EduBlog Insights

want to grow and learn,” said Ms. Hirsh of the National Staff

Development Council.” We have to narrow the scope of what we offer to

teachers and use it in a more deliberate way.”

Now it’s not this article in

particular. It’s just that I probably have read hundreds along a

similar vein. I really tire of all the discussion that goes on outside

our schools. I’d like to see some discussions from those inside the

school. Why don’t we put the focus on letting schools be responsible

for their own learning? We should work to make our schools learning

communities that are models for our students.

I’m talking about the pursuit of learning. It’s a questioning,

exploring, seeking solutions, making changes mode. Schools should be

places where teachers and administrators continuously seek and share

learning and then act on what they learn. Faculty meeting should be all

about learning, both for students and educators.

So, how about this scenario? Brainstorm. List strengths and weaknesses

of your school. Then proceed with a question, explore, change mindset.

It could be as simple as what is working in your school and what is

not? What do we need to learn more about so our students will benefit?

What are our school needs, what are our personal learning needs? Are we

preparing our students for the twenty-first century? Do we need to

redefine our definition of literacy? Are we

learning and growing or are we just content with the status quo? If

we’re just content, what do we need to do to change? It’s about posing

questions that are pressing and relevant to learning and your unique

school’s needs.

Once a question (or questions) is set that is perceived by the majority

to be worthy

of answering in depth, the whole school begins to seek knowledge.

Blogs could be used to share what you are learning and thinking.

Everyone has a stake in the discussion. You could start  small in

the beginning and ask faculty members to respond to one co-worker’s

blog. Then meet and discuss findings. Ask your students for answers to

the questions you posed. Share their thinking or better yet, provide

blogs for students and get them in on the process. Build your learning

community. Have your staff pursue learning based on their own

individual needs but have a school-wide focus on identified concerns by

a majority of the faculty.

Along the way, introduce some helpful tools like Bloglines, Furl,

del.icio.us, etc. to help school members manage the information they

are exploring. Create a wiki to record ideas and use as a guidepost in

making decisions about teaching and learning in your school.

Now this journey might be messy and be a lot of “trial and error” but

it’s essential. We educators have to be the change agents and we need

to have our voices heard.

Just think, not only would you be building a dynamic learning community

but the entire school would be writing. Writing to learn, to explore

our thinking, to make needed changes and to think about possibilities.