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Roya Koutchekinia commented on the post, 15 Weeks, 15 Slides, 5 Minutes | Symposium, on the site 8 hours, 33 minutes ago
@gilbertmaryjoy. Forgot to mention that you have a lovely narrating voice!
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Roya Koutchekinia commented on the post, 15 Weeks, 15 Slides, 5 Minutes | Symposium, on the site 8 hours, 35 minutes ago
@gilbertmaryjoy This is just so fantastic! I love it so much, especially recapping it all in the form of a poem . So creative!!
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Roya Koutchekinia commented on the post, Inspiration Report – Scandinavian Libraries and The Third Place, on the site 2 days, 2 hours ago
@savannahpolizzi I really enjoyed reading your inspiration report, and your idea of using Scandinavian libraries as model for a school library. I hadn’t thought of applying it to a school library(such a cool idea!). I especially liked the examples you provided (gives me ideas for a field trip to check out all those libraries in Europe). Laerkes’…[Read more]
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Roya Koutchekinia commented on the post, From Book Warehouses to Storytelling Spaces, on the site 2 days, 2 hours ago
@savannahpolizzi Storytelling is such a powerful way to increase empathy and understanding, and to overcome bias and preconceptions. I love your highlighting of cultural humility in the post. The terms cultural humility and cultural competence are often used interchangeably, so I found the link to the site that distinguishes the wo particularly…[Read more]
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Roya Koutchekinia commented on the post, Inspiration Report: Proposal for Program Enrichment Supporting 8th Grade Lessons from Japanese American Internment, on the site 4 days, 12 hours ago
@maggierogers This is so good! I live in El Cerrito, and have been meaning to pay a visit to the Rosie the Riveter park. I think a field trip to get first hand stories of Japanese internment camps is such a powerful way to connect real life experiences with the school curriculum, and is a wonderful way to increase empathy amongst the students. I…[Read more]
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Roya Koutchekinia commented on the post, Inspiration Report- Hopeful Futures: Contra Costa County Library as a Social Prescription Hub for Foster Youth, on the site 4 days, 12 hours ago
@lauraw Thank you so much! This was a labor of love for me. My husband and I worked as weekend parents for a group home in our college years, and the experience stuck with me. We ended up fostering and adopting three children, later in life. I learned so much doing the research for this project and much of it resonated with my personal experience.
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Roya Koutchekinia commented on the post, Inspiration: Hiring a Social Worker at Des Moines PL, on the site 5 days, 14 hours ago
@michael. Thank you for sharing this! In my research for the inspiration report, I found this map of social work and library collaborations https://wholepersonlibrarianship.com/map/ and was pleasantly surprised to see a large number of libraries collaborating with social workers.
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Roya Koutchekinia wrote a new post on the site Epiphanies 6 days, 13 hours ago
Inspiration Report- Hopeful Futures: Contra Costa County Library as a Social Prescription Hub for Foster Youth Here is the link to my inspiration report:
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Roya Koutchekinia commented on the post, Inspiration Report Topics & Questions, on the site 1 weeks, 5 days ago
@Michael. I’ve made some headway into my inspiration report, but started to feel like I needed to confirm with you if it’s suitable. I wanted to focus my inspiration report on providing comprehensive services to foster teens (a subject near and dear to my heart). My idea is a pilot program that positions libraries as a vital hub for social…[Read more]
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Roya Koutchekinia and Rodrigo are now friends 1 weeks, 5 days ago
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Roya Koutchekinia commented on the post, Reflection Blog#5-Infinite Learning: Library as a Classroom- A Connected Learning Environment, on the site 1 weeks, 5 days ago
@oliviaevans Yes, I agree! For my inspiration report, I am diving deep into the needs of foster kids and how libraries are struggling to get them into the library to take advantage of the programming. More librarians need to do outreach to group homes and other agencies working with foster youth to get them into the library.
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Roya Koutchekinia commented on the post, Reflection Blog#5-Infinite Learning: Library as a Classroom- A Connected Learning Environment, on the site 1 weeks, 5 days ago
I love that you got up on your soapbox. I want to hear more! Neurodivergent kids get so much negative feedback from the world around them that having a mentor “see” you and your full capabilities can be life-changing. It’s too bad that finding such an inclusive learning environment in the school system can be such a struggle.
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Roya Koutchekinia commented on the post, Blog reflection#4- The Power of Stories- Soccer Field Confessions, on the site 1 weeks, 5 days ago
@michael Thank you for your kind comments! The book is fantastic. It reminds me of the “point of view” gun in the movie Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, where it makes the victim see things through the shooter’s perspective. I could easily imagine myself in each of the situations the author discusses.
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Roya Koutchekinia commented on the post, Blog reflection#4- The Power of Stories- Soccer Field Confessions, on the site 1 weeks, 5 days ago
@deltoro87 Hi Rodrigo, Thank you for taking the time to read my reflection. It’s funny; up until when I started sharing my struggles with parenting my neurodivergent kids, I thought other parents couldn’t possibly be going through the same things. Being vulnerable and sharing made me feel more connected to the community.
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Roya Koutchekinia commented on the post, Blog reflection#4- The Power of Stories- Soccer Field Confessions, on the site 1 weeks, 5 days ago
@laurele Isn’t it amazing how life’s burdens become lighter when shared? I love that you are passing your story and wisdom to other parents to help them feel less isolated and more empowered to tackle their challenges. Thank you for your comments!
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Roya Koutchekinia commented on the post, Blog reflection#4- The Power of Stories- Soccer Field Confessions, on the site 1 weeks, 5 days ago
@emmizo Thank you so much! The “book Far From the Tree” expanded my horizons and dramatically shifted my perspective. It can be a potentially life-changing book for parents struggling with the best way to parent their kids.
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Roya Koutchekinia and Marlene Robles Ortiz are now friends 1 weeks, 6 days ago
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Roya Koutchekinia wrote a new post on the site Epiphanies 2 weeks, 4 days ago
Reflection Blog#5-Infinite Learning: Library as a Classroom- A Connected Learning Environment As I was reading about the connected learning movement, I was reminded of my son’s senior year in high school. As a bright neurodivergent […]
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You raise fair concerns with your reflections, it’s important to be able to grow along side peers and mentors which marganilized groups may have less access to because of busy schedules or just a lack of public support. Although many libraries assist to connect people with proper resources, that depends on the area soemone lives in. I’d wish that it was a universal statement, but we still need to work to make libraries more inclusive as they are primarily build in better off neighborhoods, or they just don’t get proper funding in poorer areas. I’ve even been warned against working in a certain area due to it being a ‘bad’ area, which is concerning since it creates a feedback loop of not being able to improve the quality of where someone lives.
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I love that you got up on your soapbox. I want to hear more! Neurodivergent kids get so much negative feedback from the world around them that having a mentor “see” you and your full capabilities can be life-changing. It’s too bad that finding such an inclusive learning environment in the school system can be such a struggle.
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@oliviaevans Yes, I agree! For my inspiration report, I am diving deep into the needs of foster kids and how libraries are struggling to get them into the library to take advantage of the programming. More librarians need to do outreach to group homes and other agencies working with foster youth to get them into the library.
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What an inspiring testament to the power of connected learning! Your son’s journey with the robotics team beautifully illustrates how these experiences can profoundly impact individuals, providing them with opportunities to shine and thrive. It’s heartening to see libraries, like Multnomah County’s, stepping up to foster similar transformative experiences for underserved communities. This commitment to equity and inclusion is truly commendable and reflects the essence of connected learning. Keep sharing these incredible stories—they remind us of the boundless potential within us all.
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Roya Koutchekinia and Barry Robinson are now friends 3 weeks, 1 days ago
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Roya Koutchekinia commented on the post, Hyperlinked Communities- Language, on the site 4 weeks, 1 days ago
Hi Rodrigo,
Thanks for highlighting the need to do multilingual outreach to immigrant communities. Recent immigrants, in particular, can feel very isolated and disoriented as they adapt to a whole new culture and learn a new language. I think libraries can do a lot to ease that isolation, and provide resources.
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Nice, @royaflin! Your report is so full of research and well-thought out. It highlights an important need that libraries can help to fill.
@lauraw Thank you so much! This was a labor of love for me. My husband and I worked as weekend parents for a group home in our college years, and the experience stuck with me. We ended up fostering and adopting three children, later in life. I learned so much doing the research for this project and much of it resonated with my personal experience.
Hi, Roya! As a librarian in Contra Costa, I just want to commend you for what a fantastic concept you’ve presented here. How much you care about foster youth really shines in the effort you’ve put forth in this project. Your contextual information and the statistics therein really blew me away, and underscored the need for the program you’ve designed. It’s amazing how much social interfacing and assessment I do with my students on a daily basis as a librarian for TK-5; the trust they have in us for what we do translates naturally to the type of work a social worker designing programming for the library could also do to make a change. Excellent idea, and excellent work!
Hi Roya, thank you so much for creating this report. I’ve learned so much about the challenges in the U.S. foster system, and I can really see how libraries can become safe havens of connection and stability for youth in the system.
Thank you @royaflin for this exceptional blog post! Your research is astounding and the statistics are sobering. I first learned about social workers in the library way back in INFO 200 and it seems like such a natural partnership to link library services and social services. Your report is excellent in pointing out the challenges but also the opportunities! I really like the idea of peer navigators. Although I have no personal experience with foster youth, I would imagine that trust is a big concern. Connecting with similar youth seems like an important aspect of any successful program. I hope you are able to get a program like this started in real life!
Impressive work. Thank you so much for sharing it!
@royaflin, this report was very eye opening. Your “Hopeful Futures” project is a great way to show how libraries can help young people in foster care in new and important ways. It is a great connection to social services that we are seeing more and more with libraries. Thank you for all of the work you put into this.