Conquering One “Yeah, but…” at a Time

This past Saturday I attended the NJEA 2009 Thinking and Learning Symposium.  The brochure was filled with promising phrases such as “global classroom” and “information literacy”.   When I signed up, I had no way of knowing it would be the most deliciously warm spring day the area has seen in a long time. 

Dr. Shari Albright from the Asia Society gave a thought-provoking key-note which clearly explained our changing world.   My favorite part was the audience’s reaction to the latest version of “Did You Know”. 

 

One of main reasons I signed up for the workshop was to hear Will Richardson speak.  I was NOT disappointed.   He blatantly demonstrated that many of our schools are falling further behind because our teachers and students aren’t using  powerful tools now available to enhance learning.  About halfway through his rapid-fire presentation of all things wonderful (Google Reader, Twitter, Diigo, blogs), the shock and awe began to wear off, and the “Yeah, buts…” (Will’s term) started.   Teachers voiced concerns that presenters like Will must hear all the time:  my district blocks this, I can’t get permission to use this with my students, I don’t know how to use these tools, I don’t have time to use these tools.  Honestly, I’ve usually felt a little slighted when presenters dismiss these types of teacher concerns because we don’t have answers to them.  We sometimes feel stuck in a system that encourages professional development, but rarely supports implementation of “new and exciting” practices.

I shared a bit of my PLN journey with the group, hopefully to help them see that you’ve got to start somewhere.  I knew what it was like to be trapped by “Yeah, but…”s.  It took (and still takes) effort to look at this process from a proactive position.  But suddenly it hit me…I finally understood why dwelling on the “Yeah, but…”s was a waste of time.  1) We’d never have time to solve all of the  individual issues in the room 2) the issues don’t matter. 

I started my PLN about a year ago because the idea that all information and the learning of that information is available at any time blows my mind.  All I have to do is participate.  Although my district is hestitant about trying these learning methods with our students, I keep…well, bugging the administration about it.   It’s been a slow uphill process.  During Will’s workshop, I realized that if even 10 teachers in my district had been at the conference and conquered their “Yeah, but…”s, there would be nine more teachers like me trying to make change for our students.

My best advice for someone struggling with an issue that prevents them from taking charge of their learning is to ignore it.  Think of what would happen if we ALL started rocking the boat…

PS:  a bit of irony…  In the morning workshop, Will introduced us to Diigo.  We were all impressed by the annotation tool and drooled over the possibilities of using it with staff and students.  In the afternoon session, the presenter asked us to ”jigsaw” a photo-copied article and then write notes about the section we read on chart paper hanging around the room.

Playing the Game

I’ve recently read The Game of School by Robert L. Fried, and was impressed by his balanced depiction of what’s happening in classrooms in this country.  He describes an all too familiar scenario of modern classrooms:  learning should be the goal, but the goals of good grades and passing tests get in the way.  There’s so much more to his reflections, such as how the current educational system has created types of students playing the game…students who “win” and students who “lose”.   It was easy to see how the game is played in my district, school and unfortunately classroom.

I know that if I asked everyone I work with, from a teaching assistant to the superintendent that they would absolutely say that learning and growth is our ultimate goal and that the needs of each learner guide our programming and pedagogy….and we all really mean it.  However, most of our actions are guilty of playing some sort of game.  I know it’s beginning to get under my skin because the voice in my head is getting louder and louder:

• Our local union leaders reminded us that we should not be expected to stay beyond contract hours for workshops without compensation, and doing so could compromise future negotions regarding meeting/workshop attendance expectations.  My voice says: Well, they have a point, we wouldn’t want our administration to take advantage of our valuable free time.  I mean we’re not getting paid for meetings that run past contractual time…But I stay past contractual time all the time!  I need to in order to have my lessons ready for the next day.  And we also don’t have much time built into the school calendar for professional development…but my choice to attend could affect all of the members in my union.  I know the union is meant to protect me, but also prevent me?
• Like many NJ districts, this school budget election is very important to our programming.  Unfortunately, our administration will be cutting several teaching positions for the 09-10 school year.  Additionally, our plans to pay for a website builder/content management system (such as SchoolWires) will be halted for possibly two years.  We’ve been debating and working towards implementing a system for the past year and a half.  My voice says:  It’s not right to spend money on a website builder when my friends could lose their jobs….however, technology has not been a priority and there’s no promise that it will become a priority in the future.  Although our monthly technology meetings are very helpful, we’ve made little progress as a department over the last few years.  We need a liasion between the administration, IT and the classroom teachers to help implement a technology program that meets the needs of the students and staff, while battling our limitations.  But if we’re laying off teachers, when will we be able to “afford” an educational technology specialist?
• Generally speaking, I teach my students to research online and use that research to create PowerPoint presentations, Publisher files and Word documents.  The students are generally happy in the tech. lab,  however, very few of them discover new things or create their own learning.  It’s all laid out for them.  My voice: Honestly, I’m sick of teaching PowerPoint and Word.  The projects we do aren’t necessarily bad, but it’s definitely not helping these kids learn how to use technology as a tool to solve problems or to extend their learning….let alone CREATE their own learning.  Well, what am I going to do?  My district is currently, although cautiously, looking into allowing teachers to “dabble” in a few Web 2.0 tools.  Maybe one day…

We are all learners.  Not just the kids, but the teaching assistants all the way to the superintendent.  We need our ultimate goal to be learning and growth for all.  Unfortunately, the game of education, the “What will so-and-so think if I do this?” can get in the way of the learning and growth.  But how do we stop playing a game that has kept us going for so long?

 

 

Photo By:  Yogi on Flickr