Questioning Connectedness

Connected Educator Month causes me to stop and ask questions? I ask lots of questions anyway.

What would connected educators look like?

My friend and colleague, Andrew Maxey, correctly points out connections cannot be forced. Networking happens organically. So what is the proper environment to make the seeds of connectedness produce fruit? How can leaders tend to their crop of educators to generate a better harvest?

What structures keep us separate?

I routinely refer to teaching as the most lonely profession. Using an industrial revolution model, we isolate teachers in a classroom with 20 to 35 kids and no other adult contact for most of the day. Any structured adult time is usually centered around "sit-and-get" meetings or petrified development.

If a teacher does not do well in managing alone 30 kids, s/he is regarded as less-than. I wonder how many really good teachers have left the profession because those management skills would have developed later, if the structures existed for the teacher to be used differently until management skills developed.

What current structures could help us be more connected?

We have teachers who are very good a certain things and not very good at others. How do we allow teachers to be better matched with their strength areas? Are there scheduling changes we can make to facilitate this process? Are there people within the current system whose skills can be better matched with tasks?

We now have tremendous technology tools for communication and collaboration we can use within the current system to improve how we connect with one another.

What structures have to change for educators to be more successful?

Is there any facet of educationism so dear we would not sacrifice it if we knew it would create a most ideal educational situation for our students and teachers? Are all "cards on the table" when we talk about how teachers can be encouraged to be learners in a professional community?

How might teachers quality of life be different if we answered some of these questions?

Chris Jenks is the instructional technology coordinator for the Tuscaloosa City Schools.  Follow him on Twitter, where he goes by @chrisjenks.