A strange but telling dream...

I dreamed we as a dept were going on a FLEX or prof. dev. event together. It was a hike down a mtn. It was very steep and dusty but clear of trees or brush. It appeared to be a rush down the mtn since certain members were walking very fast or even sliding down.

I walked more slowly and ended up coming upon the portable where everyone was assembled. We were all going to spend the night there. I remember getting ready for the night. Quarters were very cramped.

It is interesting that we were not going up the mountain, which is of course a better metaphor for teaching and learning. In this context going down the mtn is not good. In fact teachers were racing down.

Is this where we are in education today?

Lack of commitment to education in America....

After 25 years of toil and turmoil, the assertion is warranted: education is not an important American value; in fact the American dream has more to do with material success and with owning one's business than being educated. Let me give one brief inductive example...

A supervisor saying, the admin does not care about teaching... why should they... they have their own agenda. why would they care about you... why would they want to solve our problems? Are you jealous of those with six figure salaries... you would take one of those jobs if they were offered to you, right.

Translation: forget about education; forget about the mission of the school; forget planning; once upon a time, I did have a very good paying job but I quit  because I did not feel I was accomplishing anything other than collecting a very good check, so I quit. I thought we worked as an institution for the good of the students, but I guess not. Despite all the literature about leadership, it makes no difference now. And no, I would not create my own position if it were not sustainable and worth doing--and was not open to other candidates.