Written by Hello Party People! And welcome to my blog…
I suppose I’ve been putting this off a bit. I walked into Cohort 21’s first face-to-face meeting a few weeks ago with excitement and trepidation. I had only just learned what Cohort 21 was and was thinking, Do I really belong here? I knew it was a professional learning community. I knew it was going to be a super valuable experience. I also realized that I was only in my fifth year of teaching and had taken a hiatus in the middle, so – was I even professional enough to warrant professional development???
As we got into the swing of things and I met the rest of my Barrier Busters, I started to really enjoy the day. What an incredible group of educators. What a wonderful place to share and learn and grow together! But then the doubt started: all of these people play integral roles in their schools, and I’ve been at my school for a month…I barely play any role right now! What can I even bring to the table?! What do I have to offer??
By lunch, I was convinced that not only was I not professional enough to be there, but I wasn’t even ingrained in my school culture enough to be of any service or value! How am I meant to make a difference? But then something clicked…was I cheating the system? Did I just discover the greatest life hack? What BETTER time to dive into a professional development and learning community than when I’m still in the early years of both my career and my school? This is SUCH an opportunity to learn and grow and help contribute to my school and my classroom, to become an integral part of my school community and further hone my teaching skills!
Needless to say, I left the first Cohort 21 face-to-face feeling inspired, passionate, creative, driven and supported. Has that dwindled a bit since? Of course, that’s what report cards can do to you. But I have spent so much time within my lessons thinking about what my students need. I am seeing gaps in a lot of places, but an important goal I would like to focus on in my classroom is improving students’ presentation skills.
I have reflected a lot on this and…this is as far as I’ve gotten. What do I want to do with those skills? I’m not sure. But I’m seeing a connection between being prepared to stand up in front of a group of peers and standing on your own in the real world. I’m sensing a correlation between tackling (potentially) stressful assignments – such as presentations – and a lack of confidence and resiliency in my students.
This has me connecting most with two of the Season 11 strands: Pandemic Pedagogy (7-12) and Leading Through Crisis. When I’m reflecting on my students’ lack of resiliency and their resistance to delivering presentations, I keep coming back to the pandemic. How much of a disservice did we do to our students by making that time easier? By eliminating certain learning skills because it was too hard to teach online? By going easier because we were all going through crises? And how do we bounce back? How can we expect students to jump right back into the saddle after years of not riding at all?
Perhaps I’m rambling, but I want to focus on how I can support the learners in my classroom to develop resiliency through mastering presentation skills. I think it is not only important that our students learn to be more resilient, but it’s urgent. Some of these students will only get two full years of high school before they’re thrust into post-secondary and subsequently, the real world, and we have ill-prepared them. Having the confidence to stand up in front of your peers and speak with conviction on a topic is a skill, a transferable skill that will take our students farther and better prepare them for the “real world”.
So glad you joined Cohort 21! Looking forward to your posts.
Hi @hpeters! I’ve really enjoyed reading your first blog post! Thank you for your honesty and considerate reflection on both your professional development and place within Cohort 21. I can say with certainty, that YES – YOU BELONG HERE! I, too, joined C21 very early in my teaching career, and left for a short time to have my second child. I always come back because I learn SO MUCH! It is a place for any educator to learn and reflect on their teaching practice, and possibly more importantly, connect with other educators. I always walk away from C21 inspired and motivated to change my teaching practice, even in small ways. I think most teachers consider themselves lifelong learners, so whether you are in the early stages of your career, or have 20+ years under your belt, we are always learning and trying to improve…. and the pedagogy is always changing and improving, too!
What a roller coaster of a day out first Face-to-Face was for you! Being new to a school gives you a different perspective from those who have been there for a while. Having these multiple perspectives is not only interesting but beneficial to teams. At our next Face-to-Face you will have an opportunity to dig deep into what you might want to explore. Resiliency certainly seems like something worth exploring. I’m looking forward to going on that journey with you.
So glad you are part of our group, Heather!
I look forward to hearing more about what you will attempt around getting your students to be more resilient. As you mention, this is an urgent skill for students to have and all your students, not only this year but in years to come, will benefit from your great work throughout your Cohort 21 journey.
I too am pretty jazzed about our group:) Thank you for sharing your vulnerability here. It is one of the most important practices I believe teachers can do for ourselves, each other and our students..I am excited to have a “newer” teacher in the mix, I’m way over the other side of “careering”…in my final 5 years..yet still, here I am continuing to love the profession and to love innovating and learning in education. You bring fresh eyes and energy to the room and it is to you, and your cohort, that I feel I want to spend my last few years supporting in their practice. Never forget, you have an immediate circle of influence in your classroom. Everyday you impact those in the room and THIS, is our important work. It is the day to day grind of the classroom where we make the real magic happen. DON’T ever forget..YOU ARE WORTHY, you are needed and you don’t have to wait, to participate. We need thoughtful educators who aren’t afraid to show vulnerability. THANK YOU!!!
I love hearing that you left the first Cohort 21 face-to-face feeling “inspired, passionate, creative, driven and supported.” How fantastic to have this opportunity for professional development at this stage in your career! Also, how lucky for your school to have a teacher so focused on supporting your learners through the development of presentation and transferable skills to be future-ready! I’ll look forward to hearing more about your ideas for the next steps at the F2F!
Hi Heather,
Thank you for your meaningful post! We need to have conversations around presentation skills and helping students feel comfortable talking and discussing. You blog is so personal and reflective!
I’d love to continue to discuss resiliency with you and can’t wait for tomorrow,
Megan