As I entered into my seventh year in teaching, I felt privileged to be in the teaching profession to experience different roles namely as the form teacher, subject teacher, CCA teacher, subject coordinator and now as a professional developer. Today as I consider how I might bring some of the strategies to my responsibilities as the professional developer, to benefit and make my teachers better and more successful at what he or she has done previously.
I believe that professional developers need to teach in ways that are different from the methods most instructors (Reporting Officers) use – more descriptive rather than prescriptive. That is why I agreed when my school leader mentioned today that “… it will be the narratives and stories of teachers that will affect change rather than mere instructions”. I see that the professional developers’ roles include cajoling, praising, flattering, motivating as well as hectoring, intimidating and challenging – thereby establishing a different relationship from an instructor. Once such a different relationship is established, teachers will then more willingly accept critique of their shortcomings.
I expect the professional developers to set almost impossibly high expectations for their teachers. Having said that, I also expect that the professional developers to use whatever strategies they think are necessary to help teachers reach those expectations. Of course, not everything involves high expectations – for me, it is on the Teaching and Learning aspect which must be high. Professional developers should also convey a can-do attitude and help their teachers achieve a high degree of excellence than they thought possible. They should reinforce positive values even while they refuse to accept excuses or self-pity when things are not going well.
Indeed, people developers are faced with a demanding task to grow people with a whole person approach, to enable as well as encourage (ability and motivation), to set clear expectations and support them as they strive to achieve those goals.
ReplyDeleteThe challenge has always been to find a way to focus on the results as well as on them as persons. Are we too soft or too demanding?
One clear principle to focus on results and people is to have a heart of peace by viewing people as worthy persons, with their needs, strengths and aspirations. When people are not delivering their goals, our view of them as persons will guide us to enable and encourage them as persons worth our while to develop. We will not dismiss them as objects that did not achieve our goals.