Questions are the heart of education

I recently read an article by a systems librarian at Harvard that analyzed the latest studies in how college students conduct research.

My colleagues and I were interested in her findings, since our primary goal as high school teachers is to send our graduates out into the world prepared to undertake the occupation of their choice, whether that is post-secondary education, employment, apprenticeship or other opportunity. The article summarized the findings of a collection of studies completed within the last three years analyzing the research habits of college students at different institutions across the country.

Many of the findings were ones I expected: chiefly, that college students are fairly skilled at finding information, but lacking in their ability to work with information. They can locate it, but not evaluate it, utilize it, analyze it. When I shared that conclusion at a recent staff meeting, no one was surprised. We take our obligation to help our students become good researchers and writers seriously, but it is probably one of our biggest academic challenges.

One finding did surprise me: college students do not ask librarians for assistance while researching; in fact, they will ask almost anyone other than a librarian for help. The most popular avenue, according to those recent studies, was Facebook — students would ask a question on Facebook, and if the person they wanted to consult wasn’t online, they would text or message, asking the person to get onto Facebook to answer their question.

I am happy to report, as a high school librarian, that there is no shortage of questions being asked in our library, and I suspect that holds true at all school libraries here in the Valley. Here is a sampling of questions I have been asked recently, from both students, teachers, and even, occasionally, a parent or other community member visiting the school.

•Is alcohol a drug?This question came from a student working on a presentation for health class, and it was one I had quite a bit of difficulty answering. Did the student mean that in the legal sense? Chemically? In its effects on the human body? Several students and I got involved in researching that one, and despite all of our efforts, were unable to find a clear answer. It was a great exercise for those of us who were in the library that morning in narrowing one’s question appropriately and focusing research.

•How do I pay my basketball fee on School Cash Online?I haven’t used School Cash Online, although I love the idea of it; I think it must be a huge improvement for students and parents to be able to go online to pay a variety of school fees instead of having to write individual checks or send cash. I know it’s also a relief for teachers who no longer have to take responsibility for collecting money from students and completing deposit paperwork and otherwise keeping track. Unfortunately, the library catalog system, which is administered through a server at UAA, does not interface with School Cash, so students who lose library books still have to pay for them the old-fashioned way. Since we also lack the ability to take credit cards in payment, families must use cash or checks to pay library fees. Despite my unfamiliarity with School Cash, I was able to help walk the student through the payment process in this case, preserving my reputation as a go-to source for students needing assistance.

•What are the requirements for AP chemistry? I think many students, aware that I have been teaching at Colony for a really long time, just assume that I know the requirements for every department, every class, and graduation, but I don’t. I can often take an educated guess, but I always issue the caveat that students should double-check my answer with a counselor or the teacher of the class they want to take to be sure.

•Why is ‘downtown’ down? This is one of my favorite types of questions, as I am always interested in language and its development. Like most good questions, this one sent me to the Oxford English Dictionary, one of my favorite reference tools. It chronicles the history of the English language by means of tracking every definition of every word that has been found in print. The citation for “downtown” in the OED is a long one; confusion arises over when exactly the term came to be synonymous with “central business district.” Whether downtown originally referred to numerical street numbers, north/south geography, or direction of river flow is unclear.

•How do I do citations in APA format? As a librarian, I try to make it as easy as possible for students to cite their sources accurately—proper citation is one of the major objectives of almost every high school class, and teachers in subjects ranging from health to history require it. When I first became our librarian 5 years ago, I created links on the CHS library webpage for our students that lay out requirements and examples of both MLA and APA format for our students to use when needed. I get a warm feeling every time I hear a student asking another, “How do I…” and the other student responds, “Oh, that’s on the library website.”

•Where is Mr. Looney? Although I have long humorously suggested that we barcode the students, and then install readers in the thresholds of every door in the school, I recognize that we can’t really do that (although, think of how much time we would save). We would never have to take attendance, write a hall pass, or be confronted with the challenge of having a parent call or come to school to collect their student, who is nowhere to be found. Biometrics are cutting-edge technology; perhaps we could have students swipe their fingerprints or palm-prints before entering a room. If we do require that of students, though, we should probably ask the same of our staff as well, and, until we do, I have no idea where Mr. Looney might be. Maybe try his office?

I’m glad students and staff see me as a resource for information, even if I can’t answer every single question that comes my way. One of the reasons I became a teacher in the first place is that I love learning, and I can’t think of a place more vibrant with learning than a public high school. Just now, while I was working on this column, a student taught me how to download a presentation from Google to PowerPoint so she could print her presentation with multiple slides on a page. I probably ask as many questions as are asked of me in any given day, and that has made the 22 years I’ve been doing this job fly by.

Prudence Plunkett has been reading and recommending books to Valley students for more than 20 years.