I'm waaay past my due date for this. I need to post something or it will be next week already.
Why am I so delayed? well, I've gotten back home, and I'm moving in with my girlfriend. 🎊
Moving, organizing, is exhausting work, and if it's not done then everything else takes three times as long, because you go to use something and you have to spend several minutes searching for every little thing. It's also draining, because everywhere you look there is something wrong, something calling out for your attention to fix, so it becomes exhausting to try and concentrate, continually ignoring these little calls to action. And finally, it's just exhausting, being in a space that's messy. Then there's decision fatigue: what do I bring over, what do I leave? where do I put it? etc. etc. And it can be frustrating as well, just wanting to be done with it so I can get on to all the HUGE amount of other work that needs doing, but to do that in a horribly messy space is like trying to work while a kid is continually trying to distract you the best they can. To just ignore that takes a tremendous amount of effort, like a scratch that you are continually fighting not to itch.
I'm making progress. I just have to remember my KonMari training, putting everything of the same category together, that lets me not have to expend so much brain power, and I'd already done that to a large degree.
Then, school starts up with professional development on Monday. there's something almost a little perverse about PD for teachers most of the time. When I would like nothing more than every available second to be doing all the things I know would be most effective to be preparing myself for class, I'm instead subjected to a training I had no say in choosing, for a full day, and in terms of usefulness, almost none of the trainings I've had at any of the schools I've been at have actually translated to improved performance, even if they are eminently practical, (which is also not all the time) because for something to be actually adopted requires systematic follow-through, feedback, and support throughout an extended period of time. It seems almost funny, how so much teacher training seems to ignore basic pedagogy. I don't mean to slight the presenters, often they are very knowledgeable people, with useful things to share, but one day of it is like reading a book on cooking and thinking that makes you a great chef. It's not true, no matter how good the book is, if you don't practice, the knowledge stays in the book.
I've generally enjoyed professional development. the presenters are interesting, fun, insightful. but have I become a better teacher because of them? unlikely, or if so, to a very small degree, just because of this lack of follow-through. Teachers are really busy, you can't expect them to carve out the time and energy for follow through on these things, unless you help them, give them specific chunks of time where they don't have to work on other things, and some additional coaching, if they are learning a new skill. otherwise it's just... kinda PR, I think. "we're developing our teachers" we get to say, but in terms of measurable outcomes... I'm skeptical.
I talked with one teacher who had just one experience with professional development that she said was really useful. It was a regular meeting, I don't recall how often, once every couple weeks, maybe once a month. the teachers got together with a PhD in teaching methodology, he gave about a 15 minute presentation on something, and then asked what issues the teachers were having, and did trouble shooting with them, or if there were no issues, asked about things they wanted to implement and helped theme design an implementation plan or just helped them design it. It's so simple it almost makes me cry. He was giving small bite sized useful bits of info, at regular intervals, mostly tailored to what the problems the teachers were dealing with, with the ability to follow up with them on how the implementation was going and thus help them trouble-shoot it.
we kind of do something like that among my colleagues, just as a regular part of our week, not as a special PD thing. which makes me proud of my workmates and structure, but we're not paying someone for that, we're just doing it.
Not to mention I've spend almost the entire summer working like a dog at PhD levels of intensity, taking a teacher training. (That I'm paying for out of pocket) That's about two months of PD, I'm good for now 😅
OK, time to go-go. It's already time for a second post, for this weekend now. Oy!
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