It took a whole week off for Thanksgiving this year for it to hit me. My brain is positively starving for some good academic reading. My Amazon wish list confirms this and I got so excited at filling this list with Ron Berger, Maxine Greene, Larry Cuban, Patricia Hill Collins, and others that it took a while for the disappointment of reality to set in - there's no way I will ever have time to read any of this stuff unless I'm on a break. Yet, as a teacher this type of reading that is critical to getting a degree, critical to keeping one's teaching fresh, critical to one's continued development, is not deemed critical by policymakers, or so it would seem. And I know what many will say "just catch up on reading during your summers off". That's not exactly the best scenario though, as it further separates educational theory from practice.
It's been beyond hectic at my school this year, as I'm sure it has for everyone else's schools. If I counted the hours I worked after my official hours ended, well, let's just say it wouldn't be wise for me to do so. So how, with such demands put on teachers, can we possibly have time to read? I know I laugh at the idea of doing so during my planning period. It's all I can do to have time to use the restroom during this time, much less catch up on critical race theory! Why isn't this type of everyday professional development considered more by our leaders? I pose this question to my readers: What is more memorable, something you've read in the past five years about education (whether in the news, a book, magazine, etc) or a professional development session? The answer for me is clearly something I've read, yet professional development remains a constant and costly aspect of our jobs. Don't get me wrong, I've been to some very relevant PD, but it's rare.
What is the solution? I would love to hear suggestions.
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