Last summer I made a summer PD bingo of all the things I wanted to research, learn more about, focus on, for the upcoming year. I enjoyed the idea of focusing on just a few topics, and making those changes. I felt like it gave me a good start and a focus to the school year.
One of the things I said I wanted to do was read one professional development book a month.
Now, "teaching books" can be hit or miss. A lot of them are empty platitudes written by edu "rockstars" who provide little practice advice. A lot are extremely condescending, written by people no longer in the classroom, basing their advice on a very narrow experience. Some are written by college professors who act as though they've "discovered" pedagogy that high school teachers come up on.
When I was first working on my Masters in Education, we read Diane Ravitch in class and I loved the history, it seemed to make sense to me and explain a lot. It's be almost 15 years before I discovered how problematic she was.
In a college sociolinguistics class, I was introduced to English with an Accent and it was formative in how I thought of things.
The same is true of the writing sourcebook, and my first introduction to Peter Elbow.
One book I really like, returning to again and again is Jim Burke's English Teacher's Companion. Because he doesn't present things as black or white, but just cool ideas. Whenever I'm stuck, or am looking for something new, I flip through it.
They're at night, and some are slow chats. I don't always participate, but I do read through and follow the hashtags, and I always learn something.
White Rage, Troublemakers, really opened my eyes, and once I saw things, recognized them, you just can't unsee them.
These books and the conversations have totally changed how I present things in my classes, the topics, the stances, but also what I'm willing to let go, and what I'm not.
All of this started with White Trash, which was recommended to me after I used the term in a blog post, having grown up with the term, but had it explained to me all the reasons why I shouldn't use it. I thank the people who did not have to take the time to educate me.
I taught Notes of a Native Son with my AP students this year, and loved it.
Ink & Ideas was a new one for me, but paired perfectly, and gave me more specifics to use Barry's book, and integrate visual notes and notebooks into my classes.
One of my students recommended Just Mercy, and I've just started it, but man.
I'm also reading Ghosts in the Schoolyard: Racism and School Closings on Chicago's South Side Eve L. Ewing which is excellent.
Mr. Minor is a gift, and Teaching for Black Lives is also great.
I just got Rethinking Ethnic Studies and haven't started it yet, but I want to teach my English 10 next year as Ethnic Studies, so know I'll be using this a lot.
All of the above books for the most part are focused on social justice and equity work, valuable, life altering work. My personal professional development has also included following the conversations of #DisruptTexts, so in addition to the revisions made to my classroom because of the above books, I've also reoriented my classes around New Mexico history, new translations and viewpoints on old classics.
I am a better teacher because of this work.
I am a better teacher because of the online educators sharing their work.
My students are better served because of this work.
But here's the thing. I've been teaching 18 years. Why wasn't I taught these things in my education program? Or my PhD program? Or in any PD in those 18 years? Why was I never taught how important social justice and equity in the classroom was? How much damage did I do in those 18 years, inadvertent or not, not knowing these things? Why are these books not at the heart of education and pedagogy classes?
In some places teachers are required to participate in a certain amount of professional development in order to renew their teaching license.
In other places teachers are rewarded for improving themselves, with professional development or additional classes.
But teachers should be doing this work regardless. This work should be integral to content and pedagogical work.
Here in New Mexico, there is no such incentive. So if teachers are not personally motivated to do this work, they are not required to, so many don't.
And the consequences for that are dire.
Teachers should be required to be informed about how history, institutional and structural racism and systems have formed, and continue to inform, our public school systems. Both nationally and for their specific states, cities, and towns.
Teachers should be required to learn how poverty and trauma affects their students and how their pedagogical practices need to address these things.
Teachers should have to learn to be actively anti-racist.
Teachers should have to learn how to teach in a culturally responsive classroom.Teachers should center their students, their cultures, their narratives, as the foundation for their practice.
This was prompted by a conversation yesterday. A long-term sub is interested in becoming a full time teacher. I've been creating their lessons, and we sit down and talk about it, grading, etc. They asked why they didn't see the things in my class, my lessons, they didn't see in the rest of the building. Which prompted my explanation of how students weren't required to. They were shocked.
While I am encouraged by the work I see shared online I worry I'm just in a very lucky bubble. That larger groups, larger conversations, aren't happening.
So I think the answer is, sadly, until teaching and education programs are totally revamped to reflect the above, these systems will continue to replicate these harmful issues and practices.
Until schools, districts, states, require teachers to stay up on their field, too many will choose not to be informed and involved.
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