Everything Literacy and childhood education

When you picture a school librarian, I bet you don’t picture me. I’m loud. I never learned to whisper properly. And I’m a Black educator who leads with expectation before I ever lead with a book. 

Years before I became a teacher, I was a certified nursing assistant. One of my residents told me “Phatima, You have a presence, you will do well in your new career. I didn’t fully understand then, but now I do. I am confident, passionate and authoritative and all learners in the room gravitate to me. 

We are not aware of our student home environment, therefore at school we need to be consistent which will translate as safety. Routines equal success. It is not a popularity contest and structure is a non-negotiable. I pushed into a kindergarten classroom and transitioned students to the carpet for story time. I called students by tables to ensure a calm transition. Once all students were seated, I noticed two students pushing each other over a carpet spot. I separated the students and told them to go to their assigned carpet spots. The students stated they didn’t have carpet spots, “The teacher said she was going to make carpet spots, but she keeps forgetting.” No carpet spots in February! This was alarming to me. Timely safe transitions that foster belonging in the students. 

Classroom management comes before learning. It is not about control, it is about care and safety. When educators fail to master classroom expectation, they are essentially creating an unsafe learning environment. I am a stern librarian and children still run towards me because they feel secure and seen.