The Arrival of Change

It's spring time here in the Rockies as well as spring break. With a cup of home-made Verona coffee in hand this morning, I put on my favorite blue jean jacket over my pajamas and went out on my deck to greet the wonderful 48 degree morning. I could not believe the changes from just one week ago. I could hear all sorts of birds returning. Below on my fence I could see what I believe were our perennial morning doves coming back to mate and nest (though after watching them for a few years, I've noticed they really need to take nest building 101). In a tree top outside of our yard, I could see a silhouetted bird with a longer, sharper beak. After waiting patiently for it to sound, I discovered it was a woodpecker. A few read-headed finches streaked the air with their undulating flights. I love the songs finches sing. In the distance I could hear, but not see, two red-wing blackbirds calling out to one another. I thought to myself, if change was a symphony, this is what it must sound like.

As I sat there in the sunshine, which you must understand in Colorado, makes a 48 degree day feel like over 60 degrees - as long as there is no wind, I began to think of a dream I had just had a few hours before while enjoying the benefits of sleeping in at the start of spring break. In this dream I was at a meeting with some district people who shared there would not be any more "computer science" teacher position as we knew them starting in two months. Audience hands, primarily computer science teachers, went up all over the place accompanied with concerned faces. Cutting to the chase, those leading the discussion shared that we would become "technology integrationists" instead; it would be our job to go in and assist other colleagues with technology in the classroom. Instead of having a classroom with computers, we would be given a cart with laptops and travel from room to room sharing our expertise.

Remembering this dream while sitting there in the warm sun sipping my coffee, I felt "conflicted", to say the least. I suppose this whole dream/thought threaded from comments left by jsb16 and Sara Sutter to my Temporarily Derailed post. My approach to integrating technology has always been this - give me students in an elective program, and I'll work to give them the newest technology skills so that they can go into their other classes equipped to rock 'n roll with these skills. Jsb16 noted that this approach was quite different from what she experienced, that of waiting for staff members to adopt new technologies and employ these within the classroom. Her comments made me think of the pros and cons of each of these approaches. In my world, we have daily hands-on time to really explore new skills and technologies in depth. But, in my world (approach) only students who sign up for my elective get the skills. In my world, I get to build relationships with students on a daily basis and get to know them as people -- perhaps the most enjoyable part of my job. However, in my world, I'm largely disconnected from fellow teachers and what they are doing - the part of my job that I like least because of how isolating it is. In my current world, I teach new concepts as quickly as I can assimilate them because I am not afraid of change.

Or am I...

I envisioned much more colleague collaboration in Jsb16’s approach. I saw that her method of tech integration would mean sharing my knowledge constantly with peers, resulting in a much quicker adoption rate. I wondered would they "want it"? I wondered would they "team" with me if I was in their classroom, would they "share" their kids with me so that I could still have some of those relationships that mean so much to me? Because in this scenario I wouldn’t be a constant in students’ daily lives, would there even be these relationships, regardless if the sharing occurs? Could I still be me, have my expectations of student behavior and learning, or would I have to constantly compromise to the established norms other teachers? And, would I be seen as a glorified "techno slave" - you know, a computer savvy fix-it person there on the side for all of those Murphy's law moments that come with trying something new? Would I be just a "life line" in what smacked of a Who Wants to be a 21st Century Teacher game show?

Can you feel my conflict? It's not quite the way I thought I'd start my spring break, thinking of these things. But yet it's apropos, being spring and all. Like the arrival of all these beautiful birds this morning, change needs to be pondered, listened to for a while - perhaps as a personal sort of symphony in my mind - while sipping some really good coffee.