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Dianne
Garner: Media Coordinator at HIES
Diane Garner became the media
coordinator at Harkers Island by a twist of fate.
She attended ECU
to become an elementary school teacher.
While there, her love of books led her to obtain a
media specialist certification as well.
Upon graduation, she wanted to teach Downeast so she
took a job at Smyrna K-8.
There she experienced firsthand the complex realities
of classroom teaching, and she soon found that engaging
students in projects was the best way to excite all children
to the possibilities of learning.
Yet, she knew that she still had a “librarian
thing” going on inside…
A few years later,
she took some time off to be home with her young son.
After three wonderful years at home, she interviewed with Mr.
Blair for a teaching position at Harkers Island.
Mr. Blair took Dianne on a tour of the school, and they
stopped at the library. This
caught Dianne’s fancy.
“Who is your
librarian?” Dianne
asked.
“We don’t have
one right know. You’re not certified are you?”
Mr. Blair joked.
How lucky can a
person be! Though not
having worked in a library before, she felt she would do well with
the students and teachers. But
how would she deal with the management and administration of a
library? Dianne took a
weekend to think about moving from the classroom to the library.
Twenty years later, it is clear that Dianne Garner made the right
decision.
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A teacher enters
the media center and approaches Mrs. Garner.
“Is Crash
anywhere as good as Maniac McGee?
I'll also need Jumanji,” says the teacher.
“Maniac McGee
is very
different,” replies Mrs. Garner.
"The humor is there.
But the
setting is different, and the characters are very real.”
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To Dianne Garner,
the facilities and roles relating to her job have evolved as much as
her title (librarian…media specialist…media coordinator).
In the beginning, scheduling television took a big chunk of
her time as the school only had two TVs and one recorder.
Also, the library operated on a fixed schedule. This allowed
her to meet with all students at scheduled times. She could teach
them how to conduct research and use the Reader’s Guide to
Periodic Literature, but it always seemed devoid of context.
She began to lobby
for flex scheduling so that she could see students and teachers at
“different times” on “different channels.”
Harkers Island soon moved to a combination flex/fixed
schedule, which the school maintained for several years.
In a “light
bulb” moment, Mr. Blair and Dianne realized the time had come to
move the library schedule to more of a flexible nature.
From that point on, K-2 remained on a fixed schedule, while
3-8 became 100% flexible. This
became a springboard for planning with teachers for information
skills that could be taught within the context of class projects.
Some teachers gravitated toward the new schedule; others were
more apprehensive. Soon,
Dianne realized her value was in nurturing the best possibilities
for collaboration and that would cause rippling effects of
opportunities later.
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… Students
come and go into the media center.
Sometimes, they are accompanied by teachers; other times they
arrive unescorted. They
know where to find resources and books. Two “bookworms” sink into the furniture and escape into
their novels. One
student steps back from the checkout computer and casts an uneasy
eye towards Dianne. She is quick to recognize that he
must have an overdue book and steps toward him to help him solve
his dilemma ...
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Dianne says the
biggest challenge in the profession is finding time to plan together
with teachers. She has
her own method, though, of reaching out to professional peers.
On Mondays, she places invitations in teachers’ mailboxes.
She asks when teachers would like to visit and when they
would like to plan. She
often attaches a chocolate treat to the invitation.
Dianne keeps all returned invitations to help her with
purchasing for the next year.
Dianne demonstrates
a great willingness to work with people.
As she says, “It is easy to work with the great staff we
have here at Harkers Island.”
The Battle of the
Books is big for coach Dianne Garner.
She has led the team since its inception in 1994, and the
team has a legacy of success. This
year’s team has more boys and more sixth graders than ever before.
Dianne treats the team like a sports team; she instills in
her team not only the love of reading, but also the value that hard
work is the key to success. The team has won first place in the county over the last
several years, and it won the regional competition in 1998 and 2001.
As for accolades?
Dianne wishes that photos of Battle of the Books teams from
all schools would appear in the local paper each year.
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Dianne’s
Caveats to Those Considering the Profession:
Spending time as a classroom teacher helps one understand the
nuances of the classroom experience.
There are always “teachable moments,” and administrative
chores should not take away from the human side of the profession.
It is necessary to balance efficiency and effectiveness.
“It is hard for
me to complete administrative tasks because people continually come
into the media center. My
job is to serve clientele. Everyday
I intend to accomplish XYZ, but then people ask for help.
I may only complete X or Y, but I take comfort in the
knowledge that I have helped every teacher or student that day who
came to me for help.”
“The media center
is like a den in a house. We don’t keep it perfect; we want to see
evidence that people live in it.
It should be open and inviting.”
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“Like people.
Make people feel welcome; try to accommodate all requests.”
“Make every day
different.” |
