The day after Edcamp Philly 2013, I opened my Tweetdeck to find a concern from Brad Campbell about shifts he noticed in the schedule board this year.
@kristenswanson idk, know its not my place but each year I feel like I come away w less things "I could use on Monday". Worth thinking about
— Brad Campbell (@BrdCmpbll) May 19, 2013
I have great respect for Brad, and he is a fervent supporter of the Edcamp movement. His tweet came from a place of collaboration and respect. He actively wants to make things better for himself and his fellow educators. With that being said, his request inspired quite a bit of reflection on my part. As I began to consider the implications of his idea, here are some questions I considered:
- Should conversations focus on tiny steps or massive leaps?
- If we only focus our learning on the types of things that we can do "on Monday", are we simply propagating the status quo?
- Are things that can't be implemented "on Monday" irrelevant to most educators?
small shift + small shift + small shift =
more of the same, only a little better
Given that this is what I believe, I think PD should encourage teachers to shift their understanding of what school looks like in its entirety. All of these changes may not be viable "for Monday," but they MUST become viable VERY SOON.
So, maybe PD shouldn't be able to help us on Monday.
Maybe PD should help us re-imagine the future of school.
Unfortunately, we don't know what that looks like yet. Let's find the way forward together.
Photo Credit:
by alwright1
Photo Credit:
by alwright1






