Staying Mute

Have you had a chance to see the comment that Mike Ford left in response to my recent rumblings about buzzwords in education?

It's got me thinking tonight.

In it, Mike writes:

We must collectively work to sustain our professional development/school improvement efforts. Only then will we be able to extinguish the "buzzword...this too shall pass thinking" that pervades our schools."

Do you ever struggle to figure out exactly what your role is in sustaining professional development efforts in your school?

I know that often times, I'm torn between trying to find a way to influence the decision making at our building level and just lying low---and it's the times that I decide to sit on the sidelines that I end up the most disappointed in myself.

You see, we have a responsibility as teacher leaders to advocate for the kinds of professional learning opportunities that are the most meaningful to us. So often, professional development dollars and energies are wasted on "one size fits all" approaches that miss the mark badly----and yet we rarely take a more active approach to ensuring that our own professional learning is valuable.

What message does that inaction send? Shouldn't we do everything within our power to push for PD that matters? Don't we cheapen ourselves somewhat when we sit through years of meaningless staff development without demanding---or helping to design---something better?

In a recent column, Jay Mathews asked a widely recognized teacher leader named Gardner why he had chosen to start speaking out on behalf of educators. Gardner's response:

"I decided I could no longer stay mute when so much was on the line."

What can you do to raise your voice in support of school improvement?