The thread I got the most interested in was the debate over the credentialed LMTs versus classified library assistants. I did not save any of these e-mails and it has been a couple of months since this debate got so hot but I'll try and remember some specifics. First of all, I know the issue got so nasty because of the current buget crisis and it makes me sad to think of the reality that a lack of money can cause such ugliness in people. But most of all, I wish there was a great way to tell the classified staff that we appreciate all they do, have done, and will do for the students and schools. They work very hard and love what they do and that certainly shows. But, they are not teaching. They are not the same as an LMT and if they think they are the same because they see their LMT doing nothing, then they are working under a bad LMT. I have spent many years and much time and money to earn my teaching credentials (yeah, I have two now) and I can say that without that education, I would not know how much teaching I really do and need to do. So, there are some major differences and they are important to the argument. No matter how hard they work and how much they love the library they care for, they are not the teachers. If only we could say all that in a way that would not sound like we are attacking what a library assistant does!
