Collaboration

Over the course of my four observations, I noticed that teachers who worked in schools with minimal parental involvement and higher rates of behavior problems tended to be more collaborative and creative with their colleagues. The other teachers who instructed classes that were in academically driven schools and had minimal behavior issues seemed to be more independent and had minimal interaction and collaboration with their colleagues. Now, these are completely unscientific observations and perhaps they are swayed by my own bias' of what I think a teaching work environment should look like, but they made me realize the innate desire I have for positive and creative collaboration. It appeared to me that the more supportive relationships the teacher had with their colleagues the less the students' behavior issues drained the teacher. Over the course of one day at a lower-socioeconomic school, which is known for student behavior issues, I observed my teacher and her colleagues continuously develop lessons, assignments, and activities for the upcoming week. These "planning sessions" were impromptu and snowballed from a simple question about a particular topic one teacher was planning on teaching the following week. Not only were these planning sessions informative, they were fun! Who knew planning could be fun? I guess these teachers take teaching and learning full-circle by making both the planning process and the learning process fun and interesting. Perhaps it is a utopian idea that I will find a school with this type of creative collaboration or maybe not, but like everything else in life, I will search until I find a school where this type of collaboration exists or cultivate it at the school I call home. Either way, the most important take-away from this school observation experience is to find fun in the planning process, seek positive relationships with colleagues, and that anything is possible when you have a fabulous support network.