Our district moved to the HMH “Into Reading” language arts curriculum this year. After experiencing some success the last few years with a homespun writing initiative, there have been growing pains, for sure. So when our Assistant Superintendent asked me if I wanted to lead some writing work, I jumped at the chance. Today, a colleague and I taught two half-day sessions on writing, with a focus on bringing back some of the joy and choice teachers helped foster.
My partner and I laid out our plans:
– have teachers engage in writing
– discuss what the experience felt like
– connect that to the work we do with students
– examine how we can streamline practices to allow student independence and choice
– engage in sustained, collaborative planning
Sounds simple, right? Well…that depends. Let’s just say one group was game, and the other…not so much. I was about a half hour into one group and I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was ACTIVELY BOMBING, with very little hope of shelter or retreat.
And here’s the thing: I’ve run dozens of workshops, and I’ve dealt with weirdness from participants. Not everyone is up for every PD all the time. Some activities and discussion questions are a swing and a miss, at best. Teachers, too, are notoriously terrible class members. There’s also educational “baggage” teachers carry into meetings or training.
I can’t lie, though. Seeing it come from colleagues I work next to every day? That’s hard. I’m not surprised, because it’s happened to me before with the same folks. So I don’t know why I would have expected today to be any different. I guess I’m just…sad, for all the reasons. At this point, I could dig in and pout that I had a contingent of folks who – for whatever reasons – pushed themselves out of reach.
Or.
I could focus my energy back into the folks – at both sessions! – who brought their hard work, their sincerity, their eagerness to make things better for themselves and their students. I could be proud of the work we’ve done to center students in the learning experience.
Yeah. That feels better. I think I can sleep okay tonight.
Soapbox: The Way I see Things 
I think it’s the hardest thing to present to peers. I love your positive attitude about focusing on those that brought their A game. 🙂
Agreed! Actually, I usually love presenting to peers because we have a relationship. I know more intimately where they’re coming from, and I can picture the kids they’re serving. Today just wasn’t the day for everyone though, I guess..
I agree that it is hard to present to your own colleagues. I remember giving a Writing Project workshop to teachers in a district we’d never worked at before. We gave a prompt and expected teachers to really write quietly and meaningfully for maybe 10 or 15 minutes. After like 3 minutes some teachers stopped and started talking to each other. It was really surprising. They were acting like … students? Also, we tend to focus on the negative. Driving home from open school nights, I would run through in my head the one conversation with a parent that wasn’t positive and ruminate over that, instead of all the other positive interactions that occurred through the evening. I hope you sleep well tonight.
Teachers make the worst students. Yes, focus on those wanting to learn and willing to try something new. Their students will benefit.
It is so hard when our own colleagues push against us.
Glad you were able to shift your focus to those who worked with you, who enjoyed and enriched the workshop.