Oct
19
Deprivatizing Teaching
October 19, 2007 | | Leave a Comment
Why don’t we get into each other’s classrooms more often, to learn, observe, consult, grow, advise, mentor? Is teaching an inherently solitary endeavor? I certainly don’t think so, but I am a member of a new committee at school that is exploring ways in which we can rethink the concept of “teacher development” at various stages in our careers.
While several committee members felt excited about exploring peer observation, feedback and mentoring, others hesitated and indicated that for some colleagues, the concept of an open-door policy would be intimidating, inhibiting and uncomfortable. If we do decide that we value a culture of sharing, does it need to be an official “sanctioned” program with parameters and expectations? Or would it work better as a grass-roots “drop in whenever you feel like it” type of thing? Hmmmm…
The concept of “teaching in private” simply wouldn’t work for me in my role. By very definition, a Technology Coordinator must partner with classroom teachers and uncover what’s going in the classroom in order to create meaningful connections to technological tools, skills and projects. My new adventure with teaching kindergartners right in the K classrooms is having the fringe benefit of allowing me to observe my colleagues in action on a weekly basis. When I hear Doug teaching a new Letter of the Week song with his banjo, or see Richard explaining how the classroom spider will eat the cricket he’s about to feed it, or look around the walls of Janet’s room and see classrom documentation showing how they are incorporating math concepts into their morning meetings, I am growing and learning as a teacher.
