I never planned to be a teacher. I began my career as an assistant research virologist - then married and moved to Mobile, Alabama only to discover that I could find no work in my field. Undaunted, I began randomly applying for jobs and the day after school started a principal called and asked if I'd teach math at a junior high school. Sure, I thought . . . how hard could that be, anyway?
It won't surprise you to learn that I found out that teaching was hard work . . . the hardest I'd ever done. And it also won't surprise many of you that I was completely hooked on teaching and kids by the end of that first year. I remember telling my husband over dinner one night, "Honey, I've decided to go into teaching." He calmly swallowed the bite of overdone steak he had been gamely chewing and remarked, "Okay, go ahead. I'm an engineer. I can support you." So, I took the salary "hit" and I discovered I was never richer than when I was working with those amazing, puzzling, and promising young teens.
One thing did perplex me, however, about my new teaching career. I had just left a profession where adults met regularly to discuss our work, analyze and troubleshoot problems, and plan next steps together. I stepped into the most important profession in our nation - the public school system - the glue that holds our diverse citizenry together as a nation. I had no experience or training as a teacher - and there was no time to meet with the other experienced teachers get help and guidance . . . no time to analyze our work, plan, and increase our effectiveness. What was that all about?
That question never ceased to amaze me. It still does. And it accounts for the fact that now most of my current life is consumed with trying to help teachers gain the same opportunities that other professionals have . . . opportunities to learn from each other and support one another as they do the important work of preparing students for worlds that we can't even imagine.
After 16 years I took a year off from teaching to work on that problem. If you're interested in some of the struggles and insights of an extremely naive and not entirely successful first-year team-builder, you can read an online diary I kept during that year. I'm still working full-time on building what are now known as professional learning communities.
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Teaming and Learning
Welcome to the Jolly Learning Spot!
Hopefully you'll see something about teaching and learning (face-to-face and virtual) that sparks your interest and generates ideas. If so, jump right in with some of your own thoughts and comments.
About Me
- Anne Jolly
- I am an Educational Consultant for professional learning communities/teams and President of PLTWorks. Not surprisingly, my work includes activities such as researching, designing, and facilitating effective professional learning communities. I focus these communities on increasing teaching quality. I also design PLC tools and materials, and provide web-based and on site support for sustaining productive teams. My new book, A Facilitator’s Guide for Professional Learning Teams,is available through the National Staff Development Council in August 2008. I taught 7th and 8th grade science for 16 years at three completely different types of schools and loved working in all of them! I've been married to a great guy for 42 years and we have three top-notch sons.
4 comments:
Welcome to the blogosphere. You are on your way!
Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach
I look forward to reading your blog. Since we live less than a mile from each other and almost never see each other, I can just read about you here, and you can read my blog, then we'll never have to leave our homes.... :-)
Anne, congratulations! I have been waiting awhile to say this and I think my time has come: I knew you when. I look forward to your sharing all those creative ideas in that "20-something" noggin of yours. (Chronological age and mental age are not the same thing.) Best!
PLT's are KILLING my school.
Morale is in the toilet. 6-7 meetings a week. Students' real needs unattended.
Nothing like choking on a steady diet of deconstructionist clap trap to make one want to ditch the profession!
Bravo. Do you work for Karl Rove? He always wanted a way to kill public schools. He'd LOVE this sadistic strangulation of classroom creativity...I mean a PLAN FOR LEARNING AND ACTION!!
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