Are We Doing This to Ourselves?

This week I am attending the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) annual conference in Washington, DC . The preconference session I attended Wednesday focused on Advancing School Reform through NBCT (National Board Certified Teacher) Leadership. One of the presentations in this session focused on the “Faces of NBCT Leadership” and some of the different ways leadership can be demonstrated. As I listened to one of the presenters, I began to wonder if there were unintended veiled messages we ourselves as teacher leaders were sending.

Our presenter spoke about teacher leaders. She indicated that for teachers to really make a difference in our field, we must become leaders who have an impact outside of our classrooms. This makes sense to me. I understand this. She indicated how important it is for teachers who want to make an impact to still be connected to the classroom – particularly by continuing to teach, but with a reduced schedule or reduced classroom responsibilities if possible.

I began to wonder. How do you do this in real life? How do you make this time? Then it hit me. In order for this to work, the presenter pointed out a reduced classroom schedule. Aha! I get it. Unfortunately, I began to wonder if this sends a different message to outsiders and even people within the profession. The very premise that shortening the class day would provide enough time for this is (I think) flawed. By assuming that shortening the class day translates to less work time in the non-school hours is a mistake. Just cutting three hours from the class day to do leadership tasks does not translate to half as much time spent working outside of the classroom. This can lead to a very narrow view of classroom related work teachers do outside of the classroom. Yes, teachers may have fewer papers to grade and parents to contact, however, the amount of planning, research, and reflection teachers do is not changed in the least. By promoting this approach, are we unintentionally demeaning the profession by feeding into the belief that the outside-of-the-classroom work teachers do is neither time-consuming nor important? Are we doing this to ourselves?

Conversely, is this a cost we must pay to have greater impact on our profession?

"That's What She Said" in DC

So I finally decide to visit Washington, DC after putting it on the “someday list.” I am attending a conference here and thought it’d be fun to add a day on each end for sightseeing. I was very excited to finally get to see the National Mall and all the monuments I’ve seen for years on TV and in the movies. Here’s a brief rundown on my thoughts and impressions:

• Scale and size are MUCH different than I expected. I knew the Lincoln Memorial was large. I didn’t know it was that large! (That’s what she said…. Hehehe.) On the other hand, I was surprised with how small the Vietnam War Memorial was. I’m not trying to minimize its power (more later), but somehow thought it’d be bigger. (Again, that’s what she said….) Many of the sights I visited were different than I expected, however they all seemed larger than life when I experienced them face-to-face. UPDATE: After touring the Capitol building today, I was struck by how small the Senate chamber was. (That’s what she said….) It looks much larger on C-SPAN.

• I have to give a huge shout out to the National Park rangers. Upon arriving at the Lincoln Memorial, I found the Reflecting Pool to be under construction and completely drained. All that remained was a field of mud with wooden beams sticking out of it. As I was lamenting the misfortune of my timing to a National Park ranger, he deftly reframed my disappointment by pointing out that few Americans ever see the bottom of the pool. He also pointed out that this gives me a reason to revisit in the not-too-distant future (but after October).

• I approached my visit to the National Mall as something I had to do just because I was an American visiting my nation’s capital. I was totally unprepared for the visceral and emotional response I had to both the Korean War Memorial and Vietnam War Memorial. When I visited the World War II Memorial, I didn’t have the same reaction and I was puzzled by that. Upon reflection it may be because of the materials used in construction, or just the fact that many people feel both Korea and Vietnam were not “necessary wars” while WWII seemed to be a more justified war. I still don’t know for sure, but it in a metacognitive way I was puzzled by this difference.

• It’s hot here! I’ve heard people talk for years about summers in DC and how hot and humid they are. I’m from Michigan. I can handle hot and humid, but I gotta say hot and humid for my
entire week here kinda stinks. I’m not a fan of taking two showers a day when I only packed clothes for one week. I think I may come back in the fall for another visit - but after October, so I can see the improved Reflecting Pool. 

• When they call the legislature “Capitol Hill,” they mean HILL. I never expected DC to be so hilly. For those of you who know me, I walk. I walk a lot. (Like 60 miles in three days – shameless plug for the Susan G. Komen Foundation) I even can walk up and down hills. I didn’t expect this place to make me think of SanFrancisco, though. The unfortunate thing for me on my first day here is that my hotel is at the top of a hill. Although it’s only a four block walk to Dupont Circle and the Metro, after walking all day, that four block UPHILL walk really stinks. I will say that by the end of day three here I was more used to it and it was much easier. I also think my calves look MUCH more defined – a definite bonus.

Overall, after being in this remarkable city for three days, I can honestly say I regret not visiting here sooner and definitely plan to return. There are soooooo many sites I want to see and places I want to explore I can hardly wait to get back.