On Tuesday, March 9, the K-16 CFG met at Olle Middle School. Present were Marilyn, Sharon, Lidia, Michaelann, Marcela, Janet, Josephine, Mary, and Donna. We reconnected over sandwiches and lemonade, and began the work of the evening with a team builder.
I started by reading this statement: "Michele called me this morning to let me know how impressed she is with the work of the K-16 CFG. In response, the HAC has just allocated $100,000 to be used strictly as the group identifies. Take a couple of minutes to generate individual wish lists along with some approximate budget figures for each item." (I got this idea from The Big Book of Team Building Games by John Newstrom and Edward Scannell.)
After writing our own lists, we shared and charted our responses. These are the ideas that bubbled up.
•Travel to an out of town workshop.
•Organize a group retreat. [Janet suggested Italy.]
•Find an inquiry project in Hawaii.
•Observe other places. Look for the common ground of success. [Marcela wanted to do the observations in New Zealand and Japan.]
•Make a commitment to journaling throughout the year. Get paid $100 per journal entry. At the end of the year have a writing retreat. Use our journals to write a book. Book royalties would cover what we were paid to journal.
•Pay somebody to document our work.
•Publicity for CFG work. Perhaps pay to produce a documentary.
•Invite motivational speakers to Houston.
•Use the money as seed money to form a business of "Skilled Facilitators Consultants."
•Purchase literature and reading materials. Take paid sabbaticals so we would have time to read and reflect on the literature.
•Individual grants
•Research the connections between our work and other disciplines.
I loved this activity. First of all, I was struck with how this conversation was filled with so much laughter and affirmation. It was just plain fun to imagine spending all that money, even though no one budgeted for the entire $100,000. Secondly, by sharing our wish lists, we came closer to developing a shared dream. I think that several commonalities emerged.
•A desire to spread our work (writing, consulting, publicizing).
•A desire to learn about others' best practices (reading literature, observing, attending workshops, inviting speakers).
•I'm not sure how to word this, but there seems to be a desire to be more deliberate with our own work--to give time and space to the steps that are too often left out of our own journeys (journaling, documenting, reading, researching, connecting).
•A desire to travel :-)
So what are the next steps? I don't want the excitement that was generated from this exercise to evaporate. I want us to dive in and take our work to a deeper level.
The second part of the meeting was devoted to Marcela sharing a work in progress and soliciting feedback using the Issaquah Protocol. [Marcela, perhaps you could add some reflections about that experience in the comments section.] I appreciated that Marcela had searched the CD for a different protocol to apply to her work. Using unfamiliar protocols helps freshen the process of looking at each other's work.
REFLECTIONS
As always, wonderful opportunity for renewal. So good to see everyone and hear different voices.
The protocol worked really well for me. It helped clarify the dilemma and I did get ideas on how to measure (at least for me) the value of what we will do with kids. It also supported ideas I was unsure of. I think Michaelann did a wonderful job in facilitating!!
Fantastic!
I enjoyed the new protocol. I like trying new ones, even though I didn’t like the flow of this one very much.
Great team builder! Good discussion came from it.
Good discussion in general—although I think it is important for presenters to get a facilitator and discuss the presentation before the meeting—the flow is better. . . .
This group is very invigorating. I always learn from you! Thank you very much.
Now that I’m out in the “world” I see (more) the value of this work. It can be applied in so many different contexts. We really must figure out how to grow it more expansively!
The protocol, Issaquah, was different, or maybe it was the situation presented.
I liked the teambuilding activity. It make me dream or visualize a time when our group may get together and retreat or go to a workshop.
Once again, I enjoy the dynamic of people getting together and throwing ideas off each other. I appreciate the fact that Marcela shared her project with us. I would like her to come back and update us on her progress. We, as a group, are a work in progress.
I enjoyed the experience of using a new protocol. The Issaquah Coaching Protocol mirrors Cognitive Coaching.
It is also great getting to know the members of the group. It concerns me that I don’t recall everyone’s name but I believe that we all believe in the work so much that we don’t have an issue with confidentiality.
I’m glad I came today. It has been a long time since I’ve seen the members of this group and it was great to connect again. I enjoyed doing the Issaquah protocol and would like an opportunity to try it again.
The new protocol was interesting.
What struck me was how much people in our group still do not value their own self-worth—as seen by the ideas for the team builder idea of bringing in people.
I thought it was fun to learn about a new protocol.
It was fun having the same people and to have some old people back.
I'd like to comment on the reflection that "people in our group still do not value their own self-worth--as seen by the ideas for the team builder idea of bringing in people." I don't associate wanting to learn from other people as not valuing my own self-worth. By interacting with someone outside our group, we have an opportunity to broaden our thinking and gain new perspectives and insights.
Posted by: Donna at March 10, 2004 11:46 PMMaybe self-worth is not the right way to for that person's reflection to say it --but if I think about how many times when we are in staff development and having "consultants" tell us how to do something we already know and then collect thousands of dollars from the school district to tell the teachers something we already know. I tend to see this as crack in a teachers perception of their worth. How many times do we have to hear the phrase "those who can do - those who can't teach" and to me many teachers, administration and others must believe this also. I see this in many teachers on my campus teachers (also principals) always looking somewhere else for affirmation.
I agree with Donna in that if we are going outside to learn a new skill or gain new knowledge - that is great. I believe in the concept of life-long learning and I know I don't know everything, but I feel unless we start letting others know about our knowledge as a collective group, as individuals and as teachers. The unvaluing of teacher's knowledge will continue.
We can see evidence of this in current laws passed for alternative certification - it is apparent that some politicians don't value or think that teachers have specfic area of knowledge that is needed to be a good teacher, otherwise why would they allow someone without education classes - teach. Would you want someone who sold prescription drugs to treat your illnesses. The have content knowledge - yes but they do not have "medical knowledge".
So if we do not have a specfic area of knowledge that is needed to be a good teacher -- do we really fit into the definition of what is a professional?
Self- worth was probably a bad choice of words - but I can understand writing a reflection at 7:00pm after a long day of work - word choice for that person's reflection could have been better, but I think I can see where they are coming from.
I know that I value the collective knowledge of the group otherwise why would I give of what little free time we have to meet. The knowledge, experience and skills the groups has is so unique and so valuable - I think that others need to be made aware - HOW? now that is another question.
Posted by: Michaelann at March 11, 2004 07:54 AMMembers of our group are still getting to know each other. Teambuilders (community builders?) are ways to allow us to become comfortable with one another. Even in our small group, I feel that there a "sides" or subgroups. The teambuilder showed that we think along the same lines, and that we are people who can laugh and enjoy moments together. The group is important to me. I am telling you; I would not drive way across town, through horrible traffic, and short on gas, for just anyone.
I am an ACP graduate. I worked and studied hard to learn my craft. There are some smart, hardworking people out there that will help lift the profession. They will need the energy and stamina to learn to become highly skilled educators. Every time I go to an extended workshop, I meet some very amazing people. There are a lot of brilliant people in this field. They come from all over - different countries, different areas of education. Our profession has many strong thinkers. This is the field of education, after all. This is not a profession for those who are not willing to put forth the effort to learn and keep learning, be they young or mature.
Going back to the discussion of our group. I think there are some things that we need to do. As a body of thinkers, what have we done? We have coached some groups that may or may not be together. We have done peer reviews in one form or another. We have helped shape the climate of our schools, for the good I hope. We have individually written grants that may or may not have been funded. As a group, there are things to consider. Have we written an article to be published? Have we shared information that will help each other? Have we written a grant as a group?
What is a shared vision or shared dream? According to Todd Rungren, "A dream lives on forever."
It is great to be connected to the work through this medium. Wish I had been there last night. My appetite is wet to understand more about the power of the Issaquah protocol. At first when I read the gift of $100,000. I though omg...how cool? As I read on...I learned that it was a teambuilder...it definitely got my blood flowing. Hope to be reconnected in April.
Posted by: Lance at March 11, 2004 02:07 PMThis is my first time responding in this medium, and I'm amazed by the different modes of sharing technology provides us. I find great value in having a "voice", but more value in being able to share it in this way and get feedback.
HURRAH for CFG work!
I was there too; although I had to leave relatively early.
While making the wish list was fun, it was also thought - provoking in helping me personally to focus on the productive purpose of this group and the direction that this powerful group has the potential to move toward.