Barriers

I have been fighting to tear down barriers between teachers now for quite a few years where I teach and in other schools.  Case in point: I received an email from a colleague at our rival school asking if he could borrow some materials.  I worked at our rival school when I first started teaching and built many connections there.  Apparently the teacher asking for help has not received any from those he works with and emailed me for help (and I am across town mind you).  Now I am not trying to pat myself on the back because I answered and gave him the materials he needed but how is it that we have come into a new century and our idea of education and collaboration have not caught up?  We spend countless hours working on 'our' curriculum and ideas and store them like they are state secrets.  A few years ago I tried to get some professional learning communities started in our building and it was met with a chorus of 'NO'.

I joined twitter to pass information and ideas along because there are a lot of people out there that think the way I do. There are a lot of educators with some pretty revolutionary ideas and lessons and I realize that I don't have all the answers.  Good curriculum comes from trying new ideas and from the collaboration that creates these ideas.  Helping, collaborating and sharing is not a revolutionary thing, it's a human thing.  Our very nature prompts us to help those that need it and to be giving.  Why can't we do this as professionals for our fellow teachers?  We share the same trenches, fighting the same bureaucracy and apathy towards our profession.  Until we can let go of old practices and behaviors within our schools, the change we seek will be hard to come by.

Connections

Last few weeks of the school year and this one is the hardest yet.  I am saying my goodbyes to my students as I get ready to assume a new post at a different school.  It's been strange to think that next year I will be teaching in a whole new environment.  The student's have been strongly supportive but surprisingly do not want me to go.  Had I stayed, I would've had most of them next year again as I would be teaching their next level history class.  It's a nice feeling to make those connections with the kiddos and to see them move on and into the next chapter of their lives.  It's especially nice when they come back to visit when they are in college, or have finished it and to see where their life takes them.

The exciting part is seeing how this new school blossoms with life.  I am meeting some of the other staff this weekend as we tour the school (still under construction).  This school is going to be built around the idea of connections: professional learning communities.  I have been a big proponent for them over the years and am excited to work in a building where that is the norm.  Teaming is the future of teaching.  We cannot keep trudging ahead the way we have in the past.  I mean come on; Frodo could not have destroyed the one Ring by himself.  Very exciting indeed!