…. well at least one parent thinks so

Tonight at the parent council meeting people were asking when the wall between the library and the computer lab was going to be removed so that the library could be enlarged. To my dismay one parent questioned the logic of enlarging a library when books were becoming obsolete. 

The new library would have tables where students could work and the portable computer lab with the laptops could be used along with resource books to do research. The desktop computers would be moved into classrooms. Some of the better ones would be left along one wall in the new library space. 

At the moment the library is so small that there is no room for furniture where students can sit and read. Presently they sit on the floor. Even the superintendent thinks that the library is incredibly small. My principal says it’s a closet. Well it’s not that small but it is tight and difficult to manoeuvre around the book carousels and cases. Teaching a class in this space has its challenges and forget doing writing assignments. 

These old computers would be removed and replaced with tables and laptops.

I hope the complaint from this one parent doesn’t go any further. No one else at the meeting supported her views but she didn’t seem convinced when we laid out the benefits of removing the wall. The space could also be used by other teachers to teach French and media classes and I could use it for my art classes as well. No more ‘art on a cart’ and there’s water in the space which I don’t have when I have to teach in the portables. 

I know that e-books are becoming more popular but I’m sure that books will have a place in our society and schools for numerous years to come.