The Experts
'School libraries have often been regarded as "costs" rather than "investments" because administrators and board members have not been fully informed of the potential return for each dollar committed to library media services. I have never been a school librarian. I have, however, been a high school teacher, a high school assistant principal, a high school principal, and a professor of educational administrator at the University of Nebraska over the past forty years. In both my research and my experience, I have seen that the presence of a quality school librarian and a quality school library media program can make a substantial difference in the quality of students' experiences as they progress through school.'
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'A
school that loses its professional librarian loses its heart. It also
loses an expertise that is often hidden from the public eye.. My 20
years as a teacher showed me that the librarian is alert not only to
the special needs of students, helping them flourish as readers and
seekers of knowledge, but also as an invaluable resource to teachers,
helping them enrich the quality of their curriculum. Librarians are
there to help both students and teachers be the best they can be.
Nothing can replace them.'
Susan
Ohanian, a longtime public school teacher, is a fellow at the Education
Policy Research Unit at Arizona State University and at the Vermont
Society for the Study of Education. In addition, she is a freelance
writer whose articles have appeared in Atlantic, Parents, Washington
Monthly, The Nation, Phi Delta Kappan, Education Week, Language Arts,
and American School Board Journal. In 2003, Susan received The National
Council of Teachers of English's "NCTE Orwell Award" for her
outstanding contribution to the critical analysis of public discourse.
In recent years, Susan has taken a leadership role in education issues
such as high-stakes standards and the critical evaluation of
standardized testing.
'Isaac
Asimov wrote, "When I read about the way in which library funds are
being cut and cut, I can only think that American society has found one
more way to destroy itself." Research shows that better public and school
libraries are related to better reading achievement. The reason for
this is obvious: Children become better readers by reading more, and
for many children, the library is only place they have access to books.
California has the worst school libraries in the country, it ranks dead
last among all states with one school librarian for every 5000
students. This must be one of the reasons California continues to have
among the lowest reading scores in the nation. There is a more
reasonable and less expensive solution: Improving, not destroying,
public and school libraries.'
Stephen Krashen, Professor Emeritus
University of Southern California
University of Southern California
Dr.
Stephen Krashen is Professor Emeritus of Learning and Instruction, at
the University of Southern California. He is an expert in the field of
linguistics, specializing in theories of language acquisition and
development, and is best known for developing the first comprehensive
theory of second language acquisition. Recently Dr. Krashen's research
has focused on reading and its effects on language acquisition and
academic success. He is also an advocate for "recreational reading" and
better stocked school libraries because of research relating both to
higher achievement. He holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. His recent
papers can be found at http://www.sdkrashen.com
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