Road to Dominican
Hi Everyone! My name is Carly (she/her) and welcome to my LIS 724 blog. A little background on me, I graduated from DePaul with a major in Elementary Education and a minor in Special Education in the fall of 2022. I started in the MLIS with a school librarian endorsement program this summer, so this is my second term. My background in teaching is what led me to librarianship. The librarian at the school I student taught at was amazing and spending time with her helped me realize all my favorite parts of teaching revolved around books. After a year as a 2nd grade classroom teacher and ½ a year as a special ed teacher, I realized I did not want to be a classroom teacher, rather, a librarian. I currently work in the children’s department at a Public Library as a Youth Information Professional. Mainly, my job is to be on desk helping kids and caregivers find books and helping my coworkers prepare for programs. Since the traffic in the library can be unpredictable, I get to spend my time that I don't have other tasks reading- check out my goodreads to see what I've been reading in kids lit!
Fun Facts
Some things about me outside of my school/work life:
- I have a 9 month old kitten named Ernie and he is the cutest cat in the world
- I love music and going to concerts, in 2024 I went to 23 shows- I like to crochet
- Some of my favorite books growing up were "Olivia" by Ian Falconer, "Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse" by Kevin Henkes, and "Desser the Best Ever Cat" by Maggie Smith
New Classes
The gif I'm choosing for the start of classes is of a person trying to hold onto a firehose. There's always so much information at the beginning of a new term, that it's hard for me not to feel like that guy.
Image Source: Giphy
Role of Technology
I think at this time in my life, I do think technology uses me. When I wake up in the morning the first thing I do is check my phone, even if I objectively know that's not a great plan for starting the day. The inventors of social media and iPhones knew what they were doing with the addictive qualities of it all. I'm working on replacing some of those behaviors and habits. A drive to be online less is actually one of the reasons I started playing the guitar. I wanted a hobby or activity that I could not use a screen during, full attention on one task, where I physically can not also be on my phone. That being said, I use technology in lots of different ways, both for social/leisurely purposes, and work/educational ones. Professionally, as a librarian I use technology all the time, I would not be able to successfully be on desk without internet access. Additionally, when I was a classroom teacher, I was an advocate of thoughtful technology integration. I regularly used platforms like IXL, Epic, Tumble books ect, but tried not to have my kids on their technology just to have them on it.
Most important, your kitty Ernie is adorable! I love the photograph of him snuggling by your neck. On of my cat's does that while I am sleeping and drools in my ear occasionally. May I ask what you did not like about teaching? As a veteran educator who left the profession, I know there can be many reasons that other people not in the profession would understand. 23 concerts?! I went to one... Who are your favorite artists whose concerts you have attended?
ReplyDeleteI understand your concern about being addicted to your phone/technology. After my first master's degree that was entirely online, I refused to be online at home for over a year. Working at a facility that does not allow phones has helped me feel better about my usage of it. One last thought: love your name! My niece and nephew call me Aunt Carley because they say it sounds more fun than Carla.
Hi Carla,
DeleteThere were a variety of reasons why I don't feel like classroom teaching is for me right now, but without getting into too much detail, one of the reasons being I just realized what I loved so much about teaching was always tied to books and literacy. If I could have done read-aloud all day, I would have, if I go back to a school setting someday, I think it could only be as a librarian. For now, I am happy to be in a public library.
SO many favorite artists and shows- I love Maggie Rogers, MUNA, Chelsea Cutler, Taylor Swift, Boygenius to name just a few! Mainly pop and indie singer-songwriter vibes. My favorite shows of 2024 were MUNA and Maggie Rogers, I was super lucky to see so many amazing shows last year!
New kittens are the best! Thanks for sharing a picture of your nugget. You are very lucky to have realized early on that the classroom setting wasn't where you wanted to be. You are still teaching in a sense in your current position so you are still impacting children's learning and hopefully helping them form a love of reading. Thanks as well, Carly, for sharing your rationale for playing the guitar. What a proactive way of gaining control of technology! Looking forward to learning with you this fall.
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