Professional Development-- What We Have to Do, and What I Hope We'll Do-- Entering Year 37

I've kicked the proverbial can down the road long enough. Today --this morning, before I change my mind again-- I will engage in two hours of online modules that remind me to be professional, how to handle blood-borne pathogens, and what to do about potential bullying, among other "housekeeping" details. I have no doubt I'll manage to pass the quizzes at the ends of each module; we do the same ones every single summer. There's no way to test out of them, so I'll be a compliant student and sit through the slide shows, marveling at the really awful drawings and the ever-present grammar errors. I would not mind it at all if there were new modules, because I believe in being a well-trained professional. These, however, are stale. I wish they could assign a set of modules to new teachers, and a different set to those of us who have spent over 30 years in the classroom. 

Professional development, at least in my experience, has been a hit-or-miss situation. Mostly miss, at least as far as content-related sessions go, unless they are things I've sought out and chosen to do myself. Teachers need to accrue a set number of CEUs in order to maintain our certification; most of the contact hours are in our content area(s), and the rest are devoted to pedagogy and school climate/safety. All of that is important; please don't misunderstand what I'm saying. But seriously, these modules are, at the very least, boring. And definitely not geared to our school specifically. We do get awarded two CEUs for doing them, so there's that. 

I didn't mind reading the book we were given in June, and I'm ready to engage in a discussion about trauma and school and how we should be working with our students. And I loved my yearly poetry conference that was in person, and the other small workshops (all online) that I've chosen to do. I don't enjoy, but I understand the need for, the presentations we are given about active shooter drills and other disasters that can befall a school. It's the world we live in, and as much as I don't like thinking about those things, I do, and I will be attentive every time. I want to be safe, and I want my students to be safe as well. 

There's a real need to engage with colleagues about other issues, too, things like what to do about the AI situation and written work. And curriculum development-- that would be a welcome discussion. So I hope that those topics are on the schedule for this year. We have a tiny and disparate "department" at the middle/high level in English, and at the end of the school year I was working on my own during the curriculum and standards workshops. And I worked on my own to get two new courses developed and one of them is also now certified for dual credit (of the four courses I teach, three are dual credit now--!). I was hopeful of meeting the new English teacher this summer, but that has not happened. I hope we have time to sit down together and discuss our shared vision for the high school programming before the first bell rings. 

But these GCNs aren't going to do themselves. I should stop musing about professional development and watch them. 

Have a good day,

C