I am taking a change in the weather as an opportunity to post an update to my summer pursuits...
I must confess to feeling a bit overwhelmed and confused by some of the professional reading and thinking that I have had the time for of late. One pursuit that I thoroughly enjoy having time in the summer is for reading, thinking and reflecting on all the things professional and political that I only have time to consider at a glance while I am in the midst of doing an all-consuming job as a public school teacher. Be careful what you wish for!
There are so many 'experts' in all fields who seem to have all the answers to what I (as a professional teacher) should be, could be, must be, mustn't be, have potential to be, might be etc. that I have my brain cells tying themselves in knots trying to find a path through all the information: blogs, videos, articles, newspapers, professional books, papers and magazines that seem to vault over one another with all the latest and greatest ideas and suggestions for the future of education.
Here is my frustration:
No one has asked teachers!
It seems that the people who are actually doing the 'front-line' service are last to be considered or consulted on changes to their daily job description. The 21st century learning bandwagon has blindsided all of us but what of all the 'gaffleflab' is really viable and important for children's learning? What is pie in the sky and what is truly able to be implemented in a fair and equitable manner. What training do I need now?
Every time I turn around and get close to feeling confident with a new direction or a new set of professional goals, expectations or Standards along comes a new coach and changes the play book and the moves and yet the field itself remains the same if not somewhat smaller with more confine lines. I enjoy the challenges but
I am feeling the burn of so many, so fast, so ill planned and some so blatantly pointless that they are shelved before they really get off the ground.
When I am 'consulted' and considered (apparently our BC government through the District superintendents this coming fall will be undertaking a survey of teachers and teaching staff regarding the highly touted BC Ed Plan) I feel that I am damned if I do respond and I am damned if I don't.
Yes, I want to be more than 'consulted' and would like to have a meaningful contribution to the upcoming changes which are inevitable. However, I often believe that the decisions have already been made and that my contribution is more than a day late and a couple of dollars short- it is just a waste of time as inconsequential as a drop in the bucket of opinion and, believe me, if you are a teacher you are at the mercy of everyone else's opinion about your professional status and your personal being! No other profession (and apparently even the word 'professional' is contentious among some teacher naysayers) is so publicly, politically and personally harassed and flayed as are public school teachers.
I consider myself a veteran teacher (having been involved in education now for nearly 30 years) and I am not afraid of change and growth in my career. I am a lifelong learner and embrace changes that make sense and can be properly implemented and supported. I enjoy what I have chosen to do for a living and I am constantly seeking to improve my practice and be the best I can be for the students whom I have the privilege and opportunity to work with every day during the school year. I use the summer vacation to revitalize, organize, reflect and renew my energies for the coming school year and, yes, to rest and relax away from schedules, bells and demands of everyone from the custodian to little Sally's grandma's chihuahua.
I recently read an interesting article in the Globe and Mail (Friday, July 13th in which there were a few thoughtful articles in the Globe Life section!) about the research and evidence from year-round schooling experiments in North America. The author (Beth J. Harpaz) of the article, "Conflicting evidence on year-round schooling", writes that many districts that once embraced them have returned to traditional calendars.
"Research on whether learning improves in year round schools
is mixed, with some year-rounds schools reporting gains and
others finding that kids on traditional schedules do better."
It will be interesting to see what the results of the BC government handing over control of the local school calendar will be in our district in the near future. I often believe that people's emotions and spur of the moment thoughts and feelings about changes to schools and education influence the powers that be much more convincingly than any properly conducted and thoughtful research. Whose final decision will it be and will it really meet the educational needs of our children?
That is why, in my opinion, we continually end up taking years and years to wind down around the garden path making no real progress in the forward movement of education. We find ourselves not too far from where we started only to jump on another bandwagon and begin the professional growth process all over again using the latest ideas (usually old ideas prepackaged in many new marketing ploys using the unbiquitous vocabulary of the) of the 'movement' of the moment.
Just so you aren't too worried about this reflective diatribe there are other things that I am pursuing this summer that are less soap-box oriented
10. watching laundry drying in the sunshine and heat9. trying new recipes and wine tasting
8. purging the detritus of accumulated 'junk' from the house
7. weed whacking survivor gardening- let our garden go to seed during the long rainy season!
6. hanging out with teenage boys (my son and his friends before you call the teacher-cops!- interesting random conversations!)
5. adjusting to being the 'wheels' for my aging parents
4. appointments of the specialist kind- dental etc. Nice to have the time to go mid day and mid week!
3. really having the time to read, re-visit and reflect on a whole article, paper or magazine.
2. morning coffee(s) in p.j's with a leisurely time schedule for reading above papers
1. afternoon naps (usually joined by the cat and dog) when the heat gets too intense for this Scottish gal (never get to do this any other time of the year) It's a treat as is having the time to do this post just because...
Over and out (for now)
Thanks for reading
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