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Being a media specialist means helping kids find their dreams . . . and the occasional lemon
By Bryce Petersen
"That's a lemon, isn't it," she said. The boy smiled and said, "Yes, I knew you'd like it." She said that the kids are full of surprises. It's one thing that she loves about teaching. He had been to Southern California visiting relatives during the break and had returned with a treasure. "I think life is interesting, and I want kids to think it's interesting," Lowry said. Lowry has lived in a lot of places. She grew up in a military family, so she moved around a lot as a child. She was educated at the University of Maryland and the University of Southern Maine. After college, she stayed in Maine to begin her teaching career in a small town called Gorham. Gorham is quite a bit different from Cache Valley, Lowry said. It had a strange sense of isolation about it. She said that 80 percent of the children in Gorham had not been to Portland, which was 20 miles away. "Kids out here seem to travel more," she said. Children in Gorham seemed to interact with others only at school. Once they left, everyone was on their own. The community was not as "well-knit" as it is here, she said. In Cache Valley, she has the sense that expectations are higher. Her job becomes more personal. "I always know that the parents are there, and I know that they are entrusting me with their children," Lowry said. Lowry said she tries to help students learn the "process" of learning. She teaches them media literacy skills that help them decode the information that they are constantly bombarded with. The method is called the Big 6 Information Skills Process. The Internet is a wonderful tool for learning, she said. For example, it is hard to find anything on historic women in textbooks. When girls ask for information on women, Lowry can help them find what they need. "Girls want to see what women did," Lowry said. Her job is to show children how to probe the subjects that they are interested in. She said she tries to give kids the internal structure that will help them use all the tools efficiently. There are many sources of information. And many types of people. Fiction, science, reading and computer skills are all important to Lowry. "I'm very concerned about all kinds of literacy," she said. Lowry said that she thinks it's important for teachers to realize that they are a part of a profession. Dr. Scott Hunsaker, an elementary education professor at Utah State University, has been a big influence on her. He encourages teachers to become involved with others in their field. Lowry said that professional conventions allow her to get outside of her immediate surroundings and see the challenges in a larger context. Conventions also give Lowry the chance to observe different places and personalize some of the things that her students see in the media. "You can say, I know that spot, I've been to that spot," she said. Lowry lives with her husband, Bill, in a cozy house in Logan's Island. She said that it is one of the oldest buildings in Logan. It was originally built as Logan's 7th Ward house, the first in the Island, about 1870. She lives with her two dogs, Jess ("the Mess") and Putney ("the Great"). Between the two of them the Welsh Corgis drive away all would-be intruders. Putney patrols the perimeter while Jess keeps watch from inside, Lowry said. She often takes Putney to school, where the children enjoy his easygoing personality. Lowry is a long way from her mother in Maryland, but she considers Cache Valley her home. Though maybe if she were closer, she could better explain her profession. "Oh, you're a librarian, dear," her mother still says. |
Archived Months:
September
1998 |
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