SPLAT - Special Projects Library Action Team

Teaching America: A Glimpse at the Teaching Profession

http://graduatedegreeprogram.net/teaching-america/

 

An infographic by the team at Graduate Degree Program

The average day of a public school teacher doesn’t end when the bell rings and the students are gone. Class preparation, grading, bus duty, club advising, coaching and other non-instructional activities are often left out of the discussion on teacher compensation.

3.7 million: number of full-time elementary and secondary school teachers. 1

(project for Fall 2011)

3.3 million public school teachers.
0.4 million private school teachers.

7: percentage of increase in teachers between 2001 and 2011.

SALARY – Average Annual Contract Salary:2

$49,482: (before deductions, for all teachers for the school year 2005-2006, not including supplemental pay for extra duties).
By Gender3:
$50,505: male teachers
$48,998: female teachers

By Education 4:
$44,138: Bachelor’s degree or less
$52,710: Master’s degree or higher

By Region 5:
$57,936: Northeast
$41,597: Southeast
$49,082: Middle
$48,746: West

Global Stats 6:

The U.S. ranks 12th out of 37 countries in teacher salaries

Average Starting Salary – How Do Teachers Stack Up 7?

$30,377: teachers

$43,635: computer programmers

$44,668: public accounting professionals

$45,570: registered nurses

WHAT ABOUT SUMMERS OFF 8?

Most teachers spend summers:

Working second jobs
Teaching summer school
Taking classes for certification renewal/career advancement at their own expense. (Most full-time employees in the private sector receive training on company time at company expense.)

DEMOGRAPHICS (most recent data from 2006) 9:

Gender:

30: percentage of all teachers who are male

70: percentage of all teachers who are female

Age:

46: average age for all teachers

44: average age for male teachers

46: average age for female teachers

10: percentage of teachers under 30

21: percentage of teachers 30-39

27: percentage of teachers 40-49

42: percentage of teachers 50+

WORKING HOURS (most recent data from 2006) 10:

7 hours, 24 minutes: average length of the required school day for all teachers (instructional)

37 hours: average school workweek for all teachers (instructional)

Instructional Hours:

10: percentage of teachers that work less than 35 hours per week

68: percentage of teachers that work 35-40 hours per week

22: percentage of teachers that work 40+ hours per week

Working 40+ hours – Influencing Factors 11:

School system size (number of students)
22% of teachers working in large systems (25,000+ students)
19% of teachers working in medium systems (3,000 to 25,000 students)
28% of teachers working in small systems (less than 3,000 students)

Geographic Location
5% of teachers in the Northeast
17% of teachers in the Southeast
26% of teachers in the Middle
37% of teachers in the West

Non-Classroom Hours 12:

10: number of additional hours spent on instruction-related activities such as lesson preparation and paper grading, on average.

9.1: number of additional hours spent on instruction-related activities such as lesson preparation and paper grading by male teachers on average.

9.8: number of additional hours spent on instruction-related activities such as lesson preparation and paper grading by female teachers on average.

Compensated Additional Hours 13:

5.2: number of hours spent on compensated non-instructional activities (coaching, etc) per week, on average.

Non-compensated Additional Hours 14:

3.8: average number of hours spent each week on non-compensated non-instructional activities (bus duty, club advising, etc) by all teachers.

5.1: average number of hours spent each week on non-compensated non-instructional activities (bus duty, club advising, etc) by senior high school teachers.

Total Time Spent on All Teaching Duties 15:

52: mean number of hours spent weekly on all teaching duties.

54: number of hours spent weekly on all teaching duties by senior high school teachers.

6: percentage of teachers that spent 35-39 hours/ week on all teaching duties

19: percentage of teachers that spent 40-44 hours/week on all teaching duties

22: percentage of teachers that spent 45-49 hours/week on all teaching duties

19: percentage of teachers that spent 50-54 hours/ week on all teaching duties

13: percentage of teachers that spent 55-59 hours/ week on all teaching duties

20: percentage of teachers that spent 60+ hours/ week on all teaching duties

CLASS SIZE (most recent data from 2006) 16:

Non-departmentalized Elementary Schools

22: average number of students per class

Departmentalized Secondary or Elementary Schools

29: average number of students per class

Students Taught Per Day Departmentalized Secondary or Elementary Schools

87: average number of students taught per day, per teacher

Sources:

1 http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d11/

2 http://www.nea.org/home/46616.htm – Status of the American Public School Teacher, 2005-2006 – March 2010.

3 http://www.nea.org/home/46616.htm – Status of the American Public School Teacher, 2005-2006 – March 2010.

4 http://www.nea.org/home/46616.htm – Status of the American Public School Teacher, 2005-2006 – March 2010.

5 http://www.nea.org/home/46616.htm – Status of the American Public School Teacher, 2005-2006 – March 2010.

6 http://www.oecd.org/edu/eag2012.htm – Education at a Glance 2012: OECD Indicators

7 http://www.nea.org/home/12661.htm

8 http://www.nea.org/home/12661.htm

9 http://www.nea.org/home/46616.htm – Status of the American Public School Teacher, 2005-2006 – March 2010.

10 http://www.nea.org/home/46616.htm – Status of the American Public School Teacher, 2005-2006 – March 2010.

11 http://www.nea.org/home/46616.htm – Status of the American Public School Teacher, 2005-2006 – March 2010.

12 http://www.nea.org/home/46616.htm – Status of the American Public School Teacher, 2005-2006 – March 2010.

13 http://www.nea.org/home/46616.htm – Status of the American Public School Teacher, 2005-2006 – March 2010.

14 http://www.nea.org/home/46616.htm – Status of the American Public School Teacher, 2005-2006 – March 2010.

15 http://www.nea.org/home/46616.htm – Status of the American Public School Teacher, 2005-2006 – March 2010.

16 http://www.nea.org/home/46616.htm – Status of the American Public School Teacher, 2005-2006 – March 2010.

Stephen

This is about musical practice but I do think that it applies equally to the practice of librarianship.

http://ilovecharts.tumblr.com/post/48618847638/this-is-taped-to-the-office-door-of-my-schools

-wheremythoughtsescape" src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/00b8abab1c2c8d015a049a2e3dcb2348/tumblr_mlnvwgQhlO1qa0uujo1_1280.jpg" />

Stephen

 

What Guests Want…at Hotels

I spend a lot of time in hotels so this survey interests me.  Hotels.com has released the 2013 version of their Global Hotel Amenities Survey, summarized in the infographic What Guests Want.

Stephen

 

State Universities Should Move Online More  Aggressively, Report Argues  http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/04/23/state-universities-should-move-online-more-aggressively-report-argues

“Public universities have a long history of adapting to technological change,  but they must speed up their embrace of online education — and work together to  do so — to remain at the forefront of educating the citizens of their states  and the country, argues a new report from two Washington research groups. “State U  Online,” from the New America Foundation and Education Sector, traces the  history of public universities and of online education and suggests that major  public universities have been slower than other sectors — especially for-profit  higher education — to incorporate digital learning into their offerings. The  author, Rachel Fishman of New America, argues that the institutions are best  positioned to offer a high-quality, affordable digital education that is  “grounded in public values,” and offers a roadmap for doing so, including  creating a clearinghouse where state institutions can “collaborate to provide an  easy-to-search library of online courses and degrees,” sharing contracts for  digital platforms and online support services to meet multiple institutions’  needs, and sharing credentialing beyond state  borders.”

Read more: http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/04/23/state-universities-should-move-online-more-aggressively-report-argues#ixzz2RQoEnDjn Inside Higher Ed

48 Page PDF:

http://education.newamerica.net/sites/newamerica.net/files/policydocs/FINAL_FOR_RELEASE_STATE_U_ONLINE.pdf

Stephen

Student Needs and Expectations

http://www.onlinecollege.org/2013/05/13/the-future-of-online-learning-student-needs-and-expectations/

A CLOSER LOOK AT THE RESEARCH Teens and Technology 2013 Changing Course: Ten Years of Tracking Online Education in the United States (2012) 2012 National Online Learners Priorities Report NMC Horizon Report: 2013 Higher Education Edition WHO IS LEARNING ONLINE? RECOMMENDATIONS FOR INSTRUCTORS AND ADMINISTRATORS

Stephen

 

 

It might be year end gift time at your school.  Here’s a cool list from A Media Specialist’s Guide to the Internet: “Perfect Gifts for Teacher-Librarians (Or Things You Would Buy for Yourself) http://mediaspecialistsguide.blogspot.ca/2013/03/perfect-gifts-for-teacher-librarians-or.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+AMediaSpecialistsGuideToTheInternet+(A+Media+Specialist’s+Guide+to+the+Internet)

100 Gifts for the Bookworm- unique and some are over the top ideas
2010 Librarian Lump of Coal Guide-
2011 Librarian Lump of Coal Guide- humorous gits
2012 Librarian Lump of Coal Guide- humorous gifts
ALA Store- books, posters, clothing, gifts, incentives, downloadable art files
ALikelyStory- “literary jewelry and bookmarks for the bookish”
Demco Gifts
Gifts for Bookworms: 10 Clever Ideas for Readers and Writers
Gifts for Bookworms Who Live for Lazy Weekend Reads
Just Dewey It- necklaces, t-shirts, bookmarks, posters
Nerd Tote- carry all your books
Swiss Army Librarian- library holiday gift guide
Ten Awesome Gifts for Librarians- from Library Journal
Unique Personalized Gifts for Librarians- includes gifts for volunteers and retirees” Stephen

Cloud Jargon Unwound: Distinguishing Saas, IaaS and PaaS [Infographic]

http://readwrite.com/2013/05/08/explained-saas-iaas-paas-infographic?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+readwriteweb+(ReadWriteWeb)

 

Stephen

 

Just sayin’

Maybe some of you need this advice in your libraries:

How Can I Survive a Job that Makes Me Use Outdated Technology?

http://lifehacker.com/how-can-i-survive-a-job-that-makes-me-use-outdated-tech-476852720

Make Friends with Your IT Department Offer to Be a Beta Tester Try Your Gear Anyway Work from Home Deal With It

Check it out:

http://lifehacker.com/how-can-i-survive-a-job-that-makes-me-use-outdated-tech-476852720

Stephen

Check it out

The Usable Library

http://www.walkingpaper.org/5958?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+walkingpaper%2Ffull+%28Walking+Paper%29

Have you seen The Usable Library? Aaron Schmidt gave it a refresh last week.

All sorts of straight talk about library usability, and a redesigned postcard that you can print and hang up!

Stephen

#eveningfire 05/17/2013 (San Jose, California – Congrats SLIS Grads), a photo by mstephens7 on Flickr.

The White Plains Public Library is doing some amazing things with their teens (claymation, LEGO catapults, and more) with Teen Librarian Erik Carlson at the helm.  Recently, they finished up a minute long PSA about distracted driving.  I’ll turn it over to Erik for more:

This idea came from a film maker last year. He wanted to work with the library & the only money we had was from a grant from the Allstate Foundation. It was a large project where over a dozen teens worked on a PSA that lasted 5 minutes. We took that as a learning experience.

This year we found another local film maker named Mike LaVoie. I contacted the White Plains High School SADD chapter to see if they would like to work on the project. We had a smaller group…I think there were about 7 teens altogether. Mike put togethera no-budget script and explained it to the teens. I (Teen Librarian Erik Carlson) worked on locations, the library parking garage, a co-workers home & a local cemetery. Mike showed them some movie magic to make the car to appear to be moving, using fake smoke, lighting tricks. I came up with the eye drops for tears & one of the teens was able to talk a local medical supply store to loan us a wheelchair for the afternoon (this was a last minute thing).

 

You can check out the final cut of the PSA here: http://frontboxcreative.com/wplains

-Post by Justin Hoenke, Tame the Web Contributor

We’re looking for a security system here at the San Rafael Public Library–some kind of remote way to indicate “Hey, something’s definitely wrong with staff member X who’s dealing with the public right now – go help!”

Staff at our various service desks at the Downtown Library (Circulation, Children’s, Adult, Administration) have no way to communicate to each other when something’s wrong at one of them (e.g. threatening individual, etc.).  The Library has two different floors and all of the desks are visually separated from each other – there is no line of sight from one to another – and in one case a door separates that desk from the rest of the building.  We were envisioning a flashing light system or something similar, easily, covertly, and quickly triggered with a button or a switch, and that would show the other desks which desk it was coming from. Our building does not have an intercom system, and staff are not always at their computers (often out on the floor), so something they can hold as a trigger, clip to a belt or a lanyard, would be more useful.  In short, we’re looking for something with multiple site-specific triggers and multiple output devices showing what’s been triggered.

Instead of spending hours researching this topic that I know nothing about, I put it out to the ALA Think Tank group on Facebook – knowing that the wisdom of the crowd would be faster and more extensive than anything I’d come up with on my own.  I thought I’d summarize the suggestions here for anyone else seeking out a similar solution. And hey – if you have another suggestion, bring it on!

Wireless call bell systems – These are like those little light-up vibrating things you get at some restaurants, such as these. Verdict: Might work; need to research more, especially re: how one triggers various models.

Centurion – I just like this for the Battlestar Galactica reference Seriously, though, this is another version of a wireless call system but this one can transmit out messages on multiple platforms simultaneously once triggered: two-way radios, pagers, phones, and email. Verdict: Might work; need to research how the triggering mechanism works more.

Instant Messaging – A number of people suggested having every staff member have IM up while at work and to use that to send out a quick ”911″ or some similarly short message. Verdict: Need a trigger that could stay with the staff member. Also, not very covert.

Computer Help Button – Several people said they have a one-click “call for help” button on their computers, usually used to call for back-up staff because it’s busy, but which could be repurposed for crazy town incidents.  A 2008 Code4Lib article was helpfully linked to (oh, you librarians!). Verdict: Once again, I don’t think the computer-based idea will work well for us as so many of the problems happen when staff are away from their computers.

Intercom – Some folks suggested saying your own name or the department’s name over the intercom as a signal for help. Verdict: If only we had an intercom system. Also, not very covert.

Vocera – A number of people are using or otherwise recommended Vocera.  These small portable transmitters and receivers could work really well for what we need. Verdict: Pricey. Need to research more on what kinds of money we’re talking about.

Phone System – A few different version of using the existing phone system were suggested. Setting up a mass-call option and using a code word to indicate a problem. Verdict: Our phone system is VOIP and we’ve been told before this isn’t possible (though I’m guessing it probably actually is). Also, unless it was a single-touch button I don’t think it would be covert enough.

Doorbell System – A system like this could work–basic doorbell. People suggested different ring-tones or a different number of rings depending on which desk it was (e.g. 1 for Adult, 2 for Circ, etc.). Verdict: Need to research more. This could be covert if the bells could be carried easily in one’s pocket and we could have multiple transmitters and multiple broadcast speakers too.

Walkie Talkies – Lots of these out there and pretty cheap. Buy the small headsets to pair with the actual units, push the call button to beep everyone else.  Again, a coded number of beeps could work to indicate location of problem. One person suggested buying repeaters to help with the thick-walled-ness of our very old building. Verdict: Need to research more. Covert, yes. Would staff actually wear the headsets? Don’t know.

Pager.net - This was suggested (in lovely detail; thanks Brian!) as a kind of multi-pronged approach. Device, software, and desk-transmitters.  Verdict: This could totally work. Need to research pricing and implementation (e.g. our thick freaking walls).

Arduino Home Panic Button - This was suggested as an open source solution, which made my heart all warm and fuzzy.  Verdict: Need to research implementation more.