Professional development is an important part of being a teacher. Sometimes PD is wonderful, challenging, and inspiring. All too often PD only manages to inspire scowls and eye rolls.
Oftentimes the best professional development comes in unexpected shapes and sizes. Some of the most valuable PD happens in five-minute, unstructured, unplanned hallway conversations.
In the last year, I have found professional inspiration in 2 unexpected places, so I wanted to share them with you. If nothing else, these experiences prove that inspiration can come in the unlikeliest of places.
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Exercise as Professional Development
During closure, I spent a lot of time sitting in front of my computer (didn’t we all?). Distance learning made me far more sedentary than I would have liked. For someone who has ditched her classroom desk, sitting in front of the screen 8+ hours a day was excruciating.
As a result, I finally started to workout on a regular basis. Three years later, I’ve been consistent with exercise. Simply put, I follow Sydney Cummings on YouTube and do whatever she says. (Left to my own devices, I have exercise paralysis, so having someone tell me what to do and for how long is ideal.)
At first, I would get frustrated because there was so much I couldn’t do. Some moves I didn’t have the strength or flexibility to perform. Other moves were far too intimidating. Slowly, I watched, learned, and practiced.
About a year into training, I purchased a set of yoga blocks. They were a game changer. I’m very short, so they helped me become comfortable making modifications. Previously, I would feel guilt, shame, or frustration when I modified an exercise. However, modifications are part of how we get stronger and prevent injury. This was the first time I thought of exercise as professional development. The classroom often requires modifications. Thinking of classroom modifications as yoga blocks for the mind has helped me conceptualize modification in an entirely different way.
After three years, I realized that I started to improvise sometimes. For example, I sometimes substitute jumping for something lower impact. But it took me nearly three years to feel comfortable and competent improvising. Previously, if the workout called for a move I couldn’t tolerate, I’d just wait. I didn’t know how to improvise.
This was the second time I thought of exercise as professional development. It took me nearly three years to recognize that improvisation takes time. I wish that was a message every new teacher could hear. The classroom often calls for improvisation. Feeling comfortable making quick changes takes a lot of practice.
Puppy Training as Professional Development
Last year, I adopted my pug puppy Rowdy (you can follow her adventures on Instagram!). As a kid, I was fortunate to have pets, but as an adult, I had never had a pet of my own. While I adore Rowdy, puppy training has been an eye-opening experience.
As Rowdy and I work on different behaviors (responding to her name, walking on a leash, etc.), I can’t help but think about teaching. To be clear, I’m not implying that students are animals, but I do think that some parts of puppy training have been similar to parts of teaching.
First, training Rowdy has reminded me of the importance of repetition. Sometimes there’s so much to do in teaching that we lose sight of the basics. Especially during back-to-school season, I feel myself getting overwhelmed. There’s so much to do and so much I want to share with students, but really, those first few days and weeks should be about establishing routines, building relationships, and creating a safe classroom. In other words, puppy training reminds me of the importance of keeping it simple.
Similarly, training Rowdy is a test of my patience. Dogs respond to inflection and tone. Rowdy knows when I’m frustrated, and she’s far less willing to engage when she knows I’m fussy. The same is true for students, too. Teachers can’t be “on” every moment of every day, but we can all work on being aware of how students pick up on our emotions.
Bottom Line
Professional development comes in the strangest places. A moment of inspiration or insight can come from the most unexpected experience. I certainly never expected to have key light bulb moments while exercising or training my dog. In both cases, I was reminded of all the ways we learn. Yes, there’s learning in traditional methods, but there’s also learning in every single experience. What are some of the most unexpected PD experiences you have had?
Photo from Pixistock
