Really enjoyed this. Timely. Learning Walks, embedded into the day so folks can watch teaching and learning in others’ classrooms really shows potential. Requisite trust and organization have to be in place for it to work best. It’s daunting to take it on. Lots of logistics. Coupled with learning cycles, there is power. Have seen, considered, tried some various uses of contractual PD time over the years. Mixed results. A couple of things stand out though. Whether it’s 2 hours plus an early release every other week or 4 late starts a month or one department meeting an on staff meeting… whatever the breakdown, it is the time you have. As factors work against those collective minutes, you get things like inefficiency, mission creep, indifference, cynicism, lost focus, etc. minute by minute, meeting by meeting. A twist on an oft-used phrase of mine would be “there are many meaningful developments of profession; which ones do you want to fund?” You might recall my simile about the Adirondack chair in the spacious manicured backyard. It’s a damn fine choir. But it is just a chair. You’ve got me thinking, Paul.
Really enjoyed this. Timely. Learning Walks, embedded into the day so folks can watch teaching and learning in others’ classrooms really shows potential. Requisite trust and organization have to be in place for it to work best. It’s daunting to take it on. Lots of logistics. Coupled with learning cycles, there is power. Have seen, considered, tried some various uses of contractual PD time over the years. Mixed results. A couple of things stand out though. Whether it’s 2 hours plus an early release every other week or 4 late starts a month or one department meeting an on staff meeting… whatever the breakdown, it is the time you have. As factors work against those collective minutes, you get things like inefficiency, mission creep, indifference, cynicism, lost focus, etc. minute by minute, meeting by meeting. A twist on an oft-used phrase of mine would be “there are many meaningful developments of profession; which ones do you want to fund?” You might recall my simile about the Adirondack chair in the spacious manicured backyard. It’s a damn fine choir. But it is just a chair. You’ve got me thinking, Paul.