One of the biggest differences between having a classroom and running a library is that the library is a public space, possibly because it's the only space in your school where meetings involving more than ten people can comfortably be held. If you work in a school like mine that values its library program, you are notified well ahead of time when the space is needed, so you can adjust your schedule accordingly.
Yesterday was one of those days when the library was in use for a meeting. All of the administrators in our high school vertical learning team (feeder pattern) were present from 8a to noon. Since we had been notified a month ago, I was able to see my Thursday morning classes on Wednesday morning, so our schedule was clear. My assistant and I had plenty of work to do in our office space, behind our closed door.
We were trapped.
Within ten minutes, my assistant noted that we had no other exit except the door to the library. We spent a few minutes figuring out what was behind each of the other three walls in our oddly-shaped school from the 70's--our read-aloud area to the right, random closet behind us, the library storage closet to the left. We came to the conclusion that we were probably the safest room in the school during a tornado.
We got a lot done during those trapped hours. I cut out laminated pieces of a women's history bulletin board, answered emails, made the library newsletter slide for next week, cleaned a few pieces of paper off my desk (not that it made much of a difference), and curated several dozen women's biographies to feature on our MackinVIA ebook homepage. We discussed upcoming teacher inventory, how March is already planned for; April will be busy with state testing, library month, and the annual librarians' conference; and the last day for checkout in May. My assistant spent the bulk of her time doing the tedious task of placing stickers on hundreds of Scholastic Book Fair flyers that have to go out next week, before heading to her lunch duty.
Come to think of it, that was the most desk work I've ever accomplished in three-plus hours. Maybe being trapped wasn't so bad, after all.
Seems the stars aligned for that desk work to be done, Chris! The trapped feeling might not have felt so good, but I suspect the accomplishments do. I was able to reorganize my space a bit this week and to catch up on a couple of things - I feel lighter because of it. I might be able to make it to spring break :)
ReplyDeleteThere are definitely bonuses to being trapped. It feels good to accomplish so much!
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