Mr. Higgins’ Blog

Nov 19th, 2006 by Mr. Higgins

In Ewan McIntosh’s professional development keynote at the k12 online conference, he addresses various subjects that are involved with teachers as learners. As a first year teacher, I feel I have been going to professional development courses/institutes for awhile, they were called college classes. I remember I had a professor that said the worst students he had were teachers, because they talk in class too much but are not willing to engage in heavy dialogue. This is a shame.

I have went to several different professional development opportunities during the last 6 months and have had a chance to think about how teacher are as learners. The great thing is collaboration with other teachers, but are we actually engaging in thoughtful dialogue? I don’t think so. There is just never enough time, unless you go to a weekly conference that is only on one single subject, like an Advanced Placement institute that is only on one single subject.

He states that the average teacher “clock watches” during professional development. I completely agree, but when you are in schools where there is no collaboration with your fellow teachers or no time provided for this, there is a culture of clock watching that is developed because they have to get to work and reflect on their own. I think that administratiors are creating teachers that are not learners, but people that receive information and then develop and opinion and reflection down the road. Why not give time for near immediate reflection with colleagues? Schools could develop sound teachers that are also sound learners with some extra effort.

Posted in General, Teaching, k12online06

One Response to “Professional Development comments”

on 20 Nov 2006 at 2:58 am1Ewan McIntosh

What is interesting in this line of argument is what might happen if we continue the story. Administrators are not giving enough time (by reducing class contact time or bureaucracy?) so teachers can be expected to enter into thoughtful dialogue. But without having entered into a thoughtful dialogue it’s going to be difficult for an administrator to see the need for more time (his/her teachers are doing their jobs “as well as they can” etc. etc.)

So, maybe it *has* to be the teacher who makes the first move and starts entering thoughtful dialogue even if this is on a drip, drip basis through the world of reading others’ blogs and leaving comments on them and, eventually, writing their own blog of reflection.

If teachers become so dependent on administrators to let them do their jobs properly then this dependence will, of course, become abused. Teachers need to be independent professionals with a self-determined professional development path, otherwise they are merely sheep following their administrator shepherd. Sorry for the early morning metaphor, but you get what I mean, perhaps.