My teaching role in school has changed this year. I am releasing our teachers for their CRT and some Management release. I was looking forward to doing something different and thought maybe releasing teachers would give me more time to think about my leadership role, NAPP and the VPLD. Oh boy! I was very wrong. I have found it tough, I feel like an impostor.
As I sat and pondered this over the weekend, I attributed this feeling of being an impostor to the fact that I have always had the responsibility of some students. Students whom I built relationships with, whom I got to know their learning ups and downs and built on these. This is so empowering and the very reason why I love my job.
So what! Now What! I pondered. In that moment, I realised, what I was now being given was an opportunity to have more random fun with the students, develop skills, strategies and try random stuff they may use to create, collaborate or communicate with. My big focus with these students is to be creative, collaborative and start to curate rather than just consume when using digital devices.. Best of all I get to practice the things I love doing with students, geeking out with technology. Even better, I get to give teachers the gift of time to ponder their classrooms. Time is the most precious gift to give teachers in Term time.
So now I need to rethink my time in classrooms, not as a babysitting service, as a time to get to know more students, challenge students with stuff like messy maths, creating photos with words, singing, reading, writing poetry, using thinking maps, collaborative spaces, independent skills, working with digital devices to create artefacts, learn to draw mind-craft creepers, listen to the Kid President (I am a big fan).
Now it is time to have fun!
Enjoy the privilege of being able to give teachers something they treasure, time.
So What Now What 