Lauren Caslen

Interview #3

I interviewed Mrs. Anderson from Lyman Hall Elementary School in

Hinesville, Georgia. I chose to interview Mrs. Anderson because the media
specialist at my third school was not available due to Covid when this assignment
was due, and I’ve shadowed Mrs. Anderson at her school before during my
Graduate school assignments. She has always been more than willing to help and
has an excellent reputation in the Liberty County School System.

Mrs. Anderson has been a media specialist for 17 years and previously
taught kindergarten and fourth grade for a combined total of 16 years. When asked
about her past job experiences, she said “I’m definitely a better media specialist
because of my previous job experiences. I’m a teacher first, remember.” Mrs.
Anderson said she remembers as a young teacher learning the important of
establishing a routine and setting expectations early for her students. She said this
has proven true time and time again in her role as a media specialist and that her
students are still her first priority. When I asked Mrs. Anderson about why she
chose to pursue a degree to become a school library media specialist, she was very
honest in the fact that she said she simply got to the point where she needed to do
something different. She said she knew she wasn’t enjoying being in the classroom
as much as she once did, but she knew her heart was still in education. She spoke
to her principal – who also happened to be her good friend – and she suggested she
speak to the current media specialist. It was then that she was informed that she
(the current specialist) would be moving to a new state in a few years and her
current positon would be open. She enrolled in grad school, and the rest in history.
She went on to say that she can honestly say this was the best decision of her entire
career and she loves what she does each day. Mrs. Anderson explained that she
ended up getting things way out of order because the situation she explained above
ended up going way sooner than expected because the previous media specialist
left way sooner than expected, so she slid into that positon before finishing her
degree. She explains that she as completely thrown into the fire and was definitely
not prepared for the undertaking. She said there was so much that she didn’t learn
and so much that she had to learn “in the moment”, and sometimes after the fact.
Her advice is to learn all that you can while in school and THEN start applying for
a position. When I asked Mrs. Anderson about her experience with cooperative
program planning, she quickly went back to her previous answer about the amount
of educational preparation she personally had. She said she’s had so real
experience with cooperative program planning, however she’s worked with teams
of cooperative teachers ever since she’s been in the media center. She also stated
that she loves the fact that classroom knowledge and preparation is put into action
firsthand with practical application and you get to practice those skills in an actual
professional setting before being thrown into the fire. The more preparation and
practice…the better.
Mrs. Anderson and I discussed developing a strong team approach with teachers
a good bit. Here’s what she had to say: “Well…like I said…I’m a teacher first. I
have a teacher’s heart, and the staff members at my school know that. Because
the previous media specialist at my school didn’t do a lot of collaborative planning
with the teachers and didn’t have that “team approach” mindset, in the beginning
I had to work hard to get our staff members to buy into it. The staff members
were reluctant to use the library on a regular basis simply because that wasn’t
what they were used to. I started out by basically “bribing” the teachers to come
to the media center and to sign up for different activities I was offering. I offered
lessons and activities for the students and had a table in the back of the media
center with snacks and goodies for the teacher to enjoy while I worked with the
students and did the lesson or activity with them. This got the teachers in there
(because they enjoyed the “break” and the “snack” or whatever I had to offer).
After the word got out, other teachers were actually coming to ME to schedule a
time to bring their classes. Before long, I was able to basically ditch the goody
table and the teachers began to come over to where I was conducting a lesson or
activity with the students. Curiousity killed the cat, I guess! From there, as things
progressed, I was able to start going to teachers and actually collaborate with
them and partner with them to do it “together”. Now…the teachers at my school
really do consider me part of their team and now they come to ME and include
ME in their team meetings and planning meetings. Our media center really has
become an integral part of our school….and I love it.”
Mrs. Anderson, like I hope to be, sees the media center as an integral part of the
school in every way – especially when it comes to reading. She tried to make it
fun and interesting for everyone, trying to sell it to the teachers – and staff – first.
She says if they don’t buy into it, then the students won’t either. As far as
professional development, Mrs. Anderson has a good amount of experience and
she works with the administrative team at her school to determine the needs for
it and to determine exactly how those needs will be met. Any time there’s a
technology-related professional development need, she’s the one in charge of it.
In order to ensure her own professional growth, Mrs. Anderson attends sessions
and trainings whenever she’s able. She mentioned that things are changing so fast
in today’s world, so it’s hard to keep up with it all. She’s looking at retiring soon,
so her own professional growth is slowing down, but for newer media specialist,
her recommendation is to get all the training in all areas as you can.
When I asked Mrs. Anderson about creating an inclusive space where diversity
and equity are valued by all learners, she responded by saying that her entire
media center is an inclusive space. She said they are a Title I school with 86% free
and reduced meals and are very close to a military base, so they have students of
every race, gender, culture, and socio-economic levels. She said diversity and
equity among staff and students is valued very highly at her school and they work
hard to make sure the entire school community is included and welcomed
comfortably.

Boy, did I learn a lot from speaking and interviewing Mrs. Anderson! Not only did
she answer each question fully and completely, she answered each question from
her heart and honestly. Before and after the interview questions, we went on to
have more of an in depth conversation about the good, the bad, and the ugly
parts of her job. She has helped me more than she could have ever imagined. By
interviewing Mrs. Anderson, I’m looking forward to becoming a media specialist
even more so than I was before simply because of her passion for the job. I
encourage anyone who is thinking of becoming a media specialist to shadow
someone like her.