CEdO 565 Post#3

The assignments this week focus on an area of weakness in many schools. Educators, by nature, seem to exist in isolation from the rest of the school. This trend needs to be broken for positive change to exist. At my school, I think it is important for my department to share what we each do in our classrooms, and evaluate areas of weakness and strength. By doing so, we would develop a more cohesive experience for students from year to year. As it currently stands, getting people to share what they are doing has been a challenge. I often wonder why teachers are so guarded as to what happens in their classrooms. I suppose, like in any profession, it is easy to get too comfortable with how things are currently done (much like Hem) and become complacent. Even if we realize that there are better ways of doing things, we often stay mired in what is comfortable. It is important to note that this decision is never in the best interests of our students. The focus in education needs to shift from selfish needs of teachers to the needs of students. There is nothing wrong with a bit of discomfort if it benefits our students. We, as a department, need to realize that the sum of the parts equals the whole, and that identifying the parts is crucial for making the whole stronger. We are not 14 individuals operating in isolation, but instead, we are one department with 14 minds that can positively impact the learning of our students. Being resistant to change can be tolerated, but being unwilling to change benefits no one in education. My hope is that some attitudes will be changed, willingly or otherwise, in order for our department to keep moving forward.