Professional development seems to come up in every staff meeting. I have taught in three different school districts and professional development time always seems in short supply. However, I think it is the school districts responsibility to supply some time for professional development, I also feel that as an individual teacher it is important to seek out my own professional development opportunities on my own time. Many teachers complain that they don't get enough or any professional development time yet never seek it out on their own time. To me this is a bit of a double standard.
I feel it is very important for teachers to have professional development time in school. However, not all professional development time is used efficiently. I have been teaching now for 10 years and have have seen great use of time for staff development and terrible use of time. The best use of time seems to come when there are tangible result from the professional development time. Examples of this include technology training, new IEP/Special education Laws, and new updates on Autism and other disabilities that are effecting the student population. However, I have been through professional development training where nothing tangible occurs and most people leave feeling that their time could have been better spent doing other things. It is the responsibility of the school administrators to see that professional development time is used efficiently, but it is the teachers responsibility to see that it continues outside the of school time.
2 comments:
Excellent points - it is a two way street. As professionals we must take responsibility for our own personal growth, yet as a district we must provide quality ongoing staff development opportunities for all.
I totally agree with you Eric. I have a department where I am the youngest one by 11 years. I frequently hear them talking about the way things were and are listen to them questions SMART boards. To me they are not putting themselves out there to see what is new.
I also agree with your points about district wide training. It is very frustrating to sit through a presentation and find nothing useful from their presentation. I have also found it frustrating because sometime my view, as a younger teacher, on professional development is not validated as much. Oh well, it just reminds me that when I am older, to make an effort to participate in professional development opportunities.
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