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Contact Information
Deborah Schiano debschi@gmail.com 380 Pathway Manor Wyckoff, NJ 07481 Cell (201) 675-0050 Twitter @debschi |
My thoughts...
I’m incredibly blessed to have found a career that matches my skills, interests, and beliefs so completely. Teacher-librarians are more important now than ever. The abundant amount of information easily available, is both exciting, yet overwhelming. Creating media and sharing it with our ever "flattening" world has never been easier or more inviting; accordingly, it's increasingly important to educate our students in how to participate in a safe, ethical and beneficial manner. Technology has given us new and awesome ways to create, collaborate, and think critically, yet focusing on lengthy text has become increasingly difficult in our quick bite, fast paced, hypertext world. Our students need strategies to analyze and synthesize information, in all media platforms, in order to formulate new understandings and generate enriching contributions.
As a middle school teacher-librarian, I’ve had the unique opportunity to collaborate with students and staff in order to create meaningful inquiry based and technology rich learning experiences. These experiences not only foster the skills, but also the dispositions and responsibilities needed for lifelong learning. We aim to foster a passion for learning, with the hope that our students will not only learn how to learn, but will also enjoy and independently pursue the process.
Education is at an important cross-roads. All across America, educators are rethinking the what and hows of student learning. We have to believe that this is a good thing. We have to believe that we have the power to create positive change and that all students will be empowered to achieve greatness. Relationship building is key to vital learning, and respect needs to be at the essence of all that we do. Allow students to experience the joy of learning. Allow them to make decisions, to take risks, and to feel proud of their efforts. Give them every opportunity possible to find their passions. Give them confidence in their ability to learn, and allow them to truly believe that they make a difference.
I am their partner and guide. We are a team, and together we will succeed.
Deb Schiano