DOROTHEA’S DEMISE

In the year that well known children’s poet Lorraine Marwood received the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for her book Star Jumps the Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards has been advised that the Federal Government has pulled the Awards lifeblood funding of $50,000.

That the Prime Minister in one high publicity stroke recognised and endorsed the value of poetry to the wider community was fantastic alas somewhat hypocritical as the Dorothea Poetry Awards were struck out of the budget for the forthcoming year. The dash of red pen’s immediate repercussion means that unless new funding is found the Awards which have been running for the last 27 years may well breathe their last next year.

The fact that the competition has survived these 27 years is a miracle in itself according to the Dorothea Mackellar Society President Phillipa Murray. She further states that funding for any volunteer organisation, let alone a project that involves old fashioned literacy and creative skills, is both competitive and difficult. Yet somehow the Awards have managed to do it.

Last year a total of 7904 entries were received from all states in Australia – so there is no lack of support on the ground for its continuance. Indeed such a large amount of entries indicates rousing support from teachers and students in state and independent schools. And whilst this article appears on the NSWAGTC’s website it is not only gifted students throughout Australia that are affected. Poetry, by its nature, is something to be appreciated and participated in by all communities and all walks of life.

In effect  the demise of the Awards will ensure that the next generations of Lorraine Marwoods will have no opportunity to hone their craft on an Australia wide level, and the Prime Minister of the day will have less choices to make about the recipients of her own Awards.

It appears obvious that it is ‘lose lose’ all round.

From the NSW Association for Gifted & Talented Children website http://nswagtc.org.au/mynswagtc/news/1204-dorotheas-demise.html

HELP SAVE THE DOROTHEA MACKELLAR AWARDS – WHAT YOU CAN DO

Send your objections to Graham.Nuttall@aph.gov.au and/or Tony.Windsor@aph.gov.au

Tell these people how important poetry is in Australia and to Australian children. At a time when literacy is supposed to be a priority, it seems absurd that this funding would have been cut.

The Public Hearing for the INQUIRY INTO SCHOOL LIBRARIES AND TEACHER LIBRARIANS IN AUSTRALIAN SCHOOLS meets in Brisbane for the day.

If would like to join the Public Gallery to observe the hearing, here are the details:

DATE/TIME:      July 6, 2010, 11am – 12 noon

VENUE:    Undumbi Room, Level 5, Parliamentary Annexe, Parliament House, Brisbane.

Sheryl Gwyther

From THE HUB…

“Today Lyn Hay, Charles Sturt University Lecturer,  was the “star witness” to answer questions from the committee of Inquiry into School Libraries and Teacher Librarians in Canberra. Charles Sturt University is the last of three institutions training TLs in Australia, and has the greatest intake.

Lyn was very good, as you would have expected, providing lots of graphed info on CSU Teacher-Librarian student intake and grads over the years in terms of age, gender, pathways into course, where students come from.  Hope this handout will be made available.

Sharon Bird, Dr. Sharman Stone (Liberal Vic), Mike Symon (Labor Vic), Dr Dennis Jensen (Lib WA) from the House Committee on Education and Training were the ones I heard ask questions.”

FOR MORE OF WHAT LYN HAD TO SAY TO THE COMMITTEE CLICK HERE ON THE HUB.

NEXT INSTALLMENT OF THE CANBERRA SITTINGS for the Inquiry:  Parliament House, Committee Room 1R6 Thursday 17 June 2010, 9.30am – 11.00am

SITTING DATES … These are the ones that remain:

• Perth: Parliament House, Meeting Room 2
  Tuesday 13 July 2010, 10.00am – 3.00pm
• Adelaide: Parliament House, Balcony Room
  Monday 12 July 2010, 10.00am – 3.00pm
• Brisbane: Parliament House, Undumbi Room
  Tuesday 6 July 2010, 10.00am – 3.00pm
• Darwin: Venue to be confirmed
  Monday 5 July 2010, 08.30am – 12.00pm
• Canberra: Parliament House, Committee Room 1R6
  Thursday 24 June 2010, 9.30am – 11.00am
  
• Canberra: Parliament House, Committee Room 1R6
  Thursday 17 June 2010, 9.30am – 11.00am

Hundreds of school libraries are being built around the country, but who will teach in them? Specialist teacher/librarians are disappearing from schools, which has prompted concerns that students are missing out on the many things librarians have to teach them.

And it’s not just about books.

If you missed it here is a radio interview with former teacher/librarian Georgia Phillips from Charles Sturt University  who gave evidence to the parliamentary inquiry into the state of school libraries. RADIO INTERVIEW 666 ABC Canberra

The Western Australian School Library Association (WASLA), as the peak body for teacher librarians and other school library professionals in W.A., actively encourages the wider community to support out members in their endeavours to ensure that all Western Australian school students enjoy the benefits that can flow from having ready access to a well resourced school library staffed by fully qualified teacher librarians.

In 2008 WA SLA sent out postcards supporting school libraries and T-Ls. They are provide as important (if not MORE) messages about the need to be active in this campaign.

Here is the link to the WA SLA’s submission to the Federal Government Inquiry into Librarians and T-Ls.

Guest blogger: Katrina Germein – Australian children’s multi-award winning author of popular picture books, including her latest release, Little Dog (Scholastic Press 2010).

Katrina Germein

IMAGINE … a public school in the 1980s

In the library foyer was a scratch and sniff jelly bean poster. Inside were the stories waiting to be read. At the start of each lesson we sat on the floor, almost holding our breath, waiting to see what the day’s book would be. We knew a story had already been chosen especially for us. These stories were chosen by the teacher-librarian.

A teacher-librarian who knew us, loved books and choose titles we would love too. I relished being read to. I remember specific covers, series and favourites.

We didn’t know that such immersion in literature supported an invaluable love of reading and an appreciation of storytelling, books and the written word. We didn’t know that these things would lead to improved literacy outcomes for us later in life. We didn’t know that our librarian was helping to expand our vocabularies, our general knowledge and our world view. And we didn’t know that by reading to the class as a group, by our sharing the stories together, part of what we were enjoying was a feeling of connectedness and community.

We just thought library was fun.

In 2010……

I want my own children to have what I had, and more. Today’s best libraries encompass new digital literacies also. They help our children to become fluent in the ever unfolding technologies that will be always present in their lives. I want my children to enjoy dynamic technology that can motivate and impress. And I and want my children to enjoy literature and community that can entertain and comfort. These modern and traditional mediums support and inform our children. They are education disguised as fun. They are meaningful and essential. They support literacy of all kinds.

The Future……..

The things I want for my children are achievable. They are most possible with well resourced school libraries staffed with trained teacher-librarians; librarians passionate about children, children’s literature, and new technologies; librarians with the specific knowledge to support other teachers; librarians with the specific expertise to know, guide and inspire our children.

Guest blogger:  Dee White – author of young adult novel, Letters to Leonardo and others.

I’m lucky to have two children who are both good readers, but they are different too. One is like me, a hopeless bookworm – the sort who reads at the breakfast table and bumps into things because he is holding a book to his face and the wall just seems to jump out of nowhere.

The other reads slower with more detail, he is a lot more discerning in his book tastes.

I remember a feeling of panic a couple of years ago when the youngest reached that ‘danger period’ for boys and stopped reading.

It crept up on me slowly. He was an independent reader and no longer needed me to read to him or help him select his books – or so I thought. I was wrong!

One day, I realized that he was barely reading at all. He never came home with books from school. He said he had read them all, and they were all boring.

When we went to the library, eldest son went straight to the catalogue where he poured over all the choices. He always came out with a bag of books that must have been at least half his body weight – and he read every single one.

Youngest son on the other hand, wandered from shelf to shelf and came out with nothing – or perhaps a couple of books that he borrowed because he “had to borrow something”. These books generally never left his library bag.

I panicked. I had never thought that a child of mine would stop reading.  What I soon realized was that he still wanted to read…he just didn’t know where to go to find the books he liked. That’s why schools need trained teacher/librarians.

Fortunately, in grade 4, my son had a teacher who was switched on to his quirky sense of humor. She brought him books from her own private collection, which he eagerly devoured. I spent a great deal of time with him at public libraries asking the librarians for recommendations, and trawling the bookshelves with him. We also started reading together again as a family, and it’s something we still enjoy.

For my son, ‘the danger period’ when boys stop reading wasn’t brought about by him deciding he didn’t like books anymore. It was caused by having nobody, particularly at school, to guide his reading. I wonder how many other kids stop reading for this very reason – they simply don’t know what book to pick up.

I implore the people with the decision-making powers to employ MORE teacher librarians, not the reverse. If our politicians want improved literacy skills, then they must do their part to ensure that all kids have the resources they need to keep them reading.

Guest blogger:  Michael Gerard Bauer – award-winning Australian author

Each year I visit over 40 schools, talking to students about books and writing. I spend a lot of my time in libraries and resource centres. That’s why I’m a huge fan of teacher-librarians. To me their role is one of the most crucial in any school.

Without the expertise and enthusiasm of a dedicated teacher-librarian, school libraries face the real danger of becoming sterile storehouses for resources or glorified computer labs.

At their worst, they can appear like a ‘prison for books’ – uninspiring, inviting, and a place you would only spend time, if you were forced to.

Teacher-librarians fight against this scenario. They are people who transform school libraries into places where books and other valuable resources are not just kept, but where they are made more readily accessible and where they are actively promoted and celebrated.

Show me a library full of posters, and promotions for books and authors and reading, as well as creative and eye-catching displays on all manner of fascinating areas of learning, and I’ll show you a teacher-librarian at work encouraging and fostering a love of reading and the pursuit of knowledge.

Each library or resource centre should be the lifeblood of our schools. What we need are more teacher-librarians with their unique skills and genuine love of books and learning to keep that love pumping.

For me, each placement of a teacher-librarian is money well spent, since everything I have experienced and witnessed as a frequent school visitor convinces me they are worth their weight in gold.

To see a video of Michael presenting  a talk to high school students - click HERE

CUT OFF DATE FOR SUBMISSIONS – 16th April 2010

With time running out to send a submission to the Federal Government’s LIBRARIES INQUIRY, now is the time to write to the letters’ page of your state, national and local papers.

Here are some useful contacts:

The Age: email letters to letters@theage.com.au

The Australian: email letters to letters@theaustralian.com.au

Australian Financial Review: email letters to edletters@afr.com.au

Canberra Times: email letters to letters.editor@canberratimes.com.au

The Daily Telegraph: email letters to letters@dailytelegraph.com.au

The Herald Sun: submit letter at www.news.com.au/heraldsun/editorial/letter

Mercury: email letters to mercuryedletter@dbl.newsltd.com.au

Sydney Morning Herald: email letters to letters@smh.com.au

The West Australian: email letters to letters@wanews.com.au

Adelaide’s Advertiser - LINK to the Letters to the Editor

Guest blogger:  Sophie Masson – award-winning and prolific Australian author

As the child of non English speaking parents (great readers, but not in English) school and public libraries for me were absolutely essential to my growth as a reader and a writer in Australia.

Without those wonderful school librarians who set me on the path to discovering more and more books, I doubt I’d be where I am now!

To view the video for Sophie’s historical novel for young readers, The Hunt for Ned Kelly (Scholastic Press Australia Feb 2010) click on Book Trailer

The Hunt for Ned Kelly is a fresh and exciting novel which offers an unusual view on Australia’s most famous bushranger and his gang.