Subject: Communicating with educators

Posted by Heather Blau on 5/17/2005
In Reply To:Communicating with educators Posted by Dexter Chapin on 5/17/2005

Message:

Publishing articles will surely reach more of that 10%, but what about the other 90% who find the language and mental shift to be overwhelming? I suspect this is a group worth discussing further. What have we found to be effective in reaching colleagues who are hesitant?

This type of learning is a shift few adults are comfortable with initially. It has to jive with experience. Articles or words themselves, are just too darn limited. Experience and time are required to reach the other 90%. Rather than surveying to find out which journal would reach the most teachers, how about surveying teachers who have been "infected" and ask them what drew them in?

I feel a shift this broad deserves a new vehicle for professional sharing. Articles just aren't alive or complex enough to do it justice. One school I worked at had an Arts Equinox each year, where they would invite artists of all sorts who would immerse the children in the creative process for one week. The school was never more alive! How about Systems Thinking immersion program for schools? Bring together teams of educators who use these tools to share with both students, teachers and administrators using activities and projects from all areas of the curriculum. Then, when they bump into an article somewhere, it will hold real meaning for them, rather than just seeing it as just another neat idea.

Probably sounds crazy and way too time consuming, but my general suggestion is to just find new ways to bring this to life within the profession.

Heather Blau
staff developer/ consultant & at-home mom New York City

Follow Ups:

Communicating with educators - Scott Guthrie 5/18/2005 
Communicating with educators - Florence Duarte 5/18/2005 
Communicating with educators - Bonnie Tai 5/18/2005 
Communicating with educators - Timothy Lucas 5/17/2005 
Communicating with educators - Florence Duarte 5/18/2005