- Why do we even call it professional development? Being in education is so much more than just being a professional and development happens continually around us. Perhaps we should call it something different like expanding as an educator or how about just growth? Either professional development smacks of something that can only happent at a set time and is just not true, which leads me to my next point.
- Why the limitations on what counts as pd? I often learn more spending an hour with my reader or even engaging in a twitter chat. Depending on who you immerse yourself with provocating thoughts abound, as does reflection. Go into a teacher’s lounge and engage in a conversation, I think they have gotten a bad rep unnecessarily.
- Who says you have to be an expert to conduct pd? I think there are many people in educations that are experts at something, oftentimes, they just do not know it because nobody gave them the title. Go to an edcamp and see how many experts are there, heck, go to a school and be amazed at all the knowledge. We don’t need a fancy title to have something valuable to share.
- Get rid of the limiting agendas. There seems to be a perpetual fear that if administration or whomever is putting on this pd doesn’t set an hour-by-hour or question-by-question agenda that all of the time will be worthless. That the conversation happening will only be moaning and procrastination. Maybe sometimes but not all the time, let those involved set the agenda and then trust them; there is far too little trust in education overall.
- Enough with the crazy buzzwords! I don’t feel like listening to someone discuss what a 21st century learner looks like…hmm 5 foot 2, brown hair with a smile? Or even how the flipped classroom is going to save education. Common core standards, differentiation, value-added learning, PBIS and any of the other billions of acronyms hunting us all. Just give me titles I can understand and a discussion worth participating in.
- Give me a chance to participate. Much like our students crave the recognition that their voices matter, so do PD participants. How else explain the back channels happening at even the tiniest of conferences? I have been tempted to pass notes even, anything really, to ask my questions, get some feedback and get the discussion started.
- Enough with the stories. Educators love great stories and we all have them. Our aha moments, that kid that we stayed teaching for, those parents that challenged out assumptions, yep we all have them so let’s acknowledge that and move on. I love a great story over dinner but not the ones without a point and sometimes at PD sessions they just drain time.
- Fair enough if you have something to sell but perhaps keep it to the end. I had the chance to sit through an inspirational speech where the much paid presenter kept starting stories only to never finish them because we could read how it turned out in his book. Seriously. If you are sharing a story make it relevant and tell the whole thing.
- Do you really need a Powerpoint? I know it is so cool to bash Powerpoints but I think there is a huge reason for that. If your message is short, sweet and to the point give me some pictures to go with it, have dancers perform it behind you, or skip it altogether. Images behind you are a direct competition to your words so pick wisely.
- Keep it short. And not just for my attention span, but also because even the most incredible learning opportunities will lose their luster after the message is repeated over 40 minutes. Shorten your message and open up for conversations, participation or even brainstorming.
I Can Understand Those Parents
We are in California, visiting with my family, and Thea is socializing with her 2nd cousins. Watching from the sidelines is this nervous mother. I want to jump in. I want to explain that Thea is really loud and excited because she loves playing with other kids. I want to apologize for her rambunctiousness, chalk it up to nerves, and then make them embrace her. Except I don’t. And I won’t, because I know that this is how children learn to develop friendships. That this is what parents do; let go and hold their breath.
I know my daughter is a little whacky, she has oodles of personality flowing out of her like a river run wild. She loves people, she loves to give hugs, and she loves to be the center of attention. She is willful, stubborn, and loud. Qualities that may harm or help later in life. I know that when she starts school I will have to fight every urge to be “that” mother. I will have to stop myself from emailing her teachers on how best to engage her, on how best to calm her. I cannot be the mother that fixes the friendships or the assignments. I cannot be the mother that stops by just to check in.
I don’t know how other parents do it. I do not know how they can place so much trust in their chld’s teachers and just let go. I don’t know how we as teachers can just expect it every year on the first day of school. But we do and we get upset when parents intervene too much. We shake our heads at their long emails,take a deep breath when they surprise us with another visit. I now understand the parents better. I now get the need to explain, to protect, to guide. I do it for my own child.
Those Little Words
I am proud of you.
Look at what you did.
You can do this.
Explain this to me
What else can happen?
Thank you for today.
Look at what you did.
You can do this.
Explain this to me
What else can happen?
Thank you for today.
Small words, big meaning. Those words we choose to share with those we surround ourselves with every day. Those words we do not ponder or carefully measure out. Those words we do not plan for, study, or write down lest they be forgotten. Those are often the words that carry the most weight to our students, to our colleagues, to ourselves.
A smile, a hug, or even a look in the eye. Those speak volumes every day. The little things we do matter more than we know, so be aware and give enough of the happiness you should feel waking up every day knowing that you are part of the change, of the hope, of the incredible world that is ours.
Why I am Not Going to Win an Eddie – And I am Ok With That
Ahh the Edublog Awards, affectionately known as the Eddies, are upon us and with that comes all the “Vote for me!” tweets and posts as well as the misgivings people have about awards. And boy does that get boring after a while. But let’s be real here for a second, it is nice to be recognized by someone that your blog is worthwhile. In fact, it is really nice. I was lucky enough to be nominated in 3 different categories, all new to me, and all way out of my league. Most influential post…did you see who I am in company with? So that is why I am certain I will not win, and I am ok with that.
The thing is, I am still fairly new to this blogging world. I started 1 1/2 years ago not intending to write to anyone but just as a matter of reflection for myself as I changed my teaching dramatically. In that time I have shared many personal stories as well about losing a pet, various competitions, and even the heartbreak of losing a pregnancy. This blog has morphed into a true reflection of my life, my dreams, and my fight for students first in education. And for that I am proud. I look at some of the contenders in the awards and I realize that I have far to go, many miles to walk and mountains to climb before I reach their level. It simply is not my time.
So if you stumble upon the EduBlog Awards take some time to read the other people. Discover new blogs if you feel like it and weigh their contribution. Don’t worry about how long they have been blogging but rather whether or not you have been moved by their writing. Worry about whether it speaks to your heart, or whether it changes your mind. Then vote for them or maybe don’t even vote but add them to your reader. Celebrate the diversity of the voices out there and know that being nominated is indeed an honor, but not a necessity to be a great blogger. My biggest prize from blogging are the connections I make, the comments I get, the ways I am challenged through discussion. I win that every week, and that I am ok with.
Damages Done
I have been thinking a lot about damages lately, and particularly the damages we sometimes inflict on our students unintentionally. Those things we think we are doing for the right reasons or because someone told us we had to and how they end up hurting the very kids we are trying to help. Things such as testing, report cards, missing recess, and other work-ethic creating tasks. Or what about the words of wisdom we share with our students when we discipline? Or the call out of a kid in front of the whole room because they weren’t paying enough attention when we wanted them to? Rewards or honor roll to make sure some kids feel valued while others do not? Those damages that we don’t think much of but that over time are sure to change the kid somehow. Those are the damages I ponder.
In the end, I think back to the kindergartners that come into our lives the first day of school and I wonder what we do to those kids? How do some of them turn into troubled adults when they started out alright? What part do we have in the mess that is created? How much damage do we do fooled by good intentions? I don’t have the answer but it is making me think.
The Dangerous Weapons in School, Or When You Remove the Permanent Markers……
Recently, and no I am not making this up, we were asked kindly to confiscate all permanent markers from the students. It wasn’t that there had been a huge problem with students using these to write on things, but there had been a couple of incidents and it was therefore deemed necessary to ban permanent markers in the 5th grade totally. After all, it is much easier for us to ban things rather than teach appropriate usage. To say I was perplexed at the approach is an understatement.
So this got me thinking, if we remove the permanent markers, what else should we remove from the students?
- Paper – not only can this create dangerous paper cuts but it can also be used to communicate secret messages or ideas. Highly subversive stuff if left in the wrong hands, and let’s face it, all students hands are wrong.
- Pencils – this master weapon can be used to write these aforementioned dangerous messages, and also if you sharpen it really really well it is a dangerous weapon in itself. (For more bad usage of pencils duo check out #pencilchat on Twitter – there is some scary stuff there)
- Rulers – ever see a kid spin a ruler on their pencil – ’nuff said.
- Compass – sharp points and the ability to poke things, no more of these.
- Scissors – who allowed this stabbing and scratching tools into the classroom in the first place? Gigantic bad idea.
- Erasers – these things can be thrown at other people and also used to erase things we want to see such as notes being passed and wrong answers.
- Textbooks – these mammoths of knowledge create backaches for kids, they can be torn apart by devious students and dropped on someone’s foot.
The more I think about this more I see the problem here. These kids are not equipped to handle any of these tools maturely and I am sure there are more out there that need to be banned. Think of how wonderful this will be; then all the students will have to do in a classroom is listen tot he teacher filling them with knowledge. Win!
Pernille Ripp 