I have never been involved in the seismic shift that is a true social movement. Although I was born and grew up when this particular country was facing Viet Nam and civil rights. The world has changed a great deal in a relatively small period of time. My great-grandmother was seven years old when her Alabama family had to release the slaves that they had owned for generations. But I have been part of the type of social movement that is school change and reform. Though I have experienced change at all levels (from personal to institutional)and it seems that the one common factor of all change, is how difficult it is! Palmer is, I believe correct, when he suggests that when more and more people chose to lead an undivided life (or a life of faith!) there is an impact over time on the social and political fabric of institutions. But I agree even more with the notion that at first, the decision to live the undivided life, is a "frail reed" (Palmer, 2007, p.178).
I've come to believe that self-doubt and the anxiety that accompanies self-doubt is a great "de-railer" of change. When it strikes, we default back into the patterns we've always known, mostly because what is known is most comforting to us. I've seen how this impacts institutional change and I've run head on into it as the leader of a school. And I understand it - because I experience the same self-doubt that those who I'm trying to lead feel!
Finally, I really like Palmer's notions for educating new professionals. I find the five "proposals" a great direction to take.
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Indeed, self-doubt is a powerful deterrent. It is not a question of IF but WHEN will educators encounter self-doubt?
ReplyDeleteTherefore, we must prepare educators with tools on how to handle self-doubt. The Courage to Teach could be one such tool. If nothing else, educators must be encouraged to name their doubts, to share them with trusted colleagues, and to pray on them.
In one of our first classes, Gini (I believe) mentioned that a teacher/educator makes something like 6,000 decisions a day. Often it feels like that many are made before recess. After digesting all the Durka and Palmer offerings and other ideas/prayers in class, I see more clearly why self-doubt is probably inherent in transformational systems like education. Think of businesses these days: does our company get ahead of the economic curve and start rehiring, or has the seismic shift of recession showed we now have a permanent leaner company workforce for the future? When comparing the monumental decisions faced by other sectors of society (business, military, political, etc.) teaching seems easier sometimes. Self-doubt occurring during radical change seems just as likely as what occurs when I decide to ask a student to miss recess and copy his paper over again.
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