Brown, owns several of these machines in her library in the Peel District School Board. She recommended them highly. I tried to purchase one last year, but it only had an American distributor and it takes a lot of paperwork to arrange to purchase items from the USA nowadays. While at a TDSB TL meeting, I discussed my dilemma with Darcy, another TL facilitator. His incredible research skills (and connections) unearthed a Canadian vendor and I was able to order a Chomp Saw for my school.

What's a Chomp Saw? This is a machine that cuts cardboard, with a similar aesthetic to a table saw but much, much safer. The Chomp Saw allows for curved lines and smooth edges.

My schedule now includes STEM periods for all the primary division classes from Grades 1-3/4. I conducted a lesson that led to the use of the Chomp Saw this past week. I did a lot of photo documentation, to show how students were using the Chomp Saw safely and responsibly. I have a cool STEM idea that will incorporate both my library/guidance themes of personal identity as well as learning how to use tools like the Chomp Saw.

I am really excited about the teaching and building possibilities for this machine.  For students who struggle with using scissors, it's a game-changer. It was expensive, but if I use it often enough (and show others how to use it), then it will hopefully be worth the expense.

2) White Board

I had a blackboard in my library. I used it. It was fine. It's been replaced with a white board. 

When I typed "whiteboard vs blackboard", this is what Google Gemini reported:

Chalkboards offer a timeless, affordable writing surface suitable for creative use and provide a distinct tactile experience, though they produce dust and require more effort to clean. Whiteboards provide a cleaner, more modern experience with smoother writing and vibrant colors for diagrams, but they rely on markers that can dry out, leave stains, and have higher recurring costs. The best choice depends on your priorities, such as budget, allergy concerns, and desired aesthetic.  

The white board has been installed. I purchased some markers and magnetic marker holders to use with the board. My white board markers aren't chunky or thick enough to be seen from far away. Differentiating colours did help with a particular library/guidance activity, but I'm not as enthusiastic about this new addition to the library as I am about the Chomp Saw.

 I can see why, for reasons, related to allergies, why a white board might be better. I guess I might be an old-fashioned teacher at heart, because I didn't see anything wrong with the chalkboard. Could my reluctance be related to the fact that I wasn't the one that initiated this change? Possibly. 

Revising Pet Club

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results". This is a common saying.

 Last year, I ran a Pet Club to help me take care of our school's skinny pigs. I reflected on how successful Pet Club was, as we had our celebratory event for those who continued to do their duty, near the end of the school year, and determined that it had some challenges. As I wrote in my June blog post,

The problem with Pet Club is that students were, to use a Caribbean figure of speech, either "8 or 80". They either completely forgot about checking on them, leaving them without basic necessities, or over-attentive, checking on them at every recess and free period (and even during lessons too). We had schedules set up and posted all over the library, as well as copies sent home with the participating students. I included a list of the things to do as part of Pet Club. Unfortunately, some students still had difficulty keeping up with the demands ...

If I wanted Pet Club to be useful and helpful to the actual animals it claimed to serve, I needed to make changes. These are some of the alterations I've made in the hopes of improving Pet Club for the 2025-26 school year.

Scheduling Shifts

In the past, I had six groups of four students and they'd rotate every two weeks. Students could not remember when it was their turn, despite all the signs. Now, I'm going to have four students and they are assigned a single month. I was going to reduce the number of students involved, but I did not have the heart to turn down any of the students that signed up to be part of the club. We don't have a lot of club options for kids in this particular age range, from Grades 3-5, so I couldn't deny them. I used to be concerned that they'd have to wait too long for their chance to be in charge. I hope that, with it being tied to a specific month, it will be easier to remember than the previous system.

Firm Times

I made it much clearer about when Pet Club members need to perform their duties. Before, I really hoped that they would be able to use their judgement to decide when food bowls needed filling or bedding needed replacing. Unfortunately, the students aren't quite at that stage yet. Therefore, I made it much more concrete. They are to check the cage between the first bell and the morning entry bell and they must stay after school on Wednesdays to help me clean the cage. 

Tracking Helpers

Before this year, I didn't document whether or not the students showed up to tend to the piggies. I am going to monitor this much more closely this year. It means more work for me, but that way, I can determine if students are committed to this club or if it's just a passing fad. 

Changing Food Containers

One of the reasons why the skinny pigs get so smelly is because other students like to squeeze their plastic water bottles, soaking parts of the cage and making it stink. I can't blame the students 100%, because I noticed that some of the water bottles were dripping when left unattended by either human or beast. I purchased a new, glass water bottle that does not seem to leak, and I plan on drilling a hole into the side of the cage to attach a bowl that will not flip over but is low enough for the skinny pigs to reach on their own. 

Adding Someone New

This was an unplanned revision. I took Alvin and Simon to my local pet store to get their nails trimmed, and was chatting with the employee who took care of them. Long story short, we've added a new skinny pig to the family. His name is Brutus. 

Brutus will not live in the same cage as Alvin and Simon. It can be challenging to get non-related skinny pigs to cohabitate. Even brothers will sometimes fight, like Ernie and Bert did after a while. I have had up to four skinny pigs at once time in my house (Chocolate, Vanilla, Kirby and Owen, back around 2014). I won't have a herd, but it will be interesting to see how this new pig will be viewed by the students, who are accustomed to having Alvin and Simon.

Can I be a Koro-Sensei?

Although school itself has been busy - we unfortunately are one of the many schools that have to restructure due to a mandated reorganization - I have been trying hard to make sure I engage in some quality time with my family members. (The "love language" priorities for my son and daughter center on spending time together.) When my daughter went to Fan Expo Canada in August of this year, she met Sonny Strait, a famous voice actor from One Piece and Dragon Ball. As she was chatting with him while getting his autograph, he recommended that her father/my husband watch another anime that he (Sonny Strait) worked on - Assassination Classroom. We decided to watch it as a family.

The rest of the family watches way more anime than I do. For instance, they really like Dandandan and Zom 100, which I know nothing about. I liked My Hero Academia (lessened a bit since it's taken a really dark turn lately) and my current favourite is Spy X Family. Based on what my family knows about what I enjoy, they thought I'd like Assassination Classroom.

They were right. 

The anime is based on a Japanese manga. To paraphrase Wikipedia, the premise of the story is that a dangerous, powerful, octopus-like being has blown up part of the moon and has given a class of junior-high students the chance to terminate him as long as he's permitted to be their homeroom teacher for the school year. If they fail, he'll destroy Earth. The students in class 3E are constantly disrespected and mocked by others at the school as failures and misfits; their group is even instructed in a building away from the main campus. 

The main character has no name, but is eventually called Koro-sensei, which I believe is a play on words in Japanese related to un-kill-able, octopus, and teacher. 

(This image of Kurosensei comes from Wikimedia. Use of this image / file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. No changes were made and the link can be found at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Korosensei.real.jpg)

 

We've only watched eight episodes so far, but I'm having fun. It's very clear that Koro-sensei cares deeply about being an excellent teacher and supporting each and every one of his students. Koro-sensei is the kind of teacher that, in some ways, I aspire to be. I don't wish to move at Mach 20, or be impervious to poison, bullets, and missiles. If only! I want to make a difference to my students. I want to have a positive impact, and not just on their academics.

Something happened at school this week that had me momentarily cheering and hoping that dreaming of being like Koro-sensei wasn't completely impossible.

Brenda Kim, our Grade 5-6 teacher, called my attention to a poster that had been tacked up near the library door. One of the students in her class had lost a special key chain. She described how the kids in her class remembered, from last year, that I had made a sign when I had lost my McDonalds Minecraft toy, and that, thanks to the poster, the toy was recovered. Based on my inspiration, they used the same strategy. Two of them printed a photo of a replica of the missing item, and they wrote a message. It worked! The AWOL capybara was located!

This is a picture of the sign I posted, back in April!

I am absolutely delighted that they remembered I did this, and applied the strategy themselves months later. The power of media prevailed! Signs equal success!

So, if signs matter this much, then I need to make sure I really make an effort with my bulletin board displays. I've already switched up the library tree display to reflect both the Terry Fox Run and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation / Orange Shirt Day. This coming week, I'll fix up our STEM photo gallery as well as set up the monthly Indigenous author feature. 

Turn to Others

 The second week of school for the 2025-26 season is already over. Momentum is building and routines are evolving. I wanted to mention about how appreciative I am of the other professionals I work with, and how they help me when I have some sort of pedagogical issue I'm wrestling with, to come up with solutions. Maybe by sharing it here, I can pay it forward and provide answers to others.

ESL Class - Over-Enunciating End Sounds

This is my second year as an ESL teacher, so I feel as if I have a bit more understanding of the role. It's less overwhelming, although I'm still not where I want to be yet. While conducting the oral communication diagnostic evaluations at the beginning of the year, I've noticed that a few of my students, when they speak, tend to over-emphasize the final sounds of words. This sometimes makes it hard to understand what they are saying. (For instance, if they said "I want to go to Starbucks", it might sound like "I want-tuh, to-ah, go-ah, to-ah, Star-ruh-Buck-uh".) I wondered if I was being too picky. I wondered how to help correct the speech pattern without dissuading them from talking in English. I spoke to two teachers, both with prior ESL experience. One (who I will not name because she is very private and asks that I don't refer to her directly on this blog), suggested that, when doing phonological word building, to start from the end of the word and work to the front, instead of the usual pattern of starting from the beginning of the word and working to the end. Another teacher, Connie Chan, recommended that I use a mirror in class. If I have students see what shapes their mouths are making when they speak, they will notice that lips tend to shut at the end of consonants and not re-open.

Library Class - Hyper-Focusing on Materials in Loose Parts Provocations

As I mentioned in last week's blog post, I launched some loose parts centers as part of my read-aloud for library. I collected more thorough documentation of the process and I saw that some of the students ignored the prompt and the book and concentrated more on using the loose parts present to make their own thing that had nothing to do with either the book or the prompt. For instance, when the prompt was "What is something special about you?", one of the students made an "emerald tree" (using green gems and wood sticks - a much more literal interpretation). I spoke to Matthew Malisani, one of our kindergarten teachers, who has extensive experience with using loose parts. He had several recommendations. (These photos below are of very good examples, where the students used the loose parts to represent their ideas in abstract ways.)

• I could provide "exploration time" with the materials, so that students could play with the materials uninhibited, so they could get a chance to express their initial takes on the materials.
• I could have a sample response begun at one of the centers that they could add to
• I could model for them how to use the loose parts as "more than just what it appears", and demonstrate how to show representational thinking (e.g. the sticks can be trees, but they can also be people's bodies, or roads, or ... )

ESL Class - Encouraging Risk-Taking in Writing Tasks

Some of my MLLs (multilingual learners) like to talk, and others are quieter. However, most of the students don't get excited about writing as much as I'd like them to be. I've always admired Kerri Commisso's "Try and Correct" sheets and chatted with her. She provided access to all of her files and I modified her Try and Correct sheets with MLLs in mind, adding an extra column for drawings or words in their home language. I also took a page out of Kerri's book and made their "Vocabulary Building Book" a separate folder, so that they could have their page open while working in a writing book or on another sheet. So far, it's going well.

Administration Team - Revising SIP Plans Realistically

On Friday, our school admin team, featuring my principal (who is also cautious when it comes to social media, so I won't name him here) and my fellow chairperson, Connie Chan, met together to iron out our new School Improvement Plan. The three of us really worked well together and got a lot done. We developed new plans that stem from our previous SIP goals and feel like they are possible to accomplish. We also decided to alter our PLC format this year, to allow for more cross-divisional groups and greater agency in professional learning. I'm excited to see how this might work this year.

ESL Class - Developing Long-Range Plans and Performing Diagnostic Assessments

Thanks to my Guidance Part 1 AQ, I feel as if I have a helpful new focus for my library long-range plans. (I will be using the four-question framework from the Ontario Ministry of Education document, "Creating Pathways to Success", for guidance and library work this year.) Last year, I was inspired by Julie Tran's FSL long-range plans, but I wanted something different. After attending the September PD session by TDSB's ESL Department, I think I want to try their new spreadsheet tool. It provides a place outside of TRELLIS (the ESL reporting software) where you can input a student's STEP level for oral, reading, and writing, and then it combines all of the individuals into a class profile, which indicates what focus points the teacher may want to pursue for instruction. The spreadsheet can seem a bit intimidating at first, but I think it may be useful for planning. As for the diagnostic tools, both the ESL department and Jenny Bird, our SERT, shared links to TDSB-recommended diagnostic tools. I will try some of these out and see how they go.

I don't want to turn all my blog posts into anti-AI diatribes, but I chose to ask real people rather than Gemini or CoPilot because I respect the expertise that these references had to offer. It would be an interesting thought exercise to ask a Large Language Model tool the same questions I asked my colleagues to compare the different answers. I also want to thank my sister for helping me with a non-school question that I had and walking me through the necessary steps. We still need people, but maybe GenAI can help support instead of replace these kind of consultations.

Clean Up My Act

My husband knew. He knew right away that somehow, I'd squeeze in a reference to our newly purchased washer and dryer into this week's blog post. He even guessed at the way I'd connect it to education. (To paraphrase his assumption: "you will probably talk about things like how do you know what you don't know to find things out, like shopping for a dryer and making the best decision and becoming prepared to make those decisions").

He was right about the new appliances, but not necessarily about the approach. 

September is a time in the school year to start things fresh, with new supplies, an extra-tidy space, and renewed energy. This is definitely true for me. Last year, I started the school year without that time to clean things up and physically prepare (because I was in Alaska just before school began). This year, I set up the space with more intention, spruced up our new Library Tree, and planned some lessons.

The library tree is gorgeous! I never had great places for book displays and now, I have a beautiful spot to highlight specific titles in a visually appealing and dynamic way. I bought the fake leaves and intend on switching them out depending on the season. (It's a mix of green and yellow because it's still technically summer even though I'm getting fall vibes.) It's my goal to rotate the books in this display regularly. Mr. Malisani was the one who found books and matched them up with stuffed animals at the bottom. The middle section contains all sorts of "first day of school" picture books, such as "The Kissing Hand", "You're Finally Here", and "The Day You Begin". 

The rest of the library looks nice too. I realize that I haven't shared current photos of the most recent changes to the space, so here's a quick overview.

We brought back the old circulation desk because it's smaller and the wood matches the new tables better.

The loose parts storage area, skinny pig cage, and big bins filled with things students use are much more accessible now than they were before. 

The new tables (with matching blue chairs to replace the library's signature purple-brown chairs) are on the carpet that was replaced during the 2020-21 school year (when the library was closed).

This bookshelf is for the multilingual / bilingual books. Behind it is my work area, that spills out from my office. Now I have a space to work where I can see what's going on in the library a bit better, but still have the option for retreating into my library office for privacy. 

The Everybody book section has more bean bag chairs and the pillar has been transformed into a birch tree, complete with chicken wire / paper-maché branches.

This desk is the second circulation desk, for self-check out. Behind it is the green screen area for filming purposes. The fiction section is now in a comfy yet spacious alcove.

This is the view from the second circulation desk. It provides another great view of the library, so any supervisor can see what most students are up to while visiting.

What I love about school libraries in September is how clean they are. The book shelves aren't in complete disarray yet. Everything is in its proper place. It won't stay like that, of course. I'm not a library dragon, and libraries are meant to be used. I didn't expect that the book I chose to use for my first week lessons would disappear on the very first day. (Thankfully, a bookstore had a copy so I bought another one for myself. Naturally, the very next day, I found my missing book hidden on a shelf in the non-fiction section.) 

My lessons seemed to go pretty smoothly, except for that missing book drama. (I had to pivot quickly on the first day, because all of my loose parts provocations were based on that specific book.) Here's a quick peek. 

Guidance

My very first guidance lessons went well. I had a "meme component" to the plan, which appealed to the students, revealed some interesting presumptions about intermediate classes, and served to inform my work on the use of memes for instructional purposes. This still fits with the theme of this blog, because all the memes used were "clean ones"; they were school appropriate because I used cards from the family-friendly game "Family Meme Night".

Library

Now that I have an adequate collection of loose parts, spaces for students to build on, containers to hold the loose parts, and sign holders to share the prompt, I feel like I can do an even better job of my library loose parts provocations, even better than when I presented on the topic at OLA Super Conference in 2024! I feel like I'm even doing better at documenting it, between the photos and the notes taken on my phone based on what the students said their visuals represented. The students did a very good job of cleaning up after themselves by putting the supplies back in the containers. 

ESL

I'm still working my way through all the initial assessments that I have to complete with my ESL students, but I got this idea from somewhere and grabbed it to use on the very first week. We played Spot It but I insisted that they say the name of the object that they found as a duplicate on their card and the card in the center. Afterwards, they had to write some sentences based on the pictures. It was fun and they willingly wrote! I also obtained for them some clean, new folders that they can put loose papers in, which is a lot sooner than I was ready last year. 

STEM

Never allow a teacher-librarian to enter a bookstore during the first week of school. I went in to buy just a single book, to replace the one that went AWOL. I walked out with five books, including Ashley Spires' new book, "The Most Magnificent Team". Even though the book was a bit of a long one to read to squirmy Grade 1s, the point about teamwork during STEM challenges was important to hear as we worked on creating whatever they wanted out of Keva Planks.

This effort to "clean up my act" extends to myself and my environment too. As part of my "refresh" goal for 2025, I made a point of wearing a bit of makeup to school each day (just eyeliner and lipstick) every day this week, and proudly wearing some of my newest Fluevogs. (For anyone that's counting, in September 2024, I owned 19 pairs of Fluevogs. In September 2025, that number has jumped to 29 pairs. I might be a little obsessed.)

Shoe Selfies

Day 1 (September 2, 2025) = KKBB ^^^

Day 2 (September 3, 2025) = Baroque Cortana ^^^

Day 3 (September 4, 2025) = Fermare ^^^

Day 4 (September 5, 2025) = Tina ^^^

Warning: the last photo of this blog post is disgusting. When we prepared to put in the new washer and dryer, we swept and mopped and cleaned the floor under the old appliances. It was so gross! Cleaning inspires more cleaning. We are going to clean up the back of the basement a bit more now that it's tidier. This also inspired me to clean my keyboard. My son owns a keyboard cleaning kit, complete with a tool that snaps keys off so you can do a deep clean. This is a photo of what my home desktop computer keyboard looked like when I started to clean it out thoroughly. I should mention that I never eat at my computer desk and I haven't cleaned it ever using this special device. (My usual cleaning method involved hitting the keyboard against the desk and hoping dust would fall out.)

The educational tie-in is simply this - don't be afraid to clean. Clean up your approach to match the students in front of you. Clean up your physical space so it lends itself to calm teaching and learning. Clean and clear your thoughts of any self-doubt or too much negativity. It may not stay that way - I'm reminded of Mr. Incredible's lament in the first movie that he just cleaned up this mess and he's like the maid and he wishes it could stay clean for just a little bit longer - but good things happen to those who clean (I guess - I'm admittedly not much of a cleaner!).

Offering Guidance (and Support for Year 29)

 T'was the night before "first day" and all through the house

My mind was all whirling as a cat stalks a mouse

My bags were all stacked by the front door with care

In the hopes that I would not forget them right there

My spouse, with his patience, and my kids, so blasé,

For them, it's tomorrow, just a regular day

Note: the above poem was not written by AI. This was my version. I might ask CoPilot or Gemini to see what it comes up with and post it at the end, since dealing with Generative AI looks like it will be a big part of my academic pursuits this school year.

This week begins my twenty-ninth year of teaching. Even after so many years in this profession, I still get nervous and excited about the new school year. This year will be different because there's something new to my portfolio; in addition to library and Grade 1-5 ESL (which was brand new to me last year), I'm going to be increasing the amount of guidance support I'll provide, from a single period per week in the past to a significant chunk of my time. 

This summer, I enrolled in the Guidance and Career Education Part 1 AQ with York University as a student. I didn't talk as much about this AQ as I did about my ESL Part 2 AQ with Queen's, and my Media Specialist AQ with AML. (Taking three AQs in two years was a lot for someone who is relatively close to retirement. I think I'm going to take a bit of a break from adding to my OCT certifications for a while!) I enjoyed my course. I learned a lot about what I hadn't been doing, what I need to do, and what I will do. For instance, I read the Ontario Ministry of Education document "Create Pathways to Success", as well as the OSCA Ethics Guidelines. I really appreciated the course instructor, Dan. He's been a high school guidance counsellor as well as a York U AQ instructor for years. Not only did I learn about being a guidance teacher-counsellor (a very important distinction from being a social worker, psychologist or therapist), I picked up some tips on how to effectively manage Moodle courses. So, I will be offering some more official, formal, scheduled guidance-related instruction and administration in this school year.

As part of the course, I joined the Ontario School Counsellors Association. Being a part of subject associations can be useful for professional development. In addition to OSCA, I'm a part of ECOO, the Educational Computing Organization of Ontario, the AML (Association for Media Literacy), and OLA / OSLA (Ontario Library Association / Ontario School Library Association). Consider joining a subject association that might benefit you.

This school year looks like it will be a busy one. In addition to my regular teaching load, there are six potential conferences that I might be presenting at - I won't say which ones yet, as I'm still waiting for some confirmations. 

The last week of summer was filled with some work - evaluating the York TL AQs I taught, getting the library ready for students, and attending the AML annual think tank as well as a CSLJ (Canadian School Libraries Journal) editorial team meeting. It wasn't all labor prior to Labour Day. I ended the summer on a high note by taking our family to the CNE for my son's 23rd birthday and visiting the cottage of a family friend in Sturgeon Point. My daughter, son, husband and I tried all sorts of weird, wonderful and unhealthy foods at the Ex. The oddest was probably the deep fried pizza.

Me with an Egg Club treat (egg sandwich on Japanese milk bread) 

James with a cheesy jalapeno corn dog

Mary with a limited edition Tim Hortons cherry-lemon donut

Birthday boy Peter with garlic parm deep fried pizza

To my students and fellow staff members - I offer you my continued support as you teach and learn throughout this school year. I will also rely on your support for me as I begin a new role, try new things, and attempt to improve my pedagogical practice. I wish us all luck! 

P.S. I asked Microsoft CoPilot and Google Gemini the same prompt and this is what they gave me.

The prompt was = Please write me a poem, in the style of Clement C. Moore's "A Visit from St. Nicholas", but about the first day of school.

Microsoft CoPilot's Version:

Absolutely! Here's a playful, nostalgic poem in the style of "A Visit from St. Nicholas"—but instead of stockings and sleigh bells, it's backpacks and sharpened pencils:

---

A Visit to School on the First Morning Back

'Twas the night before school, and all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring—not even my mouse.
The backpacks were hung by the front door with care,
In hopes that the school bus soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of lunch trays danced in their heads.
And Mom in her robe, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a short summer nap.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the dew-covered grass
Gave a luster of morning to each windowed class.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a yellow school bus, drawing ever so near.

With a driver so lively, so jolly and cool,
I knew in a moment it must be for school.
More rapid than eagles, the children they came,
And he whistled and shouted and called them by name:

"Now, Emma! Now, Aiden! Now, Lily and Jack!
On, Sophie! On, Mason! Get into your pack!
To the top of the steps! To your seat in the row!
Now dash away! Dash away! Off we all go!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,
So up to the schoolhouse the children they flew,
With lunchboxes, notebooks, and new pencils too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard down the hall
The chatter and footsteps and laughter and all.
As I drew in my head and was turning around,
Down came the teacher with a welcoming sound.

She was dressed in bright colors from her head to her shoe,
And her smile was as warm as a morning sun’s hue.
A bundle of books she had flung on her back,
And she looked like a scholar just opening her pack.

Her eyes—how they twinkled! Her dimples, how merry!
Her voice was like music, her tone light and airy.
She spoke not a word but went straight to her task,
And welcomed each student with kindness and class.

She sprang to the board, to her team gave a cheer,
And the classroom lit up with excitement and fear.
But I heard her exclaim, as the bell rang in school:
"Happy first day to all, and to all—learn and rule!"

---

Would you like a version for older students too—maybe high school or college? I can tailor it to any age or vibe!

Google Gemini's Version

'Twas the night before school, when all through the town,

Not a student was stirring, not a frown could be found.

The backpacks were filled by the front door with care,

In hopes that the morning would finally be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of new crayons danced in their heads.

And Mama in her PJs, and I in my sweats,

Had just settled down to check our old debts.

When out in the street there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from the sofa to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the curtains and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the brand new-cut lawn,

Gave the luster of midday to our car, now withdrawn,

When what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a small yellow bus, and eight tiny students, so dear!

With a wise little driver, so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment it must be a trick.

More rapid than eagles his students they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:

"Now, Daisy! now, David! now, Marcus and Trixie!

On, Oliver! on, Paul! on, Sarah and Dixie!

To the top of the classroom! to the top of the hall!

Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;

So up to the house-top the students they flew,

With the bus full of papers, and new teachers, too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof,

The shuffling and rustling of a little new hoof.

As I drew in my hand, and was turning around,

Down the chimney a teacher came with a bound.

She was dressed all in denim, from her head to her foot,

And her clothes were all tarnished with chalk dust and soot;

A bundle of books she had flung on her back,

And she looked like a teacher just opening her pack.

Her eyes—how they twinkled! her dimples, how merry!

Her cheeks were like roses, her nose like a cherry!

Her droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the beard on her chin was as white as the snow.

The stump of a pencil she held tight in her teeth,

And the smoke it encircled her head like a wreath;

She had a kind face and a little round belly,

That shook when she laughed, like a bowlful of jelly.

She was chubby and plump, a right jolly old scholar,

And I laughed when I saw her, in spite of my dollar.

A wink of her eye and a twist of her head,

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

She spoke not a word, but went straight to her work,

And filled all the bookshelves; then turned with a jerk,

And laying a finger aside of her nose,

And giving a nod, up the chimney she rose.

She sprang to her bus, to her team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard her exclaim, ere she drove out of sight—

"Happy school day to all, and to all a good night!"

Am I Never Not Working?

LinkedIn is not my preferred social media platform. I have a LinkedIn account and I check it sporadically. One day during one of these random check-ins, I saw a post from the executive director of the Ontario Library Association, Michelle Arbuckle. She asked if anyone might be interested in participating in a book club. The focus book was called "Never Not Working: Why the Always-On Culture is Bad for Business - and How to Fix It" by Malissa Clark. 

 I was intrigued, so I indicated to Michelle that I was interested, and I borrowed a copy from the public library. 

It was probably a bad idea to add "reading a book" to my to-do list for August, which already included taking an AQ course as a student, teaching two AQ courses as a facilitator, and writing / submitting a big grant proposal. However, I needed answers to the question: am I a workaholic?

Spoiler alert, for those who don't want to read until the end of this blog post: I'm not a workaholic, but I might have some workaholic tendencies. 

I took some notes while reading the book, so that I could return the library book on time, so this blog post will highlight some of the things I learned from the book, along with some personal reflections. Most of these ideas, even if not written in quote format, directly come from Malissa Clark's book and credit goes to her.

Introduction: Age of Overwork

Clark, the author, is herself a workaholic. She described how she worked up until the minute she gave birth and only took two weeks off before returning to her regular, hectic schedule. (I couldn't relate to that portion - I actually enjoyed both of my maternity leaves - but I did relate to the slight feeling of dread that you "aren't doing enough" and that the hustle culture is ingrained at a young age.)

Chapter One: Workaholism Myths and Realities

This chapter addressed some misconceptions related to workaholism. She said that most people have 40 hours of free time per week, assuming that people sleep an average of 8 hours a day. Clark explained that work hours (as in long work hours) are not a strong predictor of workaholism. There are other indicators. Workaholism, despite the term, is not a clinical condition; you won't find it in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). However, it is, in her words, "the only socially acceptable addiction". Workaholism isn't the same as work engagement, which is characterized by energy, resilience, enthusiasm, commitment, immersion, and absorption. To tell the difference, Clark suggests looking at where the energy is spent and the motivation. If work permeates all aspects of life, that's workaholism. She taught me a new term: introjected motivation. Introjected motivations is where you act because of internalized extrinsic pressure. Another myth Malissa Clark destroys is that workaholics are productive. They aren't. There are four main components that indicate whether someone is a workaholic:

1) behavioural (the person works beyond their requirements and can't delegate)

2) motivational (the person has a compulsion to work, hates "wasted time", is a perfectionist and is attached to "busyness")

3) cognitive (the person things excessively about work, can't disconnect, and ruminates constantly about work, interrupting other thoughts)

4) emotional (the person has negative feelings when not working, might see people as barriers to work)

Technology enables workaholism; work expands to fill the time available for completion. Things like email were supposed to reduce our work but has added to it. 

Page 39 of the book had a short assessment. Have you ever read something like WebMD and thought, "Oh no, that might be me! I might have X!"? I took the test with a bit of trepidation. It was just simple statements that you had to rank on a scale of 1-5 and tally your score. If you scored 15/20 or higher, you qualify as a workaholic. I scored 12.

Now, this doesn't "let me off the hook" right away. I really do like being busy and I have worked in the evenings and on weekends. I think my workaholic tendencies may have been "nipped in the bud" a number of years ago at a OLA Super Conference. I can't remember which year it was, or the name of the book but I remember listening to the author talk about being too busy to spend quality time with her children. I remember buying the book and sobbing like a madwoman when I got the author to sign my copy. It led me to be more "present" with my family.

Chapter 2 : A Portrait of the Modern Workaholic

This chapter describes people who deprioritize their own well-being for work. I find teachers will do that a lot. We will come to school sick, because we "can't let the children down" or "it's too hard to book a supply teacher". Malissa Clark says to watch for these "always behaviours". The thoughts in parentheses are my editorial notes.

• always thinking about work (that's not me)
• always taking on too much and not knowing personal limits (guilty as charged)
• always emotionally distressed if can't fill every moment with work (definitely not)
• always intertwines personal identity with work (admittedly true, I "am" a TL)
• always in an existential crisis if there's no work (I'm learning to enjoy down time more)
• always constantly busy (uh oh, that could describe me)
• always finds unstructured time uncomfortable (no, I can lie on a beach quite happily)
• always in flight or fight mode (no, but I can see how it could creep up on me)
• always working, so there's a lack of effective recovery experiences (nope, I love sleep)

It's not good to be a workaholic, even though busyness is rewarded in modern culture because it looks like productivity. Workaholism takes a toll. There are huge negative health effects. Workers who are workaholics are less creative, less patient, and more error-prone. It also impacts their loved ones at home, and can be frustrating or toxic for colleagues. 

Chapter 3: Kicking the Habit

People will feel guilt or regret when they realize they may be workaholics. In this chapter, there are awareness activities you can conduct. The author mentioned six strategies to use to help break the cycle.

1) Redefine Urgent = frantic multitasking creates a crisis state where everything is urgent. She suggests looking back on past to-do lists and recognize which tasks weren't all that important. She also recommended assigning a fixed number of non-work items to the top of the to-do list. 

Diana's Take on #1 = After the success of my Lean and Clean Challenge, I'm trying to include those non-work items as regular features of my day. I'm still tracking what I eat, and I'm aiming to drink 2L of water a day, take 10 000 steps a day, and workout at the gym (four times a week during the summer, three times a week during the school year). This was easier in July than in August, for some reason. I really had trouble accumulating the steps because I felt "chained to my computer" as I tried to keep on top of all the course readings and correspondences. 

2) Reinvent the To-Do List = A to-do list is an invitation to overwork. People get satisfaction by checking things off, as well as the structure of the list. Clark suggests to make completion not part of the criteria. The goal is to map and prioritize, not accomplish all the items. There's an Eisenhower Matrix with two axis, urgency and importance. Decide what is truly important.

Diana's Take on #2 = I love my to-do lists! This will be very hard to let go. I wonder if it's good enough that I will just remake my to-do lists and eliminate things that are just not going to get done or don't need to get done right away. (For instance, I really wanted to sew those new drapes for the living room, but that is NOT going to happen before school begins. Maybe I can place it on a list I have but don't look at often that's my "if you have nothing to do, this would be nice to eventually get done". I think I called it "long-term projects for the future".)

3) Learn to Say No and Delegate = Clark says to say no more than you'd anticipate. Help family first, students second, colleagues third, and others fourth. Help at designated times that don't interfere with your goals. Help in areas where you can provide a unique contribution. 

Diana's Take on #3 = I remember Alanna being irritated with me when we were SuperConference convenors because I was giving directions to someone who asked. At first, I thought her response was elitist ("Do you think because we wear the red vests, we are above helping like this?") but now I can reposition her response to see she was prioritizing the kind of help she'd offer based on our roles. I think I'm getting much better at delegating. Dealing with the lack of occasional teachers can do that. As the chairperson, I usually am the one who figures out how to cover classes when a teacher is absent and there is no supply teacher. In the past, I'd just take it on myself, but it meant that I wasn't getting my own job done at all, or done well. I "share the wealth" by giving responsibilities to other specialist teachers. Sometimes, I even leave it up to my principal to determine who will cover what class.

4) Fix the Workaholic Clock = Workaholics often underestimate how long it takes to complete tasks. It's called the "planning fallacy". Clark recommends you review projects that have crashed with a non-workaholic colleague to compare times you thought it would take to finish a task with the actual time. 

Diana's Take on #4 = I'm a terrible judge of time. My husband likes me to call when I'm on my way home from work, so he knows when to start dinner so it's hot and ready when I arrive. (I know, I know; I'm spoiled.) If I'm not actually on my way home, I'll try and guess how much longer it'll take me, and usually, I'm there longer than I expect to be. Thankfully, this isn't as bad with major assignments. I'm learning from my Guidance AQ instructor, Dan. In the past, I used to leave all my assignments that required feedback until close to the end of the learning block to evaluate. I worried that if I didn't mark them all at the same time, I might be in a different "head space" and that would alter the way I reacted to the work. This meant, however, that I'd have a large pile of work to complete in a short period of time. Dan seems to mark things as they come in, so that the time it takes is spread out more evenly over the learning block. I've learned other things during my Guidance and Career Education Part 1 AQ, but this was one of the most immediate lessons. Thanks Dan!

5) Control Ruminations = If you notice yourself thinking about work, force your self to stop. Repeat a mantra or ask yourself a question like "Who said I should be working every minute?". If you can't eliminate the rumination, listen and work with it. Read a phrase you have printed like "This work can wait." Practice mindfulness techniques. Schedule ruminating thoughts for later. If your worry is about letting people down, talk to them directly and they will probably dissuade you of this error.

Diana's Take on #5 = I've been doing some of these techniques for years, which is maybe why I don't get ruminations like this much anymore. My mind tends to race when I'm just about to go to bed. My husband says he can actually feel me thinking in bed. What I do when there are too many thoughts crowding my mind is that I mentally draw a triangle, over and over again, in my head. I pay attention to the size of the triangle, the angles it creates, the thickness of the lines, the colour of the lines. I just focus on drawing that mental triangle repeatedly. I also used to have a question posted on my printer by my desk. It used to say "Have you given your husband the undivided attention he deserves today?" (or something like that). It's because he used to complain that I'd come home from work and go immediately to my computer to work on other tasks. I don't do that anymore. First thing in the morning, after breakfast, I sit in the living room with him and sip tea and chat a bit. We take long walks together and my cell phone is only along for the ride to count my steps. Flipping through social media or listening to music videos on YouTube are also great ways of wiping my mind of work thoughts.

6) Embrace Rest and Recovery = Take rest before you are tired. Schedule in things like exercise, rest, and mastery experiences.

Diana's Take on #6 = Actually, I'm really, REALLY good at embracing rest. I love to take naps! I take them without any feeling of guilt. I even lure my husband to take naps with me during the summer holidays, which is glorious. I love sleeping in. I also love doing my scrapbooking. I'm not a perfectionist with it - many of the photos are placed crookedly, or with uneven spaces - but I love making my albums and then looking at them and remembering the fun (either from the school year, or from holidays or from vacations - I have three types of scrapbook albums). When I'm on vacation elsewhere, I'm immersed in my vacation, even if it's as close by as Huntsville or as far away as Alaska.

Chapter 4: Are You An Enabler?

Workaholism is driven by outside forces as well. Societal forces include the Industrial Revolution (where time is money), the "Protestant work ethic", bonuses for overtime (making work more profitable than leisure), the "work devotion schema" (where there is a "ideal worker culture") and the concept that your job isn't just a job but your career or your calling. Organizational forces driving workaholism are things like an organization's culture (attraction/selection/attrition), rewarding overwork, and cultural signals like physical artifacts, socialization, stories and legends, norms, rituals, rewards, and role models. Beware of jargon that glorifies work. Note that organizations with strong cultures are stubborn to change.

Teaching definitely is inclined to encourage workaholics. I know I've done things that lean a bit too much into workaholic culture, like not taking my preps, running a club or working in my office at lunch instead of eating (and relaxing with peers) in the staffroom. I think I take it as a perverse sense of pride to describe my summer as being filled with "just lots of work". Yes, there were a lot of projects and employment this summer (teaching 4 AQs with paid work on a board AI project for July / teaching 2 AQs, taking an AQ, and launching a grant project in August). However, if I focus on just the work portions, I might inadvertently glorify the "work all the time" mentality. I need to mention the little day trips, like to St. Jacob's, or the week my sister spent with us in Toronto. 

My school is not filled with enablers. On the contrary, people will express dismay, not delight, if they see me (or others - you know who you are!!) working too much or taking on too much. My principal is actually quite good about insisting we go home when we are sick, or taking care of family first. 

I wonder, however, if my husband might be inadvertently enabling my leanings towards excessive work. He is concerned about what I will do when I retire. I'm not ready to retire yet, but he's not sure how I'll handle actual retirement. Both our fathers sort of "collapsed" when they retired, because they had nothing else to preoccupy them. My husband is worried that I'll "get in trouble" when I have lots of free time and no particular goals. He's not wrong exactly - there was that time I volunteered to babysit twins for free because my workshop got cancelled. Still, the unspoken encouragement to accept extra work feeds into that "keep busy" mentality. 

Chapter 5: Fixing Your Culture of Overwork

Many people don't seek change until they get a wake up call. This call could come in the form of burnout, or a health scare, or mass quitting. Things like the four-day work week are good for some work places. Clark offers a three step process to dismantle overwork culture. Other ideas include: 

• rewarding output, not input, 
• interrupting cycles of responsiveness (schedule email sends, arrange lead time for projects, requalify what urgent means)
• lower demands
• lower connectivity
• increase control
• increase support

Our union executive reps are really good at modeling this work-life balance, with email signatures that state clear expectations around the speed of email replies and respecting work hours. I'm good at lowering connectivity - I don't check my phone regularly. I don't have my work email linked to my phone. 

Before I get too self-congratulatory, I need to consider whether my other commitments (such as my work for AML, CSL, York U, Queen's U) count as work-like situations. Do I just substitute my work at TDSB with my work for these AQs or volunteer organizations? I think there's always potential, but I'm trying to fight back on my propensity for taking on too much. For instance, I helped establish a "rule of conduct" within AML that every executive board member would take turns running the monthly meetings. At one point, I was running all of them and when I first suggested having others do it, the response was that I was so good at running the meeting that I should continue. That would be a recipe for burnout, so I thanked people for the compliment, and insisted we share this duty, even when it means spending time teaching others how to organize the meeting. I must delegate. The same thing applies to Canadian School Libraries Journal. There will be officially two co-editors (me and Jennifer Brown) although really it's a team effort between four of us. I will devote time to the editorial duties, but I'm going to remind myself of this mantra:

I look forward to chatting with Michelle and others about the book. (If I'm unable to attend the meeting, use this blog post as my contribution, 'k?) It's the last week of summer holiday before school begins, so I will only go in for two days to school, only have 1 AML social and 1 CSLJ meeting, and celebrate my son's birthday by a family trip to the CNE. All work and no play makes Diana a dull person!