Aretha said it best - "R E S P E C T"

Respecting teachers as professionals goes a long way in the journey to transform the classrooms that we are charged to bring into the “21st Century”.

CAM High School in Anita Iowa has the advantage and the disadvantage of being a small school, where $150,000 can outfit the whole building with Macbooks and I easily work with teachers individually.

However, in terms of early adopters in a faculty of 21, we have only a handful to lean on for internal capacity.

After two years with one-to-one computers we’ve seen an increasing energy from staff for the evolving technologies and Web 2.0 applications. What started with the iLife Suite has broadened into many different possibilities.

We all know change is not easy and change does not always come about quickly. What I have found and believe is that mandates, deadlines and requirements placed on teachers can yield results, but also require another round of them once an administrative imposed time frame expires. There are negative feelings and a feeling of top-down pressure that pushes teachers to find the reasons why NOT to change. They don’t own the process, the administration does.

To get teacher buy in they must champion the cause themselves and time must be given to them to collaborate and develop strategies that work for their classrooms. I have rarely been disappointed in the work our teachers do when brought together to share their learning. It immediately sparks conversation and exploration into new areas for each individual teacher.

Our teachers have asked for things, and for opportunities to develop their skills. When we deliver on their wishes you see a step forward in the use and infusion of that strategy or technology into their classrooms. When we don’t, we stagnate or take steps backwards.

Now in year three of our initiative we will give them more opportunities to get together in person AND online. I will show them how to develop a PLN or PLC that may or may not include teachers and staff from within the building.

I predict that this move will motivate teachers as it has motivated my learning by the flood of current, useful and timely materials by them everyday. The respect I get online, in my network is incredible and that same respect will fuel my teachers as it has fueled and inspired my growth.

Will it happen for each teacher and the same time? Absolutely not. So imposing a requirement about how, where and when they should develop their PLN is defeating the purpose of the individual network.

Working WITH them, giving them opportunities to build our internal capacity through external contacts will move small groups at first and identify the few that may be reluctant. Then implementing strategies for those few will not patronize or insult the larger group that have made the change and keep them energized.

Respect your staff as professionals and let the early doubtful comments bounce off. If you keep working with them most will join you in the journey of discovery that happens when diving into a PLN.

That is the support that will assist them the most in moving their classroom into the “21st Century”.

Stepping towards better classrooms

In the span of the last two weeks I have rapidly increased the development, and more importantly cultivation, of my "Professional Learning Network" PLN.

Next is getting my staff going with PLNs. You see we took technology, and provided staff with quality staff development. They received the computers months ahead of the students, they were giving over a year of staff training, guided by a very skilled AEA13 Technology consultant, Judy Griffin. We did it right by the "old model of Professional Development".

Guess what? Our results are not where I would like them to be despite doing it right, despite educating teachers first, despite old model quality support.

"When's Judy coming?" a teacher would say. Another, "Is Judy coming on the 14th?"

The "obvious" thought that came on last week during the Will Richardson day at Ames is - "Judy's available EVERY DAY!

Via email, Skype, Twitter, Yahoo and Blogger, Judy's out there and probably available. That's the theme or point I will repeatedly make, along with "I'm available", when moving my staff towards their own development of a PLN.

At the beginning of next semester, I am going to roll out some PLN information and show them what I am doing. They will be exposed to many of the things you all are exposed to and given a re-energizing plea from me to re-tool their blogs and work to keep them, and their websites, updated. But central, and first, develop a PLN.

And most importantly ... why am I asking them to do this. Why?

Because they need to understand the power of the PLN so they can look at how to expose our students to the power of the PLN.

Staring down the barrel of professional development days

As a principal and instructional leader, building manager, certified staff manager and curriculum director I always get to the point where I feel I'm staring down the barrel of professional development days.

I habitually start beating myself up starting about July 4th. Sitting watching fireworks with the kids, spawns a knot in my stomach. A voice starts talking, "you need to inspire them out of the shoot, you need to dazzle them." On vacation I tote my laptop and do little things, searching for videos and website, nuggets to lay out for them to pick up and take into the year. Never really leaving my work behind for my free 12th month the anxiety level rises as you try to balance family, friends, work while off contract.

Then there's August. The whirlwind of meetings, professional and building, the smattering of teachers that arrive and the issues that need solved now and not in a week or two like you would like them to be solved. What gets pushed aside to solve these problems and help teachers get ready? Preparation for professional development. Never mind that your partners in education (the local AEA reps) are off contract and you each have a folder of things you discussed in June that continue to gather dust.

But we get there, we prepare and we do our very best (I might add we do better and better each year as we further implement effective professional development models like IDM or DDL or and effective PLT program). And it comes. Day one with teachers.

Thinking of title to this post I realize as I feel I'm looking down the barrel in July and August, the teachers show up and it's being pointed at them with no regard to the short time they have to get ready. We have rolled out very good sessions over the past three years, but you can't hide the fact the teachers are looking down the barrel of another gun - THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.

Teachers do come in some during the year, but many count on those three days to prepare.

So as administrators and educational partners we fire the gun on the first day with teachers yet they see another gun pointed, cocked and aimed at them.

Truthfully, it's not that dramatic and we do an effective job at balancing our professional development time with preparing for students. But the compressed time, and the problems that pop up that need teachers and administrators attention make it a pressure filled three days.

The key is to have "bullets" of learning that are not for the teachers to absorb in those few days. They should be starting points for initiatives that are ongoing and are addressing district needs.

Professional development is not a gun or a bullet, but we can make it feel like we're firing out knowledge and putting teachers in the cross fire of PD and getting ready for school.

Oh, and I'm writing this with a pile of things I need to have ready for Monday.