School Culture

The reading for this weekend was on School Culture in our Teacher Leadership book. I completed the Happy Hour and sent it on its way to my mentor. Her feedback included a question that really got me thinking: Does my school's culture encourage collegiality? At first thought, Yes! We have no walls, which requires us to work more closely and respectively with each other. I have always felt that our school works collaboratively naturally. But on closer reflection I saw some discrepancies, with my own grade level in particular. It has always been one filled with tension and I realized we are the only grade level that does not plan together. I plan with one colleague, while the others plan individually. I coteach with the colleague I plan with occasionally, but the others do not. Why is this only happening in our grade level? Is is a personality conflict? I guess the next step is to devise a plan where I can help change this... be the teacher leader we are reading about. It is a small change, but one that could irrevocably influence student learning outcomes in a positive way...if done right! It's a scary thought and will take both courage and support, because I know how a few of the teachers on my grade level will respond to my encouragement for change.

Protected Elementary Teacher Planning

In class on Wednesday, we worked on our position papers for our Advocacy Wiki. Working on this paper really got me feeling the excitement for our advocacy. As our group found more and more research, I felt myself wanting, more and more, to make this real. I listened to other elementary teachers discuss how they had no planning during the last week of school, but in the same breath list the myriad of task that HAD to be completed by the end of the week. All these feelings were reinforced when I lost my entire afternoon on Thursday with meetings. I was given 10 minutes to eat before I was in an IEP meeting from 1:00-2:45pm. Then I was visited by an attorney for a student at 3:00 pm and that lasted until 4:30 pm. I was never helped by administration. This just reinforced the feeling that my time is not valued, nor my family's time, since I had to complete the work that should have been done during that time at home. New thoughts began to surface in my mind...Could I really be someone to start an advocacy for this in Spotsylvania County? Or join forces with those who have begun on this journey already?