Reflections on the AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner

Crompton, Marc

American Library Association. (2010). Position Statement on the Common Core College- and Career-Readiness Standards [Brochure]. Author. Retrieved October 10, 2012, from http://www.ala.org/aasl/aaslissues/positionstatements/collegecareerstandards

I feel kind of awkward posting on a required reading like this, but it strikes me that this document is worth discussing.  It is, by far, the most dense of our course readings and I think that there is a lot to consider here.  I couldn't help but thinking, as I re-read it, that this is like a masterwork of art in that every time I come back to it, I get something different.  I may bring different experiences and ideas to reflect in it, but I come out with something unique each time.

The first thing that hits me about the AASL standards are the four key elements: Skills, Dispositions in Action, Responsibilities, and Self-Assessment Strategies.  This is not a document about teaching; this is a document about learning.  It puts the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the learners.  It doesn't talk about curriculum in terms of what we need to teach; it talks about the kind of person that the learners strive to become.  I would venture to say - and this is not stated in the document - that this applies to ALL learners in the school community, regardless of age or position.

This emphasis on the learner allows those in coaching positions (traditionally, the teachers) to see the students for who they are in order to help them grow to where they should be.  This is an individualistic approach.  It does not say that students need to be collaborative.  It says that one of a learner's responsibilities is to "Solicit and respect diverse perspectives while searching for information, collaborating with others, and participating as a member of the community" and that they "Assess [their] own ability to work with others in a group setting by evaluating varied roles, leadership, and demonstrations of respect for other viewpoints."  While the end point is the same, we recognize that learners arrive at different times and take different paths. 

Finally, it puts the library/media centre/learning commons square in the middle of learning.  Not by forcing it there as some documents seem to, but by simply recognizing that there is no better place in the school to learn than at this physical and virtual hub.  I think that it is easy in this day and age of digitization for us to fear for our personal futures and cling to the past.  We get defensive about our roles and talk a little too desperately about how things "should" be.  If we simply recognize how things are and that the learning commons is the natural centre of any learning community, there is no advocacy, there is only statement of fact.  I read each point in this document thinking about how else learners develop these skills, dispositions, responsibilities and strategies.  It is true that many are supported in a variety of places in a learning community, but there is no place in the school that addresses them all and I would venture to say that there are many (most?) that are addressed best in the learning commons.

This is a logical document to be developed by the AASL but it is one that should be adopted by schools, not just libraries.  Libraries then are the ideal place in the learning community to foster these ideals and drive their development.

Today marks the second anniversary of the release of this document.  I hope that it has been well circulated and adopted throughout the educational community.

OK, there's my two cents worth.  What do YOU think?