A couple of classroom events spurred a lot of thinking about the curriculum program this weekend. To better the program, I reached out with a lot of ideas and questions.
I received answers and responses to a few of the thoughts/questions I shared, and those responses made me glad I asked.
Essentially, I recognized that paths I hoped to embrace as positive teaching/learning paths would not be embraced by curriculum leadership which means I would not be able to gain time or money for those efforts. Without that support, it would be a full time extra job just to forward that teaching, and I don't have the time or energy to do another full time job on top of the full time teaching job I have.
If I didn't reach out with the questions, I would not have known the answer. Just imagine, I may have spent weeks this summer planning for teaching only to be told that I couldn't do the work. This has happened to me numerous times during my professional tenure, and that's what propels me to ask questions up front even if the questions are not well received.
Even though many educators say act, then apologize later, those educators don't understand the threat to our jobs we face when we do that. Only some in organizations are able to do that, and those tend to be people favored by organizational leaders for a large number of reasons. Others risk their jobs if they do this.
So again, it's best to reach out with questions, and go from there. In some places there's little room for creative thought or experience, it's a tight path of strict expectations. When meeting paths like that, it's best to follow, and then use your creativity and ideas in another, welcomed and important way.
