In the culture of mistrust

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July 24, 2012 by readlisaread

I’ve been half-assedly considering doing my PhD recently. My emotions run the gamut of sheer terror to keen excitement. One of the things holding me back is the idea of ridiculous amounts of money going towards something that while hugely gratifying, at the end of the time would make no discernible difference to my day to day life. Talking to a mentor recently, though, gave me a different perspective, that I should consider not trying to use a doctorate as a weapon, but rather as a key. A fun pass, if you will.
She suggested that I think about how it could allow me to be the agent of change, rather than the victim of it. Those are my hyperbolic words, but that was the lesson I took away. And so it was I reflected on Being the Change as I listened to an interminable lecture from administration about Personal Learning Communities (the current flavour of the month in public ed). I’m not sure I was more offended by the pointless PowerPoint, or the suggestions that we couldn’t possibly be trusted to run our own PLC conversation.
But then….then it got good. There is an initiative that is not really very popular with the teaching staff, but the Prince likes it. More because he is trying to leave his mark than anything else (why does “leave a mark” also seem to mean “be peed on” and why did that analogy come so easily to me?). In any event, the absolute coup de grace of this endless torturement was when he shared with us an article he was “invited to write” for “Principal Enquirer” magazine. It was filled with references that revolved around teachers (that would be the other 30 people in the room) may or may not be teaching behind their closed doors. Oh sure, it was all delivered in a very tongue-in-cheek manner, all “do the books all magically appear when they hear my key in the door? And then just as suddenly disappear when I go, the disco ball dropping from the hidden ceiling flap?”. But the intent was there.

We are recalcitrant children that the adults need to keep in line.

No amount of higher education is going change that culture. But maybe change can find me in a different culture….


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