Creating an Environment Where Student Needs Drive Professional Development

Sylvia Duckworth, Lee Araoz

When I first started my teaching career, I often thought of Professional Development trainings as a waste of time.  We were often given some time out of the classroom to attend various conferences to bring back ideas to share with our colleagues.  Oftentimes, those professional development trainings didn't always measure up because what I learned about didn't always translate well into the classroom.  Sometimes, frankly, they were a colossal waste of my time.

I have provided professional development to the high school staff for many years.  Usually I would see a need, and then I would make sure that I was available to provide training during the school day and one day after school.  Many times this PD was necessary because our district had purchased something new, and our teachers needed training.

Now that I have moved to the position of Technology Integration Specialist, I have many more schools to cover and a greater need to provide professional development that enhances the curriculum and allows greater creativity for students.

Lee Araoz and Sylvia Duckworth created a template that provides some ideas or guidelines for Instructional Coaches.   As a trainer, I feel like I do most of the items listed on the template.  However, I think that one must always be aware of the importance of all facets of the job.  Of the eight choices, I am drawn to "creating an environment where student needs drive professional development."

There are a myriad of apps, extensions, add -ons, software etc. for teachers, students, administrators, and well, everyone.  There are new things all of the time, and it is impossible to keep up with the rapidly changing technology.  Part of the job of a coach or tech specialist is to sort through and find the best that might work for our students and staff.

Our job is to help our teachers and staff have the best resources available to ensure that our students are able to reach levels of learning that redefine and modify their class work.  Some of the technology that is available may not be promoting student- centered learning.  Some of us may be using technology just for technology's sake.

It is very easy to substitute and augment because that is what we know.  Many of us are familiar with the lecture type classroom  because that is what was modeled for us.  I know many of our teachers who feel a bit uncomfortable with technology so they will augment, but moving beyond that aspect is a bit frightening.  They see technology as something they should use, but they have no idea how to implement it properly in their classrooms.

Our job is to help those who are a bit tentative about moving to redefinition and modification.  I see this as a circle- which, of course, is never ending. When we become more comfortable with making our classrooms more student centered, then our students be able to use the tools that are available in ways that might not have been thought of before.  Teachers will be able to see the results and decide the next steps in the process.

In essence, the importance of our professional development training is not the tool itself, but how we can encourage the teacher to reach a little bit farther, or try something just a little bit different in the classroom.  We should offer to be there for support - and see where the students lead us.

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Cora was born into slavery on a plantation in Georgia.  Life is difficult, but things aren't any easier when Cora's mother Mabel escapes the yoke of slavery and leaves her young daughter behind.  Cora must endure backbreaking work in the field and the cruelty of the overseer.  She must listen to the overseer touting Bible verses suggesting that slavery is biblical because it is in the Good Book.  She must try to escape the notice of men, but once she comes of age, that becomes an impossibility.  The plantation owner has noticed her, and grabs her breast while the slaves are lined up for inspection.  She is already marked as a slave, but now she is marked as a woman who will be visited nightly by the owner of the plantation.  She knows she has no choice in the matter unless she tries to escape.  

Caesar, who is another slave on the plantation, had approached Cora with the idea of escape a few weeks before.  Her own mother had been successful, and the slave catchers had never found her, so maybe the same luck would be with Cora.  Cora knew the risks of capture - a long, slow tortuous death.  Cora also knows that death is better than being raped repeated by the cruel owner, Randall.  

Caesar and Cora make their bid to freedom via the Underground Railroad.  The Railroad was not known to be as far south as Georgia, but there were those individuals who risked their lives to fight for those who were enslaved.  Thus begins the story of Cora and those she meets along her journey to freedom.  

This book was difficult for me to read.  I saw so many parallels between that time period and today.  
One of the things that has most saddened me after the events of the last year is the deep-seeded racism that pervades our society.  I had no idea that so many people had so much hatred in their hearts toward other human beings. “The whites came to this land for a fresh start and to escape the tyranny of their masters, just as the freemen had fled theirs. But the ideals they held up for themselves, they denied others"(Whitehead).  

Until recently, history books never told the entire story.  I never knew about the Japanese internment until I met someone whose family was interned in Washington state WHILE he was working as an interpreter to fight against our enemy at the time.  Did our history books tell us how we gained land in the west?  Or how we built most of the railroads, the nation's Capitol building, and even the White House?  The United States has a tarnished history in its greatness.  
     “And America, too, is a delusion, the grandest one of all. The white race believes--believes with all its heart--that it is their right to take the land. To kill Indians. Make war. Enslave their brothers. This nation shouldn't exist, if there is any justice in the world, for its foundations are murder, theft, and cruelty. Yet here we are" (Whitehead).

And here we are indeed.  How can we as a nation move toward unity, civility, and a love for each other?  We won't get there by continuing to harbor racism in our hearts.  We won't get there if we believe that we must hate those who are different.  We certainly will not get there if we continue to excuse behaviors that are clearly racist in nature.  It is our responsibility to start our own underground railroad and help those who feel enslaved by a toxic cultural attitude.  

This book will force you to see what most history books didn't tell you.  Many people gave their lives so that others would have freedom. There are still those who fight for equal rights and racial equality. Those people represent the essence of our Constitution.  Our country is known as "the land of the free."  We all have the responsibility to make sure it remains so.