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Writing on writing

About 5 months ago I finished a level 7 (300 level) paper that required me to explore a professional practice experience in the library and information profession.

At the outset, I knew I either wanted to do a placement at my place of work in the strategy and development team, or to get [back] into some writing as professional practice.

I chose the latter.

In the professional practice experience with the Open Polytechnic (LIS704), I outlined the practice skills that I wanted to explore:

Gain professional practice experience with peer-reviewing for a journal.
Enhance my practice of writing for different audiences using different writing styles.

I then worked on an MOU where I stated two professional practice objectives:

To critically assess the process in peer reviewing an article in a professional industry journal, with a view to application in my own context.
To critically assess the process of interviewing someone for publication, with a view to application in my own context.

Sub note: I initially had four, which was whittled down to three in the MOU and I ended up achieving two. Still happy with that.

I then turned those objectives into two SMART objectives:

I will peer-review a 3000 word article for an open access journal, ‘Information Research’. I will document the experience at the time of engaging in the practice activity, in my learning journal. I will critically assess processes in peer reviewing an article in a professional industry journal, with a view to application in my own context. I will critically reflect on the experience, with the aim of deciding if I would like to engage more in this publishing space.
I will interview Alan Dingley about the Experience as a convenor of judges of the New Zealand Children and Young Adults Book Awards, with a view to publishing it with The Sapling. I will document the experience at the time of engaging in the practice activity, in my learning journal. I will critically assess processes in writing for an industry publication, with a view to application in my own context. I will critically reflect on my experiences in this practice setting, with the aim of deciding if I would like to engage more with this writing method and/or space.

SMART objective was actually number 3, my second objective was to write 700-1000 words for Library Life. I wrote a reasoned explanation for choosing not to attempt that objective in my critical reflection on the practice experience in assignment three.

The learning outcomes for this paper (as listed on the LIS704 course webpage) were:

LO1: Analyse their need for development in practice skills and develop a plan to achieve these in a relevant library and information service context.

LO2: Operate professionally with library and information service practitioners, and library and information service work.

LO3: Apply practice skills within workplace settings.

LO4: Evaluate performance and professional interactions with others in a relevant library and information service context.

Though I received a deservedly poor mark for the critical reflection in assignment three, I worked really hard on assignment 2 – the practice portfolio – the documenting of the practice experience – and earned a 89.5% result (for that assignment).

The practice portfolio took up the bulk of the weight of the course marks at 45%, with the MOU with your practice mentor/s and smart objectives for assignment 1 at 25% weight and critical reflection in assignment 3 at 30%.

Plus, you know, I was happy for no resubmits this time, yay! FYI – A resubmit is when you get a fail grade for an assignment and you have a certain amount of time to resubmit it for a pass mark.

As my first practice objective – as mentioned above – was to experience the peer-review process for a journal, I can’t provide detail about that here (I thoroughly enjoyed it though!), but I can share the result of my second objective, an interview with Alan Dingley.

In all, I really enjoyed this paper with Open Polytechnic and I hope future LIS students with them working towards the Bachelor of Library and Information Studies, enjoy it – and utilise it – as much as I did.

A journey in health

My eldest daughter has Coeliac disease.

Coeliac disease is a permanent, autoimmune disorder that causes a reaction to gluten which is found in wheat, barley, rye and oats.

She is 7. She was diagnosed at two and a half years of age. We got the letter while living overseas for a short period of time. My brother took a photo of the mail from our GP and e-mailed it to us. It said she needed to have a biopsy for a confirmed diagnosis. On return to New Zealand, she had her first biopsy just a couple of months shy of her third birthday. I remember the phone call from the paediatrician telling me the diagnosis. I remember a huge wave of relief, finding out we weren’t crazy, that there was an answer to the puzzle of why our little girl did not gain weight as a baby since going onto solids. Why she was off the charts on the centile’s from birth, was 7.2kg on her first birthday, why her health and various symptoms had everyone puzzled. After the phone call, my partner felt the next emotion, overwhelmed. Facing the daunting task of learning exactly what a strict gluten-free diet means for our family with two young children. We became avid label readers. Coeliacs NZ members, Coeliacs NZ Facebook group members, Bin Inn and Commonsense organics browsers.

Whilst on this steep learning curve we decided on another addition to the family also. We had a new kitchen and dining room of course so we had the room and family support to grow our family. By the time our youngest was born, we had three under four.

Our eldest had one more follow-up biopsy 6 months after the first one when she was 3, to see how she was responding to her strict gluten-free diet. I went into the theatre with her for this one as her Dad had gone in with her for the first. It is terrible and such a hard thing to watch your child go into theatre. It’s the talking about it with the anaesthetist and surgeon or gastroenterologist and consultant that makes it hard for your child I think. The talking about it and around it, the inevitability of the action. The mask. That gas mask being put over their face is the last thing that happens so you want to be there for everything up to and including that point. I took a tip from my Mum for this part – who happens to be a Clinical Psychologist, specialising in working with families – on something to use when you want your child to be calm.

Smell the flowers and blow out the candle.

Our eldest and I had done this at home together a few times. I had even drawn a flower and a candle on the window with a window-pen at home at her height, so she could do it, so she could visualise it. Smelling a flower, breathe in through your nose; and blow out the candle, breathe out through your mouth. Slow. Deep. Breaths.

I said these words to her before the mask was presented and as it went over her face. I probably had tears in my eyes, but I needed to be calm and confident for her, and completely present with her. I could cry once out of the room. It was a standard procedure, all to see how well she was doing on her gluten-free diet.

One stand-out experience we’ve shared on this journey together was probably in those first six months of the diagnosis. We went to Playcentre. Playdough abounds. Just to be sure this wasn’t a contact reaction thing, we made gluten-free playdough on our sessions. And for kai prep, it was a separate gluten-free mixture for our eldest. One session that I dropped her off for, they’d made something to eat but without gluten-free flour, substituting spelt flour. Frantically googling before she took a bite, I couldn’t draw a conclusion on whether it was safe or not for coeliacs.

My eldest said, “______ said it was OK.”
And I said, “I know, but they don’t know. They don’t know your body like I do and what it needs. Parents and adults will tell you that something is OK, but for now, you just need to check with Dad or me if something is OK to eat or not, alright?”
She said, “OK” and slumped back down into the double-buggy.

I could see tears forming in her eyes, that she was hurt, that her trust in another adult was doubted, that her trust in herself was doubted, that she was frustrated at having this *thing* about herself now, that she couldn’t yet understand. I felt everything for her at that single point in time. I didn’t understand it either so I bundled her up into a big hug and had a cry with her right there in amongst the buggies, scooters, lunchboxes, jackets, wet clothes, tired babies; while families left Playcentre for the day.

It’s a long journey, a life-long disease. But I’m glad we found out and got an answer early on in our daughter’s life so we can walk it together.

Reflections on times when I was a leader

A few months ago in the beginning stages of our Kōtuku journey, we were asked to reflect on a time when we successfully took a leadership role that pushed you out of your comfort zone. This might have been at work, in a professional association, or in a community, social or family activity.

This was my reflection.

The question says, “… successfully took a leadership role that pushed you out of your comfort zone… This might’ve been at work, in a professional association, or in a community, social or family activity.”

I’m not sure if I’ve ever been totally out of my comfort zone in a leadership situation. To an extent, I’ve never put myself into a role where I’m out of my comfort zone, everything has just been a gradual increase of experience and events that require my confidence to take the first and then next step.

I guess coming into parenthood has been my biggest leadership role, and I’m sorry if it sounds corny, but I really have learned so much about leading, since becoming a parent, and staying at home with them, doing the hard and boring menial day-to-day yards.

Yes, this has been my biggest leadership role where I was frequently out of my comfort zone in the early days when everything was new. Adding each additional child just kept me on my game, and added another challenge (and string to my leadership bow – can I handle 3 under 4?? Let’s see!)

This is the only true leadership opportunity to stretch myself, that I’ve taken and run with. Other roles I took, they didn’t push me out of my comfort zone a fraction of how much this one has.

Other times when I have done something on my own professionally (independently) it has felt liberating yet extremely lonely, especially when my place of work (manager, next manager up, next manager up etc) did not acknowledge it. I have always found the right people to support me outside of my workplace in most of my endeavours, and this is why I guess I have a standoffishness, this fierce desire to be independent (a trait of an ENFP), that also isolates me. Perhaps I’ve spent far too much time thinking and worrying about what other people think of me, and how they relate to me, and feeling self-conscious, wondering how I look from other peoples point-of-view.

I don’t think I’ve ever felt confident in being the right person to lead at any one time. However, usually a situation calls for someone to say yes, and I may just be the one who is most keen to get the experience and get it over with (or notch it up on their belt, whatever). Whether this was kids (first pregnant at 27, second at 29, third at 31, and back to work full-time at 33), or Library Life editor, or speaking at a conference. I just see experience and trying things out as fun. This is probably the ‘E’ in me.

When you’re in the moment of being a leader, you feel confident that you’re the right person. Moments before you take that role publically, you feel like you’re the last person (think presenting/speaking/talking/writing to an audience), but I am always grateful for the experience and I feel confident to do it again because I enjoy the experience, and the rush of “what am I doing….WHAT AM I DOING?? I don’t know anything about what I’m going to talk about!” just beforehand, through the nervousness to doing it, and then thinking “Wow I should’ve said this or this”, then quickly going to “Yes, I’m definitely going to work on that for next time”.

You can only get better through doing. Most of my leadership experiences have been a one-to-many audience type thing where team dynamic hasn’t been present. However, the kids thing – they are reflected right back at you and it really is eye-opening.