Great advice while working with teens

School librarian K.C. Boyd was featured in November’s School Library Journal article, “A Leader for Readers.” She ended her wonderful article with a list of advice from her father that has carried her through her career. Boyd has “experienced more failures than successes.” For this reason, I value her perspective of the job and the challenges and joys it has to offer.

Know your subject matter Do your research, read the books, and practice using the social media pages prior to introducing them to students.

Have respect It’s a two-way street with today’s kids. When they observe that you are making an effort to respect them, they will be more cooperative.

Listen Students will provide you with the blueprint for any program you are trying to implement.

Have patience If it doesn’t work, try, try again.

Keep a sense of humor Laugh at yourself, make those mistakes with the students, and just keep laughing.