The Dream Whisperers: Why Librarians Are Your Child's Secret Weapon | ep 96

Dr. Eno Attah, a school librarian with a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership, discusses the transformative power of libraries. She highlights her journey from a Nigerian American background, influenced by PBS and her community, to becoming an educator. Dr. Attah emphasizes libraries' role as safe spaces offering resources beyond books, such as hotspots, calculators, and Chromebooks. She advocates for parents to leverage librarians as allies in supporting their children's interests and passions. Dr. Attah also shares her experience transitioning from teaching to librarianship and the diverse roles librarians play in connecting people with resources and passions.

Transcript

TD Flenaugh: 0:00

Welcome so libraries, we know that it holds that they hold a wealth of information, and that kids can learn a lot at a library, and it's more than just books. Today, we have a special guest that's going to tell us about the magic of libraries, and you don't want to miss this episode. Hi, thank you so much for joining the Falling for Learning Podcast. I am TD Flenaugh. We have this podcast to help parents and caregivers with having the resources, strategies and tools needed to make sure that their children are on track for learning and to stay on track for success. Today we're welcoming Dr Eno Attah. She is a school librarian extraordinaire, and she has a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership with an emphasis on social justice. So she's going to tell us about the magic of libraries and what you need to know to make sure your kids are on track and have the competitive edge when it comes to libraries.

Dr. Eno Attah: 1:12

Thank you for having me. I'm so happy and excited to be here.

TD Flenaugh: 1:17

Wonderful. Okay, so just before we jump into like business, are you in I believe you're on break right now. Are you enjoying your time?

Dr. Eno Attah: 1:28

I am having an awesome, restful, relaxing time. I just came back from Arizona. I did a little road trip to Arizona, and then I also visited Marietta hot springs. So that was an experience that was really nice, as well, as you know, eating all types of food, because I'm a foodie, so I love to find food and adventures

TD Flenaugh: 1:56

Wonderful. Okay, so one thing that you told me about is you have a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership, and to get you know, to be so accomplished and have accomplished so much in the educational and academia, you must love learning. So tell us what that journey was like for you as a child, learning to love like, what got you into learning to love learning? I'll give me my words together. What got you into loving to learn? There we go. Yes, you hit the nail on the head. I am passionate and committed to lifelong learning. I love learning new things, learning about people, learning about community, cultures, just anything and everything that there is to know, because I know, like, for right now in the entire universe, like my knowledge is like a spec, you know? So I know that there's always more that I can learn. But dating back to childhood, I can say, when I think back, I'll say my parents, PBS, my community, and then some of the educators that I have so had so for me to delve, you know, more deeply into that my background. I'm Nigerian American. So both of my parents are or were Nigerian. My mom passed when I was in college. My dad is still here. Yes, thank you. And you know, my dad was an engineer before he came to the United States. He studied in Nigeria, of course, and abroad in London. But then he came to the United States and had to deal with a wealth of injustices and start all over, you know, and for him, it didn't stop him. He kept pursuing and kept pursuing his goals. And something that him and both my parents would always tell me is that, you know, in life, you can get gain lots of material things, but what no one can ever take away from you is God or your knowledge. So to pursue that and pursue it passionately. And so from when I was a kid, I just always knew that if there was anything education wise that my parents are going to support me, I might ask for a pair of new shoes. They may say, No, I might ask for the latest, you know, electronics that had come out, they would say no. But if I said I needed money for a field trip, or I needed, you know, something to pursue my academic goals or passions, and they were going to support it 1,000% and go above and beyond. So that was my initial love for education. And then when I say. The PBS, I was a latch key kid, like a lot of the kids growing up in the 80s, and you know, even things that parents back then did today, parents would not be allowed to do. But I went to pre school and I felt like, oh, I had learned everything that I needed to know in preschool and you know? And I said, Well, you need to go to school. I don't want to go to school. I know everything, right? I would be at home, and it would be me, Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers, okay, reading. I can relate. Definitely. I definitely was one of the original PBS kids as well. I'm glad to meet another one.

Dr. Eno Attah: 5:48

I just really learned a lot from those shows. And when, now that I'm in education, and they just say, like, you know, the first five and how much students and how many, how much children can learn in the first five years of life, and how, what? And I'm, you know, not down in, you know, schools or anything like that, but they're saying, like, okay, the equivalent of Sesame Street. If you were to have your kid watching Sesame Street every single day, they could learn the equivalent of what they would learn in a preschool. So for me, I was kind of like being self taught by PBS. And by the time I enrolled

TD Flenaugh: 6:22

absolutely

Dr. Eno Attah: 6:23

In kindergarten, I was a teacher's assistant in kindergarten. Okay, so always open my teacher grade papers in kindergarten by PBS education, you know? And I just really loved that my community again, I was at a school in an inner city. I grew up in an inner cities neighborhood, LA USD public I'm a proud product of LA USD public schools, and I can to, yes, I can attest to the love that was poured and the and the confidence that was poured into me and my peers growing up in the 80s, being taught by teachers that had come from our community, that had graduated, gone to college and then returned to the community to teach kids who look just like them. And I am a product of that love, of that inspiration, of that motivation. And I can just say I'm nothing but grateful because my teachers, you know, I can name my my, all of my elementary school teachers. Oh, shout them out. Shout them out. Burton. So I went to Budlong Elementary, okay, Avenue Elementary in LAUSD, I had Miss Burton, Miss Washington, Miss Marceaux, and then Miss Robinson, who was now an administrator for LA USD, and I can, I have nothing but accolades to pour on those teachers, because they saw us and they really, really inspired us. And we had the arts. We had everything, you know, so I'll stop there. I can go on and on. Yes, education. I love learning, and it started at a very young age,

TD Flenaugh: 8:13

alright, so can you tell us about, you know, what are some activities or skills you had when you were younger, right? That led to your present career as a light a school librarian.

Unknown: 8:29

Oh, yes, when I was younger, I actually was trained in ballet, tap and jazz dance our school and I that was outside of school, but in school, we had a dance slash theater teacher from elementary school age who was teaching us about Alvin Ailey, Debbie Allen. We I learned the National Black anthem in elementary school, I learned so many things that still resonate with me today. I learned about Langston Hughes read. I learned about the Harlem Renaissance. I learned about, you know, so so many things about culture and community, and again, there was not a deficit model or mindset. So I did that in elementary school when I got older, and I moved from my elementary school to a different elementary school in fifth grade. So, you know, that was kind of traumatizing. Yes, I got again, new teachers, new educators who believed in me and also inspired me. And when I was in fifth grade, there was a program that was just starting that was a partnership between LA. USD and the University of Southern California, and it was called the USC pre College Enrichment Academy, neighborhood academic initiative. And the program, I don't know if you have you heard of that program or not? I

TD Flenaugh: 10:17

am not sure, but I've heard of different USC programs. I don't know if it's the same USC program.

Unknown: 10:23

This program is called the McMorrow USC pre College Enrichment initiative now, Nai program now, but it was just starting when I was in the fifth grade. I think they had done the program for a year. We there was a cohort right before us, but then we were the second cohort, and the program promised that if you were stayed in this program from middle school all the way until high school, and you graduated within this program, you took your Sat and you were accepted to USC that you would have a full ride scholarship to attend USC, because the crux of the program was that the students who came from the neighborhood should also be mirrored in the demographics of the people who were attending College in that neighborhood. So love it. Yes, you have right a university right in the middle of the hood, but the people who live in that neighborhood are seen or viewed as outsiders. So we were included in two USC to where we were called scholars. That's we weren't called students. We were called scholars. We were on campus every single morning, and then we would go. We would bust into our home schools in the afternoons or after the morning. We would come to Saturday school at USC. On Saturdays, we would attend summer school and intercession like we breathe USC, you know, so by the time you are graduating, we felt like, are there? We felt like,

TD Flenaugh: 12:13

Alright, go ahead.

Unknown: 12:16

Can you see me? Can you hear me? Is my head moving because I'm moving it, yeah, I don't see it moving on the camera. It is. It's

TD Flenaugh: 12:24

a little lag. Is what's happening right now. But it's okay. I can keep going, yeah, just keep going. So by the time you graduated,

Unknown: 12:31

okay? So by the time we graduated from high school, it was like, you know, the goal was, like, you're going to USC, you have this scholarship, you belong here, don't ever make anybody believe that you're an outsider or you don't belong. So that program really was instrumental in shaping who I was, as as a person, as a human being, as a learner, and it really shaped my the teachers that I had in that program, and just their dedication and their devotion to us, really, I think, impacted me to want to be an educator, because they were so passionate. And I know that I'm a passionate person. So before I thought like, Hey, I might want to go into child psychology. I want to work with youth, you know, I want to support youth. But in the end, I took I was a part of the joint educational project. Well, let me back up. I was a tutor in my high school year. I think it was my senior year of high school. One of the NAI teachers had retired, and she had created her own business. And this this bit, it was kind of like a business nonprofit model, and she would her name was Miss Amos, and she would go into different inner city apartment complexes, apartment units, or what people considered the projects, right? And each of those units would have like a community room that she would get to use after school as a tutoring center for the kids who lived in that apartment complex, okay? And she hired us, the NAI High School scholars, to come and be tutors, and we would tutor the elementary school kids who lived in those projects,

TD Flenaugh: 14:31

the rewrite method and the rewrite method workbook are your go to resource for helping kids to learn to fall in love with writing. It has the tips, tools, resources, strategies and skill building activities to help kids fall out of writing and into. Loving to write, get your book set today.

Unknown: 15:12

So that was like my first experience with, you know, quasi being in education as a tutor, and I was really passionate about it. It was very fulfilling. And I love the feeling of getting students who felt like they didn't know math or they didn't know you know how to read or say a word or how to spell or how to read. I just felt so good being able to support them and encourage them and let them know, like you can do this. You can do anything you put your mind to, and I'm here to support you. So that was kind of how the pro the things that I was involved in prior to college, that got me thinking, like, oh, maybe I could be into education. And when I got to USC, I was a part of the joint educational project, and then another one of my classes that I, that I participated in, sent us into the community to work with schools, creating lessons and teaching those lessons to students in the in our in our surroundings, called the family of five schools surround, and I was able to go in and teach. You know, kids with my classmates and my group mates and a lot of my classmates, they didn't not a lot, most, all of my classmates that I was doing these projects with were not from the inner city. They had never had or lived that experience. It was like they were going into a foreign area, or they were going something that was unknown, whereas this was what I was used to. This was my home. This was my Yeah, because I lived in the neighborhood prior to going the USC, so I I had a different experience when I was doing it. So for me, I felt like I was giving back to my community, and this is where So again, those things really impacted my decision to ultimately change my major and do English Language and Literature and minor in education. And then I ended up being able to drop my minor and go directly into teaching through my English language and literature major. Okay,

TD Flenaugh: 17:29

all right. What a journey, and that is so awesome that you, you know, stuck with that program. Wonderful USC alumni, University of Southern California. That's so awesome, and that program is still around. So if anybody is watching and listening like your kid, can be in that program. There's different schools that offer that program, and you know, it matriculates all the way into high school, right?

Dr. Eno Attah: 17:58

And we see they have just too added more schools, because this they only had, you know, over the years, it's transitioned. And then they were only having Foshay as a feeder school, and then they were writing more eastwards, LA and in the past, I think, year and a half, two years, they've now added Audubon Middle School so that they could attract more students from different demographics of Los Angeles, Angeles area that reflects our community. So that was something that they've done, and I think now as like feeder schools, they're moving towards, instead of just having Foshay I think they're also moving towards Crenshaw and possibly Dorsey. So I don't want to misspeak, but you have the information pulled. I'm still a part of working with the Alumni Association from time to time. So wonderful. Yes, thank you.

TD Flenaugh: 19:03

Okay, yes, well, thank you. So let's talk about your current career, right, as a school librarian. What you know, can you tell us about libraries that can give you know, parents, kids, some insight, like, what might they be missing? What some under utilized parts of libraries? Yes,

Unknown: 19:28

and I, how can I forget my journey? Like that was my undergrad journey. I ended up going to San Jose State University. How I even ended up in libraries? So again, like I went into education, I started teaching English, English at a high school in Inglewood. Shout out to Inglewood. And loved it. And I was there, you know, for about 15 years, but okay, I transitioned from the English classroom into the library. I. Accidentally. So I can't say like, I knew I wanted to be an educator. I knew I wanted to teach, but I didn't wake up saying, oh, you know what? I've always dreamed of being a librarian. If I said that, I'd be lying, right? But how I ended up being in the library was our librarian at the time was retiring, and how our school used to do is, if somebody retires from a position, they just close it all together. So that's we lost auto mechanic shop, we lost JROTC, we lost a lot of things. And so the librarian, she was on a mission. She said, Okay, when I leave here, I do not want them to close this library or close this library position. I am recruiting Yes. Is going to take this position? Yes. Went out to all the English teachers and was trying to recruit, and everybody was looking at her, including me, like woman is tripping, you know? Why does she think I want to spend the rest of my life shelving books like, No, I'm in the classroom. I'll teach English. You know what I'm saying? Yes, for whatever reason, one day, I don't know what happened. And I said, you know that that library degree is looking kind of intriguing right now. You know, when you face different challenges and dynamics in the workplace, sometimes you like, let me look at the grass on the other side and see if it's looking greener over there. You know, it came back to my mind. She was like, you know, if you go to the library, you'll stay in education much longer. And I was side eyeing her, looking like, What? What? No, I think. And so for whatever reason, I said, let me look into these programs. And at the time, I wanted to stay in California. And the programs that were available, I think, were UCLA San Jose State, um, those were the two that were offering master's degrees. ML is master's in library and information science along with your program. But then Cal State, Long Beach offered a program with no masters, but you were getting your teacher, your teacher librarian credential. You would be certified to do that. Okay, so I want to go to school again and not get a degree to connect with this education. I need to get something that can move with me. Yes, no to the no knock on the CSU lb program. But I was like, No, I want to get my degree in this so that is versatile, and I can use it. And so I looked into San Jose and UCLA. And so UCLA, I don't know they were requiring, I don't know what's kind of statistics program. And I was like, I don't want to do any statistics. More statistics and computer science class, work coursework. Coursework. I want to do this. So I weeded it down, and I did the hybrid program at San Jose State. So I went, Okay, I would go to school online, and then I would spend some time, some weekends, or, you know, a week or so in San Jose, doing the in person components of the program. Okay, I learned so much about libraries in my first semester that I had been misinformed, that I did not really understand the the anomaly of what a library was like. It was so much I thought shelving books, check that check out books, and yes, what comes to mind from other people when they think about libraries? But yes, I learned that libraries are massive. There's so many different types of libraries, right? You have your school library, your medical libraries, your law libraries, your university libraries, so many libraries. And within those spaces you have people who are professionals at providing access to resources, connecting people with their passions, sharing so many having, like, just being a dream whisperer, like, okay,

TD Flenaugh: 24:22

amazing.

Unknown: 24:23

Find in your local library. Go to a librarian. A librarian may not have the exact like you get asked a question. They may not have the answer on the spot. Many of them do, but I guarantee you, they won't rest until they connect you with the people the organization okay that you need to again pursue whatever source of information or whatever passion you have, and so for me, what I wish that more parents did was. Is when I was growing up, I was after the after school. The library was my after school care, you know, okay, and the librarian will say, Here, read this. What did you What librarian knew, what I like to read? And said, All right, have you tried this? And when I had finished all of this, she would say, hey, you know, have you thought about this? And that was before the World Wide Web, before? Okay, that's to the internet, right? But

TD Flenaugh: 25:27

yes,

Unknown: 25:29

I feel like parents need to know that the library is a safe space where their kids can have access to resources. And it's not only just books, like in my library alone, we provide and we're just a school library, right? But we provide hot spots, we provide calculators, we provide Chromebooks. We provide, you know, the online electronic resources we on top of that, we connect you with, say, for instance, the public library, if it's something that we don't have, like, we have access to audio books and ebooks through Sora, through our school site, but we also have access to LA County and LA County Library just From being a part of LA County Schools, right? Okay, so what I would tell my parents, what I would tell my community, is, if there is something that you need access to and you just don't have an idea or don't have a clue about how to get it, please, please, please, reach out to your local librarian, your school librarian, your community librarian, any librarian you know, if you're looking for access to jobs or access to You know, essential needs, you're looking for access to mentorship. You're looking to access to oh, how do I learn how to sew or learn a new skill? Yeah, I can see you. Your local librarian will help you find a way. If we don't have it there and can't provide access to you in some way on site, we'll get you connected with somebody who can get you the resources that you need.

TD Flenaugh: 27:25

Okay, I love that, that you said, the dream whisper, the librarians. Okay, I love this. Yeah, so with this blue light we had you on, we want to hear that insight we don't know, right? A lot of people don't know all the things that libraries can provide, what you can have access to, and how they can help connect you to resources amazing. So what would you say to any parents out there who are really struggling to connect their child to something that they love to do? What could you offer them some advice? Or,

Unknown: 28:06

yeah, yeah. I mean, I'm a parent too, so I get it. I know the struggle is real. I tell my kids, I do this for a living, like I help connect people to resources. I help support people. Let me support you, you know, and a lot of times, is they need a different messenger. They need, you know, somebody that is going to, I mean, I Ditto. Say exactly what you just said, but hear it from a different source, because it sounds different to them. I don't understand, I don't know why. But what I what I would say, is allies. You know your librarian, it can be a very strong ally. They're, they're, they're teachers, right? And they're educated, educators, coaches, okay, our educators, but find someone a space, whether it's you know, via sports or via a passion, if they're drumming or if they're a musician, or Connect first. Understand what your kids are interested in and support them. Find somebody as a member of that team. And I'm always going to say, find the librarian. Don't Don't sleep on the librarians. But it takes a village to raise a child. And you know nowadays, when kids are so much into, like they go inward, because they have the social media they have, you know, the electronics, and they don't necessarily feel like they can reach out, you know, into the real world. You know what I'm saying, There virtual world. World. Yes, they can reach out and possibly thrive there, but when it comes to interacting in the real world, in the real space, it's a struggle, you know, and you know, I can't I'm not a social scientist or psychologist, but I am a lifelong educator who, again, I got my and it's not all about the degrees, because I can name off my degrees, my master's degrees in education and library and information science, and my doctorate degree that I got from Loyola Marymount University, but that's paper at the end of the day. That's, that's, that's, you know, the the technique, the strategies, the you know, the all of that stuff. But when we talk about the boots on the ground practical, I put in my work there too, so I absolutely understand. You have to blend the two. You got to have the knowledge you know, about how to the child brain works. You know, the adolescent brain works, how it's developing. You know, neurosciences, but all of that type of stuff, you have to have all of your, you know, pedagogy and all of those things. But then in real life, you have to really understand. You gotta make a connection with the person who's in front of you. Yeah, try to make a connection with your kid. And then again, build a web, build your village out and really, get your librarian on board, your coaches on board, get everybody on board singing the same song, right? Yeah, it may have a different beat over here, over here, but we're all there to support you know, our our youth, our children and so again, for parents, I understand, because I'm a parent going through the struggle as well. I have to get a village for mine, because when I say stuff, they don't want to listen, right? You know, regardless of how educated we are as parents, are not educated, or whatever the case may be, our kids just need to know like you're not, you're not the only one that's saying this to them. Yes, right, that everyone is in in pursuit of their excellence, or in pursuit of their success, in pursuit of their happiness, in pursuit of them achieving more than they could ever imagine they could achieve. Yeah, so when they know that there is a village that, okay, man, the librarian at the school ain't playing about me, playing about me, my coach ain't playing about me, and everybody is communicating like, we're all, you know, singing the same song, And we're all there knowing, like, okay, Bobby loves basketball, Bobby loves um, Bobby loves music, Bobby loves to jokes. So, yeah, how we as a unit, you know, support that, and everybody has a role to play. And I think that that's sometimes where we go astray. We don't understand. And it's not about parents saying, oh, here, take my kid, and not, you know, be involved. That's not what it is. It's like, okay, there are certain things that you're saying, Hey, okay, I can handle this. I can handle this. But you know what, this professional is more equipped with some of the tools and the skill sets to support my kid better than I could. So it's not about ego, right? Yeah, absolutely not about not about negligence either, right? It's about knowing your capacity, knowing what your skill set is. And it's not saying that you can't improve and learn other skill sets as we go on, but it's okay to reach out for support from a reading specialist, right? Yeah, from an interventionist, from a therapist, from a librarian, from a coach. But a lot of parents don't know that these resources are available and that they have access to these resources. Our job as a school to provide access to these resources so that your child and your family and the community can thrive, right? And so that is my thing. Connect with the resources. Connect with your library. I guarantee you. I guarantee you you will never think that you have gone wrong or gone astray astray if you connect with your local librarian. I'm not trying to toot my horn as a librarian, but what I am saying is that librarians will go above and beyond to connect you with the people, the resources that you your family, our communities need to be successful.

TD Flenaugh: 34:40

Yes, wonderful. Thank you so much for joining us today. We appreciate you and to all of our listeners and viewers out there, please make sure you do something today to give your child the competitive advantage. Thanks again for supporting the Falling for Learning Podcast. New Episodes go live every Saturday at 5pm you can watch us on youtube.com/@fallingforlearning, or listen on all major podcast platforms such as Apple, Google, Audible, Spotify and much more for more resources. Visit falling in love with learning.com we really appreciate you. Have a wonderful week.