Education class works to revamp and modernize local elementary school libraries
Visiting Assistant Professor of Education Karen Pezzetti’s āEDU 313: Children, Books & Cultureā class is working to develop and diversify local elementary school libraries with help from grants. The first was from Eversource, which sent representatives to ĢĒŠÄTV on Feb. 6 with a check for $2,000.
This semester is Pezzettiās first time attempting the project, which involves her 26 students in pairs working with a dozen classrooms across five local schools: Nathan Hale Arts Magnet Elementary School, Harbor Elementary School, Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School, Charles Barnum Elementary and Regional Multicultural Magnet School.
āI think itās good for the students to work in pairs because they bounce ideas off of each other; they can challenge each other,ā she says. āSometimes I pair a cautious person with an adventurous person.ā
The project began after Pezzetti emailed a flyer she created offering free books and information to teachers she knew in New London Public Schools. She also asked her students from last semester who are now placed in the field to distribute the flyers.
About two weeks before spring semester, eight teachers had signed up. Almost three dozen more had asked to be included by the following week. While Pezzetti doesnāt have enough students to accommodate everyone sheād like to, sheās heartened by the response.
For now, her students are taking inventory of their classroomsā existing libraries to identify gaps in content, with an eye toward modern themes.
āDuring our class meetings, we read a wide range of childrenās books, including those that are contentious and sparking debates,ā Pezzetti explains. āSome have even been banned in some schools and libraries. For example, we are reading books with trans and nonbinary protagonists. Weāre also reading books that cover hard history, like one we looked at yesterday about the Tulsa Race Massacre in Oklahoma in 1921. Students are developing their judgment about what books are appropriate for which contexts.ā
Some ĢĒŠÄTV students are choosing to become experts in certain types of childrenās literature while others are volunteering once a week in a classroom to get a sense of what books that particular group would benefit most from, Pezzetti says. Her students are developing activities to learn what the children want to read about, books theyāve enjoyed, and what their reading abilities are.
āThose activities look different for a kindergarten classroom versus a fifth-grade classroom,ā she adds. āSome students are nervous about this because theyāre going from one time of observation, or maybe two, to trying to lead all this interactivity. But then I hope theyāre going to have some data for us about who these young people are.ā
After spring break, Pezzettiās students will submit a wish list of all the books they would give their assigned classroom if they could. Then, based on how much grant money they have, the class will create shopping lists and hopefully distribute the books by the end of April.
She says, āI think the new books will benefit our partner classrooms, but the project also really benefits my students. Theyāre paying so much more attention to the things weāre doing in class and really considering each topic and book with this real-world lens of application.ā
Follow ĢĒŠÄTV on for project updates throughout the semester.
