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Staff Development Chatboard

City can't provide - do your own!

by Student Teacher

Jun 7, 2011

While I am not a teacher yet (1 more year!), I know that most cities and states are struggling financially, which means that good staff development provided for by the district probably is not the norm any more. I know this to be true of all of the districts around me. In light of this, I believe we as teachers can do more to develop ourselves. There are several possibilities here.

One is to attend workshops and conferences at cost to ourselves.

Two is to network and share our ideas with other teachers around the country. This can be done via email, chat rooms, skype, and any other method we can come up with. In fact, I see no problem with teachers within a district or nearby districts using the school building to run their own conference (provided the school allows). It would be a cheap way to attend a workshop and network with teachers in your area.

Third is to develop yourself through reading and research. There are many textbooks, websites, and periodical...See More

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mrsd On 6/07/11, Student Teacher wrote: > While I am not a teacher yet (1 more year!), I know that > most cities and states are struggling financially, which > means that good staff development provided for by the > district probably is not the norm any more. I know this to > be true of all of the districts around me. In light of this, &g...See MoreOn 6/07/11, Student Teacher wrote: > While I am not a teacher yet (1 more year!), I know that > most cities and states are struggling financially, which > means that good staff development provided for by the > district probably is not the norm any more. I know this to > be true of all of the districts around me. In light of this, > I believe we as teachers can do more to develop ourselves. > There are several possibilities here. > > One is to attend workshops and conferences at cost to ourselves. ****Been there, done that. But at a cost of hundreds of dollars, I'm not doing it again.

> Two is to network and share our ideas with other teachers > around the country. This can be done via email, chat rooms, > skype, and any other method we can come up with. In fact, I > see no problem with teachers within a district or nearby > districts using the school building to run their own > conference (provided the school allows). It would be a cheap > way to attend a workshop and network with teachers in your area. ****We have done this. However, getting all schools in a county to have the same day to do this is difficult, if not impossible. Plus, it turns into a generic day - all schools and districts don't have the same needs. In fact, each school in my district (we have grade-leveled schools) has different needs.

> Third is to develop yourself through reading and research. > There are many textbooks, websites, and periodicals that > offer ideas and researched methods to the teacher. We should > take advantage of the materials we have. I, since I'm still > in college, have been organizing my notes and keeping my > textbooks for future reference. There are ideas in them that > I will want to reference when I'm a teacher because I know I > don't remember all that I have learned. ****No CPDU's there. All teachers do this naturally. > > As professionals, it is important to develop our skills. As > teachers and guiders of the next generation, it is imperative. ****I love your idealism. The fact is that most teachers already DO continually learn. But another fact is that staff development is a different animal from professional development. Professional development is just that. Staff development often is much more generic and is geared towards a specific need in a specific school, whether it is discipline, literacy, test data analysis, etc. It's usually mandated because our district does not take many of the national holidays, but the students get the day to be with their families. So, while students are off for Presidents Day, teachers are holed up in "staff development". Just my two cents. Karen

Jun 7, 2011

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Kimberly Thank you for your well thought out message, Student Teacher! You are right, there are many options today for professional development and designing your own can be most effective.

On 6/07/11, Student Teacher wrote: > While I am not a teacher yet (1 more year!), I know that > most cities and states are struggling financially, which &...See More

Jun 7, 2011

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I second mrs.d I admire your idealism. Most of your suggestions are what good teachers try to do all year.

On 6/07/11, Kimberly wrote: > Thank you for your well thought out message, Student Teacher! > You are right, there are many options today for professional > development and designing your own can be most effective. > > On 6/07/11, Stu...See More

Jun 11, 2011

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Ginette Idealistic or not, great employees across all kinds of fields seek to educate themselves toward professional development. That is what sets them apart from others.

Jun 15, 2011

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Michele My suggestion is the do-it-yourself method. What are your weaker areas or areas you want to learn more about? What does your personal data say -- do your kids generally struggle with vocab but do great with compare contrast? Whatever it is, look for the respected researchers in that area and read their books.

A Few Suggestions:

...See More

Jun 19, 2011

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