SED 407 -- Co-Teaching, Lesson Planning, and a Brief History Lesson

I have to say that this was one of my favorite classes so far; I loved seeing lesson-planning and co-teaching in action. Watching an older veteran working with a younger teacher was really inspiring. I feel like I often hear about conflicts between young, naive idealists and older, jaded teachers who are reluctant to change. It was wonderful to see those stereotypes overturned, and to see two very different personalities and styles working together to create something new and interesting for their students. I was also pleasantly surprised to learn that there is such thing as a Dean of Pedagogy -- what a wonderful resource! Listening to the way that Buddy occasionally interjected to bring Bob and Kim back to the objectives was a great reminder of what we have to do in our own curricular planning. It’s imperative not to lose sight of the big ideas and ultimate objectives!

I really appreciate that Superintendent G took the time to explain the current CF situation, and the history of events leading up to this time. I empathize with the tough decisions that she’s had to make, and am enraged that she and her family were made to feel threatened. Nonetheless, I felt a little uncomfortable about the discussion overall. I feel like I still haven’t heard the side of the people I’m most interested in hearing from; the hardworking, sensible, open-minded faculty members who genuinely care about their students, and also may or may not have legitimate beefs with the administration. I’m not interested in hearing from the unprofessional saboteurs on the faculty that Superintendent G described when outlining her difficulties over the past few years. Their behavior wouldn't’ be acceptable in any profession, under any circumstances, and I have no interest in pretending that their behavior is excusable if they are ever my colleagues. However, Superintendent G made it seem like there is an impenetrable wall of teachers who stand by each other no matter what. I’m having a hard time believing that this is an objective truth. It may seem that way from Superintendent G’s perspective, but I don’t believe that some of the amazing teachers that I’ve worked with would protect someone who was hurting their students.

I also didn’t feel comfortable with what seemed like the vilification of the teachers’ union. I know that a great deal of corruption and misuse of power can occur in a union, just like in any organization. But I think we really have to remember that the union is there to protect teachers, and that there are very good reasons why unions exist. I found an interesting article entitled: “Why TeacherUnions are Good for Teachers -- and the Public” by Diane Ravitch, who we’ve talked about in class before.

Overall, it was a very interesting, very thought-provoking class. I have really enjoyed how candid our discussions have been, and I look forward to more of the same. I am curious though; was I the only one who felt a little uncomfortable about the way teachers as a group were being discussed?