So how about that for a nice surprise? Finding out that I get the New England Sports Network (NESN) in HD on some obscure digital channel (49-4)? Summer has that extra edge of something special now, eh?
A memorable conversation in one of my schools today, with a few other teachers in their first period PD. Open windows and cool breeze coming in, a pleasant respite from the previous day’s heat and the usual hecticness of students in and out. Questions and frustrations and uneasy navigation of the politics of school– how to stand up for what you believe in when there is a fundamental mismatch between you as a classroom teacher, and that of the school leadership, regarding how to educate kids? And when that kind of conversation is not only difficult to raise, but frankly discouraged (and elicits the reactionary principal response of wanting to clamp down and minimize any perceived threats to the ‘order’ of things?) A mix of uneasiness, restraint and passion– and thoughts on my end of how to encourage teacher leadership behavior (for lack of a better term, right now) and leverage change in the right way, one that rests on the credibility of who we are as educators but also communicates the necessity of teachers getting ‘in’ on the decision making and directional life of our schools.
Some action taken, and new avenues to pursue with this situation (glad that I was able to be involved and move things along in a concrete way), but certainly a lot to think about.
Red Sox in HD and thoughts on the day
So how about that for a nice surprise? Finding out that I get the New England Sports Network (NESN) in HD on some obscure digital channel (49-4)? Summer has that extra edge of something special now, eh?
A memorable conversation in one of my schools today, with a few other teachers in their first period PD. Open windows and cool breeze coming in, a pleasant respite from the previous day’s heat and the usual hecticness of students in and out. Questions and frustrations and uneasy navigation of the politics of school– how to stand up for what you believe in when there is a fundamental mismatch between you as a classroom teacher, and that of the school leadership, regarding how to educate kids? And when that kind of conversation is not only difficult to raise, but frankly discouraged (and elicits the reactionary principal response of wanting to clamp down and minimize any perceived threats to the ‘order’ of things?) A mix of uneasiness, restraint and passion– and thoughts on my end of how to encourage teacher leadership behavior (for lack of a better term, right now) and leverage change in the right way, one that rests on the credibility of who we are as educators but also communicates the necessity of teachers getting ‘in’ on the decision making and directional life of our schools.
Some action taken, and new avenues to pursue with this situation (glad that I was able to be involved and move things along in a concrete way), but certainly a lot to think about.