We continue to struggle with focus. Too much randomness on the part of some staff and administration. I'm talking about an effort to revise a curriculum that we all teach, is aligned to career and technical education standards, and has been the cornerstone of our school for decades. We've been trying to create a revised course for months. I have been replaced as chair of the effort by a woman I respect and who has experience in career development. During a meeting this morning, three folks started with "what if we did..." comments that totally set a different direction for the course.

I responded forcefully that we have been working on this for months and now is NOT the time to brainstorm and experiment. I felt a deep shot of adrenalin and was a bit out of sorts. However, after the meeting, five colleagues congratulated me for speaking what they were feeling and were too timid to say. One in particular pointed out that some of the objectors may be unwilling to teach the course, so they are dragging their feet as a way to keep the changes from taking place. I liked that idea.

Now my understanding of how change can be effective involves using the processes to determine a course of action and then stay on that course for at least long enough to implement it. One teacher in particular is using verbal bullying to make her random observations. She cuts me off and continues to be completely random with her ideas. While brilliant, she also is unable to set a clear direction for her thoughts. She's extremely tough to deal with.

Nothing like a couple of months off the let the ideas ossify. I've left to focus on my Mock Trial team and to table the source of my frustration with the Careers curriculum. My focus on the team has made a difference for the twelve students involved. They are more involved in their learning, have gained from participation, and are now on a more successful trajectory. What's my lesson? When I can focus on student learning, accept help from committed experts (my lawyer coaches), and have an authentic learning experience to provide for the students, I do well.
Confronting the less than successful section of the pair- the Careers curriculum- forces me to critically examine why this became such a chore. I just spoke with Maggie who has taken over the lead of the endeavor. The staff met Monday morning with the same frustrating results that characterized my efforts. The combination of personalities in the staff make consensus impossible and focus on a few essential learnings problematic. Part of me wanted to enlist as much help from the new staff who were likely to evidence a stong level of commitment to the curriculum in the future. The weakness of that strategy? The experienced teachers overpowered most of the new teachers and brought their dysfunctional behaviors to the forefront.
Our consultant arrived in the second week of February to move the teams forward as well as help content areas "crosswalk" their content standards with the CTE standards. The content work fed the specialized knowledge of the teachers, so that complex part moved forward with surprising ease. The Careers work became mired for a number of reasons: lack clear, focused leadership; unproductive teamwork skills among teachers; and a lack of work experience among the staff.
My personal theory about the staff is we are now primarily teachers without the work history necessary for a Career / Technical Education perspective. The standards to obtain the CTE certifcation have broadened to the degree that pretty much anyone can obtain the certifcation after taking the classes regardless of work experience. This is not the best development. We have a divergent set of opinions on what makes a good job seeker from people who haven't sought a job in twenty years. This does not allow for enough perspective to be successful.
Okay, the rust is off and I'll be back at this with more if nothing more than cloud storage for my NBCT renewal documents in 2015.