"Essential" Defined

Before I really begin to ramble, I think I should define what I mean by the word “essential” as it applies to a teacher-librarian.


Define.com states the following definition for “essential” taken from WordNet

1. absolutely necessary; vitally necessary;

2. basic and fundamental;

3. of the greatest importance;

4. absolutely required and not to be used up or sacrificed

So if we apply this to the role of a teacher-librarian in a school what we get is the following:

The essential teacher-librarian is someone who is seen to be absolutely and vitally necessary by teachers, administrators, students and parents. The essential teacher-librarian has a basic and fundamental role to play both in the school community and with the teachers and students. He or she is of the greatest importance for the success and education of students. The essential teacher-librarian is absolutely required and not to be used up or sacrificed when the budget gets tight.

That’s my definition of The Essential Teacher-Librarian.

But first of all, let’s make something clear: I would argue that we could rewrite the definition above, removing all the “essential” words, and it would (or should) still apply in the 21st century. The trick is we need to ensure we ARE being (or at least striving to be) that essential teacher-librarian in order for this argument to be effective or even realistic.

Wow that’s a pretty tall order! So how do we achieve that ideal? This is essentially the premise I hope to write about for my capping paper: what we are already doing and should continue to do, but also what we ought to be doing as well. By looking at these questions, I think it will be clear why we are essential in the 21st century and what we need to do to ensure we continue to be.

I think this definition is a good starting point, but what precisely makes a teacher-librarian essential? Maybe more specific discussion about the characteristics of The Essential Teacher-Librarian is in order. Stay tuned for this . . .

Christine :)