We are professionals. We deserve to decide what our professional development should be. Recently in my district, I heard of an official who demanded that a teacher attend a specific workshop as he/she needed to "work on" that area. What gives them the right to demand these things?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Hi, Ivy. Here are my thoughts. At its best, professional growth is self-managed by teachers who are aware of new trends and expectations and always willing to learn beyond minimum expectations to improve teaching for the good of their students. However, professional development is also thought of as a policy tool to help organizations achieve their purposes, or as a means to help employees gain required competence in identified areas. With tact and skill, these purposes can blend together. Teacher supervision and instructional leadership are activities expected of principals and embedded in the new BC Principal Standards. There is the "right" to provide direction to teachers in areas that appear to be lacking. However, in well-managed relationships, administrator direction will be seen as support rather than an ultimatum. Nevertheless, as a teacher I would be very careful about defying a directive from an administrator. Note all the trouble around the woman here in BC who refused to do the district mandated standardized testing!
Hello Willow. Thanks for commenting. I agree that when teachers and princials work together in the best interests of everyone than professional growth is at its best. However, I do not agree that we should be leery of standing up to administration. As in all areas there are administrators who take their roles too far, who do not understand their staff as well as they should before making demands, or other such controlling issues. When teachers and administrators work together there can be great things accomplished but one or two wrong moves, unimplied insults to ones professionalism, intrusions on personal issues, and the result is discord and hurt. In regards to your comment on standardized testing - I believe that is another issue entirely from Professional Development.
Post a Comment