I forgot about Alvin...

Alvin Toffler is a futurist. He and his wife Heidi are prolific authors and are "known for having forecast the acceleration of daily life, the decline of the nuclear family, the spread of loneliness and rise of religion, the Tofflers decades ago also anticipated cloning, virtual reality, niche markets, information overload, work-at-home, product customization, the "de-massification" of the mass media, the threat of terrorism and many other features of contemporary life." (www.alvintoffler.net) Educators know him more commonly by his famous quote:

"The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn."

It's this quote that has me excited about the Professional Learning Series that we're running this year for teachers. There are three series - Critical Literacy, Cross-Curricular Literacy and 21st Century Skills. What's different about what my partner and I are doing this year is that we're including a job-embedded professional learning component for each teacher who participates in any of the series. I have to admit that I was unimpressed by the idea at first. Truthfully, my cynicism was the result of reservations I had about teachers' levels of receptivity to the idea of co-planning, co-teaching and co-debriefing. Generally speaking, I'm not one to care much what people think, especially when it comes to projects that only to improving student learning. That said, if no one buys in then practice when never shift - that includes my own. I was initially resistant to the idea of "coaching" other teachers. After all what could I possibly offer a science, technology, or french teacher. I have come to a better understanding that it really isn't about WHAT is being taught. It's about practice and that's a universal language in teaching. Ultimately, the goals of this process are basically four-fold:

1.) to increase student achievement;
2.) to improve student learning;
3.) to refine existing instructional strategies; and
4.) to introduce new strategies withing a supportive framework.



To me, this sounds pretty good. It embraces the spirit of Toffler in that teachers are called to be truly reflective and REFLEXIVE in their practice, essentially, engaging the process of learning, unlearning and relearning. This is the very essence of critical pedagogy.I can certainly understand why teachers may not be rushing to book time to work with me. It can be pretty intimidating having another educator, much less central staff, working with you in your classroom. It is invasive. From time to time, I think it's a good thing. For me, I suffer from the "three year itch", where I get a bit bored and I look to be challenged in my profession. I can't imagine anything that would make teachers more itchy than this. It's completely voluntary, so there is no telling how many will take me up on the offer.

Engaging in this process with my colleagues will by very uncomfortable and intimidating for me, so I can only imagine how other teachers will feel. It's one thing to sit around the table and brainstorm solid instructional straegies, but moving into a teacher's "turf" is a different story.

Very itchy...