Full Voice. Developing a Collaborative Culture with Teachers

by Anita Cellucci, December 2018

"The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members." —Coretta Scott King

Through all of the years that I have been in education, I have firmly believed that community building has the ability to transform the way in which a school is able to tackle issues within teaching and learning and that school librarians can play an important role. Historically, a community has been based on a location, a place where people lived. It is now more commonly recognized as a group of like minded people with common goals and understandings. The dictionary has several definitions and the one that most closely resembles mainstream understanding reads, "a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals." As a school librarian, it's important to first consider this shared culture of the school when we are seeking collaboration.

I have had many conversations with librarians about the complexities of creating a culture of collaboration in a school. Trust must be present in the relationships before an effective collaboration can take place. In order to build trust, each person must be willing to be vulnerable. Showing vulnerability can be a very uncomfortable place and moving through this takes finesse, patience, and intentional practice. Social researcher Brené Brown is quoted as saying, "Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity, and change" and "to create is to make something that has never existed before. There's nothing more vulnerable than that." If we think of vulnerability in this way, we are able to then realize the need to push through the uncomfortable to bring our ability to create change. To get to the trust, we must be vulnerable and non-judgmental of each other.

In my experience, it begins with active listening. When I first began at my current school, eight years ago, I looked for opportunities to listen and to find an entry point for conversation. Sometimes this happened in the hallway or at the monthly coffee held in the library. As the years passed, I could see this transforming and growing. I remained open and non-judgmental to different types of collaborations and now that I am established in my position, colleagues are seeking me out to ask for feedback about an idea or to pick my brain for ideas on something that may not come easily for the teacher. In all of these instances, it has been important that an agenda or an outcome wasn't the focus but rather that I was open to meet the teacher where they were in that moment. The collaboration may not have been shaped in a way that I would've envisioned it, but it was just right for that teacher in that moment. I have many repeat collaborators and I believe that the teachers in my school realize that I am open to new ideas, will offer some of my own, and will guide them through new territory if necessary.

Working in collaboration means being aware of each other's feelings and remaining available to reflect and shift in the moment. For me, collaboration is a way for both teachers to bring forth their individual strengths and grow with some of their personal weaknesses with compassion. What better way to model collaboration for our students than to be in the thick of authentic collaboration while teaching them? We can see in our students daily that they are social beings and want to work together. If we want to their interactions to be impactful and worthwhile, we must find ways to demonstrate this to them. Creating this culture of collaboration involves vulnerability, trust, and an openness that may mean that we are reaching deep until we are comfortable within the uncomfortable.

Works Cited

Montiel-Overall, Patricia. "Toward a Theory of Collaboration for Teachers and Librarians." School Library Media Research 8 (2005). http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aaslpubsandjournals/slr/vol8/SLMR_TheoryofCollaboration_V8.pdf.

O'Keefe, Brendan. "5 Steps to a Better School/Community Collaboration: Simple Ideas for Creating a Stronger Network". Edutopia (October 19, 2011). https://www.edutopia.org/blog/school-community-collaboration-brendan-okeefe.