Singapore Sunshine: Meet-ups and Reunions

Apart from an enjoyable workshop in Singapore last week, meeting new friends, visiting libraries and conversing with librarians from different International Baccalaureate (IB) schools in the Asia Pacific, I had a wonderful time meeting storytellers and a Filipino Librarian there. Plus, I got lost and found myself being adopted by a Filipino family for 30 minutes.

Here is how it all went.

Sheila Wee of the Singapore Association of Storytellers couldn't make it to our meet up in her place. I was supposed to visit her and join in the weekly story circle of the group hosted by a member. But, she set-up Panna Kintalil and Swee Yean to meet me. We had dinner at a mall in Tong Baru and for an hour and a half, touched based, shared life stories and compared notes on the status of storytelling in our respective countries.

I was impressed at the political will and the effort that the association has taken in promoting and advocating storytelling. They have professionalized the art form and defined that reading aloud is not storytelling. Definitely, I will be back in Singapore to join them in another storytelling event or festival. This I promised myself.

I planned to meet a librarian friend who works in the National Gallery, but our schedules just did not allow it. Instead, I found myself en route to the National Gallery on my last night in Singapore to have dinner with Von Totanes, the Filipino Librarian. Von is on leave and having a good time. Who would have thought we would meet in Singapore in all places? Apparently, the country holds a special place in our hearts but, for different reasons.

An hour early, before meeting Von, I actually got off on the wrong bus stop. The family waiting at the same stop I got off at went up to me and asked if I am a Filipino. I said yes and I knew they were too. Glorian and Miguel, with their daughter helped me find my way to the correct train station. We had a good chat about life back home, the high cost of living in Singapore and reasons to go back and visit the country and the motherland once in a while. We were the only ones talking in loud voices in the bus. Of course, they brought me to Orchard Road where I could get good bargains for pasalubongs and sent me off to the right train station. 

Some plans do not always go as expected. But the journey turned out to be insightful and life affirming as well.

Singapore Sunshine Day 4: IBAP Librarians Workshop Academic Honesty

On my fourth day in Singapore and the last day of the IBAP Workshop, we had the opportunity to have a round table discussion with Extended Essay (EE) Supervisors attending the IBAP EE Role of the Supervisor Workshop.It became a session of sharing of best practises and teaching techniques that work. I shared how, as a librarian, I would help students identify the keywords in their research question and use them as strategies in searching, locating, accessing and understanding information and its sources. The teachers found this an interesting technique. Happy to help! That’s why librarians are placed at the core of the Diploma Program (DP).

Concerns on time, academic work loads of students and self-management in the DP surfaced too. There is just too much content to handle in such a short time. While structures and mechanisms are in place, teachers are left tired and spent as much as their students. I am not alone then. The challenge of teaching is always the pressure to keep up or to be abreast with the way students learn and live. Teachers grow old, but their students are always young.

Another interesting session on the last day of the workshop was the session on Academic Honesty. My workshop leader had us do practical activities to teach the skills. We also had a group presentation that simulated a 10 minute presentation to teachers about Academic Honesty. We ended the day with the  writing of our action plans.

Participants of the IBAP Librarians Workshop in Singapore

I appreciate attending this IBAP Librarians Workshop as it gave me a clearer direction to set new goals for the library. I went home with an action plan and with a readiness to face the changes necessary to update and upgrade our library services and programs.

Singapore Sunshine Day 2: IBAP Librarians Workshop 1

The first day of the International Baccalaureate Asia Pacific (IBAP) Librarians Workshop kicked off yesterday. This workshop is one of the many IB workshops happening simultaneously at the Canadian International School in Jurong, Singapore. There are 800 delegates from IB schools all over the world. In the librarians workshop, we are only 16 people and our workshop leader.

Day 1 was spent with knowing the fundamental IB terms, concepts and approaches to teaching and learning. The highlight of the day was a trip to the Jurong Regional Public Library. One of my takeaways in the workshop is this sentence I read in one of the IB documents, Knowledge will lead to caring and caring will lead to action (Davy, 2005). It sums up the holistic philosophy in teaching and the experiential benefits of constructive learning.

Another important concept that struck me is "international mindedness". I have heard this before from our academic coordinators, but it was only in the workshop where in I had a clear view of it. It helped that I had group mates to discuss this concept. At the end of the activity, we were asked to define it as we understood it. We said that, International mindedness involves multicultural thinking patterns where in a person perceives himself/herself as a global citizen.

The field trip in Jurong Regional Library was an enjoyable one for me because, I saw many literacy programs for kids and teens being implemented by the library staff. Clearly, the library is a community center because the programs involve parents in the reading development of their kids as well as people from different demographics in Jurong. Outside the book depository, a mother and her child were returning books while a younger child looks on. In the Young Adult section, there is a CHILLAX Zone, a stage for performances, an exhibit area and bulletin boards and display areas for teens to post their book reviews. In the magazine section, the elderly read quietly while few listen to audio books. While the availability of non-fiction books is not very visible, the library has a strong belief in community involvement and literacy development.

How I wish all our public libraries in the Philippines are like this. But, we have to deal with what life has to offer. And it's like dancing the cha-cha.

There are many challenges for Filipino Librarians to make the library system a sturdy one. With the rise of many non-government organizations and local government units with successful barangay and city libraries, perhaps the leaders in the public library system in the country can share these stories especially to schools and learning communities. This month is Public Library Awareness Month. How apt is this visit to Jurong and these ideas, thoughts coming into mind. On a positive note, I will do what I can and live life, one day at a time.

Singapore Sunshine

I flew in Singapore this morning along with three colleagues from the Beacon Academy. We are here for four days to attend the International Baccalaureate Asia Pacific (IBAP) Workshop at the Canadian International School. I will attend the librarians workshop while my three colleagues will attend their respective teachers sessions.

This is my second time in Singapore. I was here back in 2002 for the Storytelling Congress.

That experience was life changing. It was then that I realised the difference between reading aloud and storytelling. And so, while preparing for the trip a few weeks before the flight, I got in touch with Sheila Wee of the Storytellers Association Singapore (SAS) to touch base with her. She has been very active in the storytelling movement here and was a mover during the early years of the SAS.

Sadly, the meet-up didn’t push through. But Sheile made sure, I will be taken good care of . So she encouraged Swee Yean and Panna Kantilal to meet me for dinner instead. 

We did. It was like meeting old friends when in fact, it was my first time to personally meet Swee and meet Panna after seventeen long years! This is how things go with storytellers. More on the details of our conversation in upcoming posts.

Needless to say, this state city with its stringent rules, welcomed me once more with smiles and sunshine!

IFLA 2013: Call for Posters on Intergenerational Literacy

WORLD LIBRARY AND INFORMATION CONGRESS:
79th IFLA General Conference and Council: Future libraries: Infinite Possibilities
Singapore, August 17-23, 2013

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Programme: Intergenerational Literacies: textotechno

The IFLA Literacy and Reading and Information Literacy Sections are seeking proposals for  a joint programme to be held at the IFLA Conference in Singapore in August 2013.

The challenge of new information and learning landscape can lead to all sorts of information gaps. One of them is a gap between texto and techno generations which can cause intergenerational isolation and separation. The program will showcase innovative and effective library programmes that intend to bridge this gap.
Proposals are requested for as many as ten tabletop presentations which will be given simultaneously. After an opening plenary keynote address, audience members will rotate to three different fifteen-minute presentations of their choice.  Presenters will therefore be asked to repeat their presentation three times for three different sets of people. 

Proposals chosen for presentation will be specific about how libraries and/or associations have tackled issues related to texto and techno literacies in their particular setting, thus developing intergenerational literacies, dialogue, digital inclusion and social cohesion. They should be grounded in theory, research, and/or practical applications.  Because these projects will be presented in an informal, small group setting, speakers should plan some visual accompaniment such as a poster that can be set up on the table.  Presenters may also want to bring brochures or flyers to hand out.  People submitting successful proposals will be asked to write a brief paper summarizing their library programme or project  for publication in the IFLA Proceedings.  All chosen presenters will be listed in the official Conference programme.

Proposals in English are required, and should provide the following information:
    Name and institution of speaker(s)
    Brief biographical information
    Proposal title
    Brief (300 to 500 word) description of project and presentation format
    Language of presentation

Proposals should be sent to Elena Corradini (Secretary of the Literacy and Reading Section) at  HYPERLINK "mailto:ecorradini67@gmail.com"ecorradini67@gmail.com by November 30, 2012. Please indicate "IFLA Proposal WLIC 2013" on the subject line. Finalists will be notified by December 15, 2012, and will be expected to submit final versions of their papers in one of the official IFLA languages by May 15, 2013.

For more information, please contact Leikny Haga Indergaard (Chair of Literacy and Reading Section) at:  HYPERLINK "mailto:Leikny.Indergaard@bergen.kommune.no"Leikny.Indergaard@bergen.kommune.no   

Please note that it is the speakers’ responsibility to find funding for their participation.

IFLA World Library Congress 2013

Ifla 2013-final-announcement from Zarah Gagatiga