Part of turning buildings into 21st century libraries is "thinking outside the box." We know and love that libraries are a source of free and alternative education for the community, but how do we encourage a creative learning environment? The Friends work to add a variety of children, teen, and adult programs to the Santa Cruz Public Libraries every year. Through increasing collections, purchasing new furniture, or providing supplies for the Makerspaces, the Friends understand the value of alternative learning spaces.
Something new that is coming to some of our 21st century libraries, is outdoor spaces. The Felton library has already started construction and they have partnered with Parks and Recreation to bring a new library to the community that has a Nature Discovery Park. At first thought you might wonder why a library would benefit from a park. If you think of libraries as an old book warehouse; think again! Daniel Lazarus, Recreation Program Specialist for Santa Cruz County Department of Parks, Open Space & Cultural Services, explains the importance of alternative community learning spaces through his own library story.
"As a child I was constantly distracted. Sitting still was impossible, and I was labeled as a problem child, a disruption, and someone who struggled. I was made to sit in the back of the room, to not distract others, and I heard teachers say my name, more out of habit, than because I was doing something wrong. Even now, reading and writing prove to be difficult, sometimes even pain staking tasks. I had two loving parents, with no insight into child psychology or teaching methods, and went to a public school with 20 other children in my class. I never got along with Math teachers because I asked too many questions and could never “get it” the same way the kids in my class did. I needed complete silence to concentrate, and I needed my body to be working, to get my brain firing properly (I just did not know that at the time). Now more than ever, students are distracted. With the takeover of computer screens in our classrooms, and with an increasing sedentary life outside of school, more students are being “diagnosed” with ADD and ADHD and being labeled as problem children. Rather than creating classrooms that cater to different types of students and learning styles, public schools, without enough funding and enough staff have no choice but to make children sit still. Reading at a desk, surrounded by 4 walls, with a teacher at the head of the class, students clicking pens, rocking in chairs, sneezing and coughing, and flipping pages, was no place for me to concentrate.
I am older now, 25 with a good job and still struggle with the same “deficits” I grew up with in school. I work with students, primarily the “problem” ones because I understand the struggle, and therefore, have the empathy to support them. I work with students whose eyes glaze over the second I start to speak, like they are looking through me. Its not that they don’t respect me, it’s that they are having a hard time concentrating, because they are still, and they are stunted.
It was not until I started working in outdoor education that I realized it is what I had been missing all along. Even today, when I teach, you can find me peeling bark off a stick, or pulling a part a dead leaf. The little bit of movement, the bit of kinesthetic that I get from the sensory experience, is enough to keep me engaged. I allow students to do the same, and the results are striking. Each week in outdoor ed, teachers give information about the students that have a difficult time in class. Each week, those are the students who shine.
For the second graders that love to read, the ones who stay up at night under the covers with a flashlight, to the ones so engulfed in their story you can find them walking in the hallway, bumping into the peers in front of them, sitting still in school works. For the second graders who inquire deeper than most second graders can comprehend, who are found at the window of their classroom, touching the hinges to understand how they work, and for the ones who feel alone because they don’t learn like everyone else, I hope they can find success.
As our kids grow further disconnected from the world around them, it is so important that we create spaces for them to connect back. This library park would foster that connection, and would give “outsiders” a place where they feel they belong."