Yesterday the Los Angeles Times reported on a series of trials being conducted in a makeshift basement courtroom by Los Angeles Unified School District of 80 high school and middle school librarians, one after the other taking the stand in an effort to prove they teach “classes.” At stake? A job. Not their jobs as librarians, those have been axed, but as classroom teachers.
A court reporter takes down testimony. A judge grants or denies objections from attorneys. Armed police officers hover nearby. On the witness stand, one librarian at a time is summoned to explain why she — the vast majority are women — should be allowed to keep her job.
Most school librarians are certified teachers, and union contracts, like LA’s, often include provisions allowing librarians to move into classroom positions in the event of fiscal cuts. These LA librarians must prove they have taught “classes” for the last five years in order to qualify for transfers into classroom jobs.
The image of these librarians, quietly awaiting their turn, clutching document-filled manila folders with lesson plans, schedules, reports, then politely responding to questions, and finally walking up the stairs into LA’s air and sunshine, fills one with sorrow and horror and a sense of complete helplessness, as if watching bulldozers ground olive trees, community gardens, homes, and, now, libraries into the ground, into dust, into nothing but memories.
Lawyers in white shirts steamrolling librarians.
Unions standing by making sure the machine works properly.
The librarians themselves, dancing in macabre, ritual fashion to the prescribed tune, to secure a job – a job, mind you, that somebody else currently occupies and probably needs.
What is going on? Where is the outrage?
Which brings me to the post I’d prepared for today, before news from LA came to my attention via the WLMA listserv.
Unemployment Isn’t Contagious – So Show a Little Compassion (and a lot of outrage!)
One of the first things that happened two years ago, following the announcement that high school and middle school librarian positions in my former school district were to be eliminated, was that the elementary school librarians collectively decided not to participate in our scheduled, end-of-year, K-12 librarians meeting. The reason given (in an e-mail, of course) was that there were pressing K-5 matters to discuss.
After the initial shock, then a flash of anger, I settled into feeling nothing but depressed. Bad enough to have gone through the principal’s revelation that my job was a goner, but to have my librarian colleagues cancel what would be our last opportunity to meet as a group was a below-the-belt sort of blow.
“For crying out loud,” I thought. “You’d think we’d been diagnosed with TB, leprosy and the flu!” And, it wasn’t just me. The reaction of my middle school colleagues was similar.
I never spoke with any of the elementary librarians about how their decision felt (in retrospect, however, I certainly should have), and although I saw some of them the following year at a state conference, none of us mentioned the incident. I imagine that it simply never occurred to them to wonder about how we must have felt or what we might have thought of this action.
So, why revisit this unpleasant memory?
This is why – the cuts, downsizing, and now trials, continue. Arizona, Idaho, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Texas, Washington – in school districts, towns, and counties across the country librarians either
1) know they won’t have a job next year;
2) are exercising their “bumping rights” or are being bumped; or
3) are preparing to adjust from full-time to part-time work, and perhaps looking for a second job.
As far as the big picture is concerned, it doesn’t matter which of these scenarios is being played out in one’s life – all bring into play emotions and life adjustments (of income, residence, sense-of-self) that must be recognized and acknowledged, not only by the librarian directly impacted, but by family, friends, and – yes – colleagues.
In December of 2009 (just as I was giving up my apartment and preparing to live off my savings for 7 months while studying and traveling in Europe – so don’t feel sorry for me!), a poll was conducted by the New York Times and CBS News, which described the emotional and financial impact of unemployment:
69 percent were more stressed
55 percent had trouble sleeping
48 percent experienced anxiety or depression
46 percent felt embarrassed or ashamed
60 percent took money out of savings or retirement
53 percent borrowed from family or friends
And, that is just the impact on the unemployed person. The impact, of course, ripples throughout that person’s life touching their children, other family members, their colleagues and the people served by the job the person once held. It's felt even by complete strangers. I do not know any of the librarians in Los Angeles who went through the horror of last week’s trials, but knowing of this incident is almost terrifying in its implications. What's next?
All of which raises what I am beginning to think should be the “guiding question” for the 21st century: Where are our priorities?
How is it that the U.S. of A. would rather tolerate watching librarians be put on trail for their jobs (and millions of other people put out of work), than to demand the cessation of bailouts for banks, tax cuts for corporations, and the killing, maiming, dislocation of people in the Middle East by our military?
And, lastly, on a person-to-person level, if you know a librarian (or anybody else) whose job is being eliminated, or downsized, or transfered or who is being put on trial (either literally or figuratively), give them some kind words. Recognize what is happening. Don't treat them as if they've a deadly, contagious disease.
A little solidarity can go a long way in shoring up the physical and emotional strength needed to weather unemployment.
Related Reading & Viewing
Disgraceful Interrogation of L.A. School Librarians, by Hector Tobar
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0513-tobar-20110513,0,3002882.column
Poll Reveals Trauma of Joblessness in U.S., by Michael Luo and Megan Thee-Brenan
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/15/us/15poll.html?em
How Unemployment Effects Families
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlKHvaOmrQQ&NR=1
Being thoughtful and caring matters. You've hit the nail on the head (gently), because we're all in this, together.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your thoughtful post. As we are waiting to see if secondary librarians are going to be cut to half-time in our district, friends and family keep telling me "Don't worry, you'll still have a job." This is little consolation if I'm sent back to the classroom after 21 years in the library. I find that thought scary for me and my potential students.
ReplyDeleteMore importantly, though, I worry about the students in our middle schools and high schools. I teach about books, of course, but more often than not I'm teaching about technology - effective researching, digital copyright, website analysis, appropriate/effective use of productivity and presentation software, etc.
Who will help the students choose an enjoyable piece of classic literature or tell them (& their teachers) about the latest Young Adult fiction? Who will help students choose between PP, Prezi, PhotoStory, Animoto, VoiceThread, or endless other presentation possibilities? For some students, the library is their only source of computer access and the librarian their only tutor.
We live in a era where computer skills and the ability to find, use, and produce information is so critical to our students' success. I find it incredibly sad that librarians are so undervalued. Thank you so much for your support.