In the schools that I have rotated to this year, the professional development time has been of no value. Its usually about planning or student essay writing evaluations and a chore not to fall asleep. While I know this was Chancellor Carmen Farina's idea, the UFT should not let it continue beyond the school year. since they must agree to the extension.
Few teachers look forward to the professional development and are counting the minutes until it ends so that they can flee the school and do more meaningful activities. Maybe if the professional development involved the most efficient use of technology in the classroom, or how to better use online grade books, the use of the Microsoft Office suite, and other interesting teacher-directed activities. Instead its administrator directed boring chores.
The best use of the time is to add it back to the classroom or use it for small group tutoring for struggling students at the end of the school day. This brain numbing professional development requirement just makes our teaching duties that much worse. Being forced and coerced into professional development makes it a losing proposition. Let's get rid of the professional development requirement and fast!
We had extensive training in how to use our online grade book. It went something like this:
ReplyDelete"click here, click there, change this setting save it, move onto the next screen enter your grades and save".
It is important to note that most teachers hadn't even turned on their computer during the time this explanation was taking place. This went on for approximately 2 months. The PD needs to end because it utterly sucks.
I am a long time teacher and fan of your blog. However, I disagree with you on this topic. As much as I am not a fan of the PD, I would prefer that to the small group instruction time or adding the time back into the day. People need to remember that when the small group instruction time was part of the contract it meant that kids as young as 6 years old were in school for that extra time. These kids, (and teachers) are worn out enough from the day. Adding more teaching time is just too much. I miss the "good old days" before the small group time was voted in. If PD can be teacher led I think it makes the day go by smoother and without as much stress as the small group instruction. However, that is just my opinion. The fair thing to do would be to let individual schools hold SBO's to decide how to use the time. The only problem with that would be that kids would be getting out of school at different times throughout the city depending on how individual schools voted. If that is the case then the UFT should hold a citywide member vote to decide how the time should be used.
ReplyDeleteThe extra 80 and 75 minutes is deadly- and should be ended as soon as it is possible to do so. Who can sit there listening to administrators who know nothing talk about garbage for so long - it is teacher detention pure and simple - another way to punish us
ReplyDeleteWe had a PD taught to us by a woman who received her BA in....9 years!
ReplyDeleteHow would you know that?
DeleteTeacher Detention! Love it.
ReplyDeleteThe PD should NOT be about principals yammering away. The PD should be teacher led and focused. Our school uses the PD for grade level and department planning and discuss best practices. I much prefer that to the small group instruction at the end of the day.
ReplyDeleteI prefer the PD over extra babysitting time. 1 hour periods are simply too long.
ReplyDeleteI agree with 6:54. The extra tutoring time was of no use in high schools as the students who needed the extra tutoring sessions did not attend as it was voluntary. The extra 80 and 75 minutes suck, but the extra time used for more teaching!!! NO,NO!!
ReplyDeleteI don't think my high school figured this out yet. We meet once a month after school for 40 min. No one is saying anything because this can't be right. The admin is to dumb to realize.
ReplyDeleteBeing dumb is so whack...this is the new school tag line for our beloved charters and their star guests....This is what happens when you bring a rapper to an educational outing for a cause but then the rapper gets up there and says being dumb is so whack..yea right you with the kids and so cool they love you mann...lol rol
ReplyDeleteWhat is so hard about adding the time to the periods and everyone having a six hour and 50 minute day each day? They do it in multi session high schools and it seems to work just fine.
ReplyDeleteFor those of you who like to take shots at the NYC school system and its teachers I'd like to point out that these"young ladies" are our "students". Chew on that for a while before you slam NYC teachers. Every school in the 5 boroughs is loaded with these kids!!
ReplyDeleteIt's funny as a dean for over 10 years in a large high school I saw dozens of fights like the one at McDonald's. I remember one with over 50 girls fighting. All of them were on camera. I always hoped one of them would be released via the Freedom of Info Act. Also lots of oral sex in the stairwell caught on camera ; previewed by security, administration, suspension hearing officers and the parents of the students. DeBlosia made a tremendous mistake letting cell phones into schools. He's going to curse the day he made that decision.
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