Standards and Missions

It seems to me that educational standards can be a tricky thing.  On the one hand, standards can prove negative by forcing teachers to make sure that the majority of their students are up to the standards - but then what about those few students that are deemed hopeless cases?  These students do not get the time and effort allotted from their teachers to their learning.  On the other hand, standards can ensure that students state-wide are receiving the same sort of education with the same end goals.  All students get the same fair chance at learning the material.

The AASL standards may be more friendly by not always setting specific goals.  For example, one standards is "Determine how to act on information."  Another standard is "Recognize new knowledge and learning."  No matter what stage of learning the student is at, he/she can probably be taught to recognize new knowledge and learning, as well as how to determine how to act on information.  Students can continuously be taught how to do this, building on previous knowledge.  Standards more difficult to integrate in teaching are the more specific ones such as dealing with copyright and technological tools.  These are specific outcomes that some students may have a more difficult time grasping.

Unfortunately, a tricky thing about standards which set less specific goals is that the outcomes are hard to measure.  How do we know if a student can determine how to act on information?  So, is standardized testing really necessary?  Going back to the TRAILS assessment test from 641, I remember I was rather panicky trying to fill out the test because I felt pressured by the time constraints, and my brain was trying to jump from topic to topic to answer each question.  Is a standardized test even going to be the best indicator of standards assessment?

School librarians can use standards to their advantage by showing how their teaching fits in with the standards.  In order to make their work more personal, school librarians can also create a mission statement for their school library media center.  A mission statement can express the librarian's own goals in teaching her students.  In order to make a mission statement more meaningful, the more specific the better.  This will make sure the mission statement does not sound generic, and more like a heartfelt vision.  A mission statement can also be tailored to a specific school.  The librarian will have clear clear guidelines from her mission statement that she understands completely, since she drafted the statement based on her educational values.  In this way, the school  melds both internal and external goals in the hopes of offering students a thorough education.