Posted on October 5th, 2009 by bqwsabb
As a coach, I am constantly haunted by my desire to provide the best for my teachers. I long to make their lives easier and their classrooms active and engaging. I strive to be an encyclopedia of instructional resources and activities. I want them to know that if they can just make it to me, we will figure it out. And more importantly, when you leave, you will have learned how to figure it out without me the next time.
My next project coupled with the experiences I’ve embarked upon through our 21st Century Classroom cohort leaves me conflicted. The problem – I want to create a place where teachers can go for instructional resources, support and motivation any time of the day. The conflict – should I use a wiki or a website? A wiki allows me to post vital information while welcoming others to do the same thing. It makes my work transparent and expands the walls of opportunity by allowing experts and other professionals to share their wealth of knowledge. Yes, clearly this can be extremely beneficial to my teachers. Who in their right mind couldn’t see the perks of having an endless trail of information right at their fingertips? But, what about me? Am I prepared to share my vision of what I have planned to give to my teachers? What about my control, my message intended just for them? I know what my teachers need. I know their teaching style, daily environment, students that they target to reach and barriers that they have both put up and knocked down. It’s me, not the other experts, who spend countless hours conducting and receiving professional development to support MY teachers. Website? A website? A safe place for me to place information specific for my teachers and their situations. A place that they can pride in being their own.
Selfish or purposeful thinking?
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Posted on September 29th, 2009 by bqwsabb
“If at first you don’t succeed, ask for directions,” a wise person once said.
During a professional development on the inception and purpose for Georgia Performance Standards, No Child Left Behind and the former Nation at Risk, teachers expressed their apprehension and distaste for administrative evaluations and observations. Many shared that they viewed observations as intrusive. They argued that the true essence of their lesson could not be captured in the allotted time and structure of a traditional observation. They articulated their sincere desire for administrators and coaches to dialogue and request direction from them as experts of their craft, rather than conducting sporadic observations that often misrepresented them as inexperienced novices.
As a coach who conducts observations weekly, I took this conversation personally. It ignited in me the energy to want to explore how to bridge the gap between the assessor and the assessed. I simply asked what we {administrators and coaches} could do to be invited into their haven of learning, the classroom. I was pleasantly and offensively surprised when an overwhelming number of hands shot up to answer the question that one could clearly observe had been the topic of discussion in several teacher lounges all across Atlanta. I found pleasure in watching the faces of my colleagues as they eagerly shared their insightful resolution for change. Contrarily, I also took offense as my conscience rang loud the on-going administrative argument of “if you’re truly teaching then it shouldn’t matter whose watching. Learning is continual and should be evident under any circumstances at any time.”
Yet, as a former classroom teacher who often shared the same sentiments for my instructional coach, I remember that often time we have to teach our students to crawl before they walk, let alone run. Learning is evident in the minds of our students over a period time. I stand on the same principle that protests the notion of standardized testing. No one tool can capture the depth of the human mind. We are a complex being created in the ideal of being unique. As teachers, we have a responsibility to fashion a canvas that compels our students to paint their own self portrait. This is all clear to me. Yet, I still have not figured out how to connect the dots.
Nevertheless, our conversation propelled me try a different strategy to approach observations this year. For semester one, instead of the surprise “pop-in” style observations, I sent my teachers a schedule of when they would be observed along with the tool that I will be using. I encouraged them to reschedule if they wanted to choose another date other than the one they were assigned. In the spring, I will conduct unannounced observations. My goal is demonstrate a practice of comprise and active listening. I want my teachers to know that I respect them as professionals while holding them to a standard of accountability.
Will this make a difference? Will it encourage my teachers to see me as an ally or a snitch? I will only know upon further observation.
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Posted on August 29th, 2009 by bqwsabb
Today is the first day of the Dobb’s Fellowship 21st Century Classroom cohort! We are excited about the journey we are embarking upon and the relationships we will make. It is our sincere desire that this experience will arm each of us with new knowledge and motivation in our classrooms.
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Posted on August 27th, 2009 by bqwsabb
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