Meet…
23 December 2008
Erik Scherer Recognized for Innovative Educational Program
Erik Scherer, a SLIS student who plans to graduate next fall, has been honored for an innovative educational unit he developed for students. Scherer is a teacher librarian at Amador Valley High School, where he collaborated with health teachers to create and present a unit on internet safety. The unit he created is aligned with the standards outlined in the Health Framework for California Public Schools, which helps guide curricula that teach students healthy behaviors. It covers cyber safety issues addressing social networking, privacy, online predators, identity protection and internet addiction.
In recognition of the value of this project, Scherer was selected by the Curriculum Committee of the California School Library Association (CSLA) to receive one of this year's "Good Ideas!" awards. The awards, given for standards-based collaboration with a classroom teacher, emphasize the positive impact that school libraries and credentialed teacher librarians can have on student learning.
Scherer first had the idea to work with health teachers at his schools while working on an assignment for a class with Dr. David Loertscher. "The academic focus of the class challenged me to think about the role of the library and how it can best address the needs of the school community," says Scherer. "In this particular example, it was developing curriculum that strengthened the academic material already being taught by classroom teachers."
He points out that technology is a tool that is increasingly integrated into school curricula. "Students really learn about technology early, and it's a means for how they communicate and work with each other." Scherer was inspired to work with health teachers when he realized that the same issues that were already being discussed in health class—bullying, eating disorders, depression—are becoming just as prevalent in cyberspace as they are in the real world.
Scherer received the award at the Legislative Luncheon of the annual CSLA conference in Sacramento on November 21. Immediately following the luncheon, he gave a presentation about the unit to conference attendees. A description of the unit will be included in a publication that will be distributed statewide to encourage other teacher librarians and classroom teachers to collaborate on similar projects and replicate best practices such as Scherer's lesson. "It's a great opportunity to share resources," he says, "where you can leave the conference with useful information in hand that you can put to practical use."
After graduating next fall, Scherer hopes to find a remote island where he can read, sleep and practice his newly-discovered passion for cataloging.
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