This is not the best time of the year when you work in a school. Spring Break is just out of reach and there hasn't been one damn snow day. We may be smiling but many of us are not that happy. My colleague came in this morning and confessed that she's tired, and yes, a little grumpy. So, since we had professional development planned for the afternoon she thought it was in her best interest to take some time for herself. My very smart colleague took the afternoon off.
When I started teaching I judged Professional Development by what ideas I took from the presentation. I started in elementary school so my PD came from all different curriculum areas. Back then I returned to my classroom with all kinds of ideas. The math department always provided lessons and ideas to use in the classroom. The other areas did too, but I still remember those math meetings.
Professional Development has changed. This afternoon I reviewed my "Learning Plan" in the online Professional Development system. My county requires all teachers to complete 35 hours of PD outside of our prescribed contract hours. These hours must be completed by April 30- that's seven weeks before the end of the school year. Some of the online hours I finished were not showing as complete so I had to email the identified individual in charge to get those hours to show up. Ugh.
PD used to leave me feeling energized, and ready to get back to the classroom and teach. Today, that wasn't really the case.
Don't worry, tomorrow I'll return to work with a smile.
Describes so many of the changes in education. They no longer leave us energized and revitalized.
ReplyDeleteWow, 35 hours! Many of our teachers would never make that! What a postive outlook you have and hopefully, that smile will be there tomorrow! :)
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