It's about time to start doing Professional Development again. I went from hating to loving a 3 day training.
It takes me a while to settle in at a training. I've talked about how I'm a pretty bad student, but I'm worse at trainings.
I know. I'm quick to judge and even berate people, especially teachers, that openly talk with each other and disrespect people presenting. I refuse to admit my behavior is exactly the same, but it's all shades of disrespect. I'm the silent-but-not-compliant type. I'm on the internet reading the news, talking to friends, and blogging probably 70% of the time.
Is that wrong? Pretty much. Everyone drifts and comes back, but I realize that I drift a little further than others and so did my presenters.
Day one these ladies showed up, didn't really introduce themselves, clearly hadn't done any background research on who we were or how long we'd been in class, and then did the one thing that I always hate. They asked us to "please put all electronics away."
Nay. I shant.
"What about for notes?" I asked in my most innocent but clearly not innocent student voice. "Oh that's ok!" the presenters said.
Blood in the water. It's go time.
Half a day goes by with me playing on the internets and half listening. I'm already angry at them for even attempting to restrain my electronic freedoms. I've decided they have no important information to give me. Then I take my lunch break and come back ready to do the same thing.
Here's the problem. Blogging makes me more introspective. I was half way through typing a blog about how much I hated this training and then I started to hear things that I found interesting. There were probably other things that I would have been interested in if I was paying attention too. Then empathy started to creep in. The presenters are former teachers and current adminstrators. They know when people aren't paying attention. If they are anything like me, it made their blood boil and their heart cry. They weren't really employing any of the strategies administrators demand we use in our classrooms, but that rarely happens, so why was I surprised about that? I started to feel the energy in the room. It was dying. More and more people were starting to drift and then became furious when the session ran a half hour over.
Day 2 was going to be rough for all of us, or so I thought.
The rest of the training was actually quite pleasant and informative. We did more group work the next day. We got up and moved more. We knew each other better and started to imagine ourselves in the presenters' shoes. They have a script and a program. We need the training they are providing. Let's just make the most of this because we're already here.
Boom. Problem solved.
I learned. I laughed. I enjoyed PD.
Related Content:
5 Fixes for Dallas ISD Teacher Prep Programs
***NEW*** Dallas Education Podcast - Brandi Watts and the DFW Teachers' Lounge
Dallas ISD News and Politics Rundown - July Week 1
Don't know what to do with your summer? Fun City Stuff Will Help!
I know. I'm quick to judge and even berate people, especially teachers, that openly talk with each other and disrespect people presenting. I refuse to admit my behavior is exactly the same, but it's all shades of disrespect. I'm the silent-but-not-compliant type. I'm on the internet reading the news, talking to friends, and blogging probably 70% of the time.
Is that wrong? Pretty much. Everyone drifts and comes back, but I realize that I drift a little further than others and so did my presenters.
Day one these ladies showed up, didn't really introduce themselves, clearly hadn't done any background research on who we were or how long we'd been in class, and then did the one thing that I always hate. They asked us to "please put all electronics away."
Nay. I shant.
"What about for notes?" I asked in my most innocent but clearly not innocent student voice. "Oh that's ok!" the presenters said.
Blood in the water. It's go time.
Half a day goes by with me playing on the internets and half listening. I'm already angry at them for even attempting to restrain my electronic freedoms. I've decided they have no important information to give me. Then I take my lunch break and come back ready to do the same thing.
Here's the problem. Blogging makes me more introspective. I was half way through typing a blog about how much I hated this training and then I started to hear things that I found interesting. There were probably other things that I would have been interested in if I was paying attention too. Then empathy started to creep in. The presenters are former teachers and current adminstrators. They know when people aren't paying attention. If they are anything like me, it made their blood boil and their heart cry. They weren't really employing any of the strategies administrators demand we use in our classrooms, but that rarely happens, so why was I surprised about that? I started to feel the energy in the room. It was dying. More and more people were starting to drift and then became furious when the session ran a half hour over.
Day 2 was going to be rough for all of us, or so I thought.
The rest of the training was actually quite pleasant and informative. We did more group work the next day. We got up and moved more. We knew each other better and started to imagine ourselves in the presenters' shoes. They have a script and a program. We need the training they are providing. Let's just make the most of this because we're already here.
Boom. Problem solved.
I learned. I laughed. I enjoyed PD.
Related Content:
5 Fixes for Dallas ISD Teacher Prep Programs
***NEW*** Dallas Education Podcast - Brandi Watts and the DFW Teachers' Lounge
Dallas ISD News and Politics Rundown - July Week 1
Don't know what to do with your summer? Fun City Stuff Will Help!
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