The Myth of the Indispensable Instructor [Guest Post]
Guest post by Audrey Richardson.
I’m sick.
Well...I was sick last fall and I’m still processing it all.
Imagine. You’re in a new job with a newish liaison responsibility that you’re taking over from a rock star that is still on your team (a true blessing). You were hired after most of the instruction for the spring semester had concluded and had maybe taught in these courses a handful of times over the years. Things you know and knew going into this position: there is an insane 2-3 week stretch where you’re supporting 2 specific assignments, and you know that’s your whole life.
Now imagine you’re gearing up for that 2-3 week stretch, and you’ve suddenly lost your voice. What do you do? (Spoiler: crawling under a rock is not an option). Having this experience made me really think about how we plan for success with faculty partners while also taking care of ourselves. It also made me think about how we support our colleagues when these sorts of things happen. We’re not always able to control what’s happening around us, but we can think through some things so that it’s not as chaotic and hectic. Here are some things that have eased the panic in me and, I hope, you’ll consider to ease the panic in you as well.
Communication
Communication is so important when you’re not feeling well. Email, phone call, text message, or carrier pigeon, whatever you need to do to get the message out. Communicating early and often is helpful for everyone involved. I’d also say it’s a chance for you to check in with yourself. Are you under the weather, but you can still teach? Or are you fully down for the count? Do you need to reschedule or cancel your visit? Are you in a position where one of your coworkers could take over the lesson for that day? Knowing that can really help you think through your options while maybe your brain is a little foggy. And this communication extends further than just your supervisor. Depending on where you are on the sliding scale, this communication could also be to the faculty partner you’re working with. Letting them know that you’re not feeling well and these are the options they have is just as important. They may be able to swap things around or even deliver the lesson plan for you.
I’d also like to point out that this level of communication (dare I say) humanizes the relationship you have with your faculty. Since I’ve been more honest at how I’m doing with faculty, some have also been honest with me. This spring I had a 3-instruction session day and by the time I got to my last class I was honest that my energy wasn’t where she was used to it being and I felt a migraine coming on and she said “well that makes two of us!”. We were able to support each other while still providing meaningful instruction to her students.
Preparation
As previously mentioned, I have a wild 2-3 weeks of instruction in my new role. One of the perks of this is that these 2-3 weeks are primarily the same lesson plan 18-20 times in a row. Which, for the addled mind, is not the best (it gets very confusing) but it would allow me to offload some instruction to other people on my team if needed. It is a standardized lesson plan. That said, some of my other classes were more tailored to the instructors’ individual needs. On my team, we have a menu of potential topics we’re able to cover within a class and each individual instructor often has a lesson plan they use for a given topic. What was helpful for me in these moments was I could say “they’re doing synthesis” and whoever was taking over the lesson for me could do whichever synthesis lesson worked best for them. The students would still get the same bones of the lesson while the library instructor taking over for me could still be confident on what they were delivering.
I also try (keyword try) to have my lessons ready at least a week in advance. This also helps with hand-offs if that needs to happen. You’re the one that has been in the most communication with the faculty member and understands their wants and needs, so having the lesson plan prepped in the case of an emergency or a non-emergency is very helpful! Just last semester, I needed to take over a class because someone else needed to be out sick. Because I had prepped my other lessons for the day, I could mentally go over what they had planned without worrying about my own instruction. Being prepared with my own instruction allowed me to help my colleague out.
You’ll survive
I will be the first to admit that when I’m sick, I’m the most stubborn person. I have too much pride and I pushed through because it was my first time fully teaching in my liaison area. I felt like I had a lot to prove (remember that rock star coworker...) and I wanted faculty to be confident in having me come to their classrooms. And I paid for that. I constantly felt behind with my follow up emails and meetings. That I was missing things when I wasn’t. That I was exhausted and felt like I was spending all my time recovering. After all this happened, I did have a conversation with my boss and told her, “Thank you for being supportive but I made some not smart decisions” and was able to talk through all these feelings and emotions. It was validating and we were able to talk about the future.
I’ve worked with some of the same faculty this semester (my springs are much more laid back) and I made comments about how excited I was to teach for them because I wasn’t on my “A game” last semester only to find out they thought I was great and the students talked about how helpful my sessions were. Now – I could take that and say “ok, I wasn’t that bad, I can teach sick,” but instead I took the opportunity to tell the faculty that I was glad they got something out of it – but I probably shouldn’t have been there that day and opened up that conversation for our future collaborations.
I’d love to say that I am unique and I’m the only person that can do what I do, but the truth is in many aspects I’m not. The pillars of information literacy and navigating databases aren’t going to collapse because I was honest with myself and passed the baton (lesson plan) to another instructor for the day and that’s okay. There will be more opportunities. So, I will leave you with this challenge. Consider a time you probably pushed it too far and laughed it off – what might you change if you could? Did you talk with your supervisor about the situation? Take the summer to think about how you can navigate a personal emergency during high volume work seasons and make a plan for “just in case”. That way, when you can’t - you have one less thing to worry about.
Audrey Richardson is the First Year Experience Librarian at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. In this role, she supports the research and information needs of the Honors College, University Studies, and programs geared towards high school students. Additionally, she has over a decade of library experience that spans access services, technology, assessment, research, and instruction. She currently volunteers with Forward Libraries to create communities across current and aspiring library workers through professional development. She attended University of Maryland, Baltimore County where she received her bachelor's degree in history and later attended Old Dominion University where she received her Master of Library and Information Studies. Audrey’s research interests include but are not limited to science and medical history, Indigenous peoples, and diversity in libraries. In her spare time, Audrey enjoys curling up with her pup, building Lego sets, and almost anything Marvel or Disney.
Want to connect? Add Audrey on LinkedIn!
Subscribe below to get new posts from Info Literal delivered to your inbox.
 | A guest post by
|