Potholes in the Path of Pedagogy

My school is in the second week of a big shake up of leadership. We began the year working under a principal that had extremely poor leadership skills. She was the master of passing the buck, knew very little of the job of an elementary school teacher and even was bold enough to LIE in PRINT! The lying was the straw that broke the camels back for me. It was obvious that integrity meant very little to this person. I think that in most situations I am a very forgiving and patient person. Someone without experience has the ability to gain from experience, someone without knowledge can learn, but someone who lies that late in life will always be a liar. The lying was the one area that really changed the effectiveness of her leadership and ultimately the staff.

As a staff we tried to be tolerant, professional, and patient. Eventually the leadership began to affect the integrity of our teaching and that’s when things changed for us. At first the staff banded together. We tried to share our concerns professionally with other district administration. What we did not realize was that while we were circling our wagons as a staff, the central office staff was also circling their wagons too. I am pretty sure that we as a staff were all seen as a bunch of whiny teachers that did not want to do their jobs. I have heard we were thoroughly complained about by the principal both to the central office and outside of the district.

Anyway, all of that seems to be water under the bridge as we were all informed that our leader would be spending some meaningful time with her neglected family. This would be the same family that she gloated in one of the first staff meeting about because the children were all grown and out of the house and busy with lives out of her realm. We don’t really know if this was a “family need” or if there was some pressure from the central office for her to have a family need. Either way, to our staff we were thrilled to make a new start.

We now have administrators from the central office running the school and although we all feel as if we are under a microscope, we are really starting function normally again. The natural leaders among the staff that were so terribly taken to task under the previous leadership are beginning to emerge again. It is so like awakening after a long winters’ sleep and things have all changed. The difference between us an the hibernating animal is that we are coming out of this mess with quite a few scary experiences and even more wounds that will need to heal.

We are all a bit fearful as we have not been told a truthful tale for a long time and we continue to have suspicions about the longevity of the absence of the principal. The rumors fly about if she will return and what her future in our school district might be like if she returns. With parent groups forming demanding her job, student dissension against her and staff unable to stick up for her, I cannot imagine that the central office will continue to circle the wagons and protect her. I do know that for the first time in months, I am enjoying my job again. I never have valued the role of a principal before this school year….

Stay out of the potholes, drive on the sidewalk!

I’ve never been a teacher’s lounge kind of person.  The gossip about staff, students, the profession in general shared among so many people that I don’t necessarily want to share information with has always made me uncomfortable.  So, I have taken to eating my lunch with those people who have become my friends in my classroom.  Some years, if the schedules play out right, there are quite a number of us, others just me and another teacher.  This year I have lunch with one of my team teachers and good friend.  We sometimes enjoy talking about things outside of school; sometimes we hash out things going on in the classrooms we teach and other times we work hard to make each other laugh just to get through the day. 

Today the topic at lunch was our new classroom wikis.  Over the last few weeks have been trying out a classroom literature wiki with out 6^th grade classes.  For the most part we have both been really impressed with the interest and excitement that has been added to our classroom through the development of the wiki.  The kids have been writing most of the wiki.  Each of us have put the shell of the wiki together and assigned the reading while the kids responded to each element and recorded their thoughts thus building the wiki. 

The response, for the most part, has been fantastic.  The kids love the idea that they are doing their “homework” but that they are not responsible for actually turning it in.  They love the fact that it is digital because, “We can type a ton faster than we an write on pencil and paper.”  I love the paperless part of it all, as our new administrator seems to have nothing better to do than to count the number of copies we make on the copy machine.  Kids have been posting very high-level connections to the text, catching each other’s spelling and grammatical errors, and creating very complete questions for each wiki discussion meeting we have had.

 However, we have this one strange phenomenon occurring that we simply cannot figure out.  Both of us have one group that is not the “low group” but is a group of kids that has a need for an easier text to read while they complete the type of tasks we are asking the kids to do.  In both of our classes, we are having difficulty getting this group to complete the wiki assignments.  They love to be on the computers and enjoy the wiki, but they unlike the other groups, are not motivated by the wiki like the other groups.  Interestingly enough, these kids are also the kids who have less access to computers at home.  Now, I do need to explain that these kids are able to do most if not all of the work at school so access to the wiki is rarely necessary at home.  We both mused about this a bit today.  Is there a correlation here?  Is there some correlation between being a good reader and use of computers in the home?  Or is there no correlation and these kids are just unmotivated to any type of learning regardless of what the draw might be?  This really makes no difference.  In the end we as teachers still have the task of finding a way to meet the needs of each student.  These groups just seem to have different ways of getting those needs met and we have yet to find out what it is.   Just another pothole in the path of learning. 

Stay out of the potholes, drive on the sidewalk!

This blog has been a long time coming. Truthfully, it has taken a while to decide to blog because I am totally intimidated by the amazing bloggers out there.  The quality of the thoughts of many professionals and the flair for putting these thoughts into creative, interesting posts simply intimidates me.  I cannot imagine that anyone would be interested in what I might have to say and therefore I have struggled to even to start.  I’m still not sure that I have a ton of information to offer to others.  I do know that after reading so many blogs far so long, I have grown to expect those writers to post and become upset when they don’t.  It’s kind of like when the newspaper hadn’t come and my parents would anxious wait, looking out the window for the delivery.  I am disappointed when my favorites don’t appear in my RSS feed.  I often wonder if people who blog know that they have that type of impact on their readers.  Then I wonder, could I have that kind of impact on a reader?

So, here I sit taking my first leap into blogging and anticipating where this road might lead.  It took me almost 2 weeks to figure out the title to my blog and my buddy Tom at Seeking the Wisdom of the Ages Through Our Student’s Eyes will be sad to know that I did not title the blog My Life with Tom.  I thought my husband might have some trouble with that title and besides it seemed a little vague on the purpose of the blog.  However, Tom, I do value all of the things that I have learned from you and the many things you have yet to teach me about Web 2.0 tools. 

I chose the title Potholes in the Path of Pedagogy after reading the quote:

 Teachers who inspire realize there will always be rocks in the road ahead of us.  They will be stumbling blocks or stepping-stones; it all depends on how we use them.  ~Author Unknown 

That quote made me pause.  A teacher who inspires is a teacher who can really make a difference in a child’s life.  Considering the tools we have today, if a student is inspired to learn, the doors are wide open.  I want to be a teacher who inspires each and every day.  But I do know that there are obstacles in the road of success.  Since I live in the Midwest and it is February, potholes are more of a way of life than stepping-stones or rocks.  So, Potholes in the Path of Pedagogy it is. 

This school year is my 16^th year of teaching and definitely the most challenging one I have ever had.  This year I have had experiences that have challenged me to rethink my thoughts upon teaching, learning, collaboration as I knew it and my beliefs about people in general.  I hope to share some of that as the blog takes shape.  I hope that anyone who stumbles upon this blog will enjoy these thoughts, share some of their potholes and their successes into the path to pedagogy.  The art of teaching is an every changing one and I hope that this blog with help me to become a better one and help others in that path as well.  Wish me luck!

Stay out of the potholes, drive on the sidewalk!