At Murray LaSaine Elementary School on James Island in Charleston, South Carolina inquiry is a big part of the school library program. Inquiry is one of the national shared foundations for school library programs and Murray LaSaine has the opportunity to harness inquiry due to this school being a Montessori school. Montessori schools allow students to explore their interests through student choice and that is exactly what Sean Muzzy does at MLES.
Choice and pursuing ones curiosity is pushed in a school such as Murray LaSaine. This is evident in the library program, when students do not have library time they still have the opportunity to use the library resources to help expand their knowledge on a certain topic. At Montessori schools students are encouraged to dig deeper into something they want to know more about and are allowed bring it into their learning plans set by their teachers. Students have a variety of resources to help them dig into their interests more, students have access to the online resources, specifically Mackinvia, at school and at home along with all the library print resources. The library is a smaller space and operates on a semi-fixed schedule. Mackinvia is heavily pushed for students to use when the library is full with a class.
When it comes to collaborating with classroom teachers to implement inquiry into the library program that also supports classroom curriculum, Sean collaborates with teachers on reading with the older students. The older students are encouraged to explore more about reading themes and topics of interest being covered in their classrooms while expanding their knowledge on a certain topic. With the younger students, they are encouraged to explore many things that may interest them to help them figure out what exactly are their interests. This was demonstrated with the lower elementary classes (1st-3rd combined). The students had read the story "Who Wants a Tortoise" from the South Carolina book award nominees list for 2018. Once they learned how a tortoise made a good pet, the students were asked to explore what other animals, any animals of interests, would make a good pet by searching through the Pebble Go Animals database. The students had a choice in which animals they wanted to learn more about.
Montessori schools allow for a lot inquiry to take place within the students' daily lives, but there are some challenges the school library program faces. With the opportunity to research and explore almost anything, indecisiveness is a inhibitor of students pursuing inquiry in the library. When there are unlimited options put before students, they can struggle with making their own choices. In the older students, trying to get them out of their comfort zone of their current interests is a challenge as well. Many students already know what interests them and they are a little resistant to expanding their research into new things and ideas. Overall inquiry is thriving throughout the Murray LaSaine library program, but to keep it alive as the students progress through their classes, they need to be constantly pushed past their boundaries.
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