Monday, June 27, 2011

Time.

From Tracy's lesson, to the extra time Don gave us to look at our drafts, to the revision discussion with Sherrie, and finally, the immensely affirming and thoughtful reading group talk with Lena, Judy, Kelly and Brea - it was all good. (Not sure that last sentence reads so smoothly, but hey, this is a blog).

Our discussion this afternoon about Palmer's book really resonated with me, and I imagine it did with the rest of the group. It was such a comfort and a relief to be able to relax and talk about our lives and our teaching with no time limits or external expectations. Kelly's point about loving the people she works with, but wishing that they wanted to take the time to talk about teaching was so spot on. How many of us work with people who never want to talk about teaching if they don't have to, or perhaps if we're out at a teacher happy hour, only want to complain about students, parents, or our workload?

The one theme that has resonated with me today has been TIME. We need the time to revise, to restore ourselves, to talk with our colleagues and get to know each other, to seek out professional development opportunities that will keep us motivated...but the time is not there and it's not coming anytime soon. Not sure what the answer is...




1 comment:

  1. So true! Time is a rare commodity. And I don't think there is an answer. The response has to be to keep trying, vary our practice, talk to people to see what works, and keep trying. Yes I know I said that twice. Keep the students' successes in mind and find time for the really important stuff.

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