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.