transformations

When my own children were little, I hated teacher workdays.  The school being closed meant that I had to find a place for them or take off work, and being a teacher myself, it drove me crazy.  I can understand why parents hate teacher workdays.

Teacher workdays fall into a bunch of categories.  Some of them truly are work days in which I sit at my desk and plan, grade papers, and handle the mountain of paperwork, both literal and virtual, that comes with the job.  Other workdays are a series of meetings where we set policy, learn computer programs, strategize on student issues, and meet with parents. 

Today we have a teacher workday and this time most of my colleagues and I will be attending the Florida Council of Independent School Conference here in Orlando.  There we will hear a series of talks that are some combination inspiration, educational philosophy, and pragmatic lesson plan ideas.  If this goes well I will have had some deep thoughts about what I am doing as a teacher, and what my school and department are doing to make the education we provide better.  I hope to gather some tips to convey content more effectively or consider some interesting games or lessons to inspire students to learn more. 

I have been fortunate to attend conferences where I had a transformative day.  Afterward I could not wait to return to my classroom and share and implement what I had learned. I have also attended conferences when the information simply reinforced what I was doing.  There was nothing new, but at least I knew I wasn't doing it completely wrong.   

Days like this remind me how fortunate I am to work at an amazing school with great students.  This may be a reaffirming or a transformative day, but either way, I'll be back at my desk on Monday ready to rock.  There's no place like home. 


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