On the Possibility of O.D.ing on P.D.

There's going to be an awful lot more structured PD, or professional development, next year, per the new contract.  With a new curriculum coming down the line, we'll need to amend, alter or abolish a few things.  But these changes will not be revolutionary.  We did "common-core-aligned" lessons, to the best of our students' reading abilities, before the Core came along.  Students read texts, critically examined positions, considered biases, extrapolated and all that good stuff.  

I cannot speak to the situation at all schools or for all teachers at all points in their careers, but I think two periods a week of CPT (common-planning time) may prove counterproductive.  I know in my department, we have always had professional conversations, shared resources and discussed ideas.  Having already established this kind of rapport, I would rather spend more time with my students; in a cost-benefits analysis, in my opinion, it would prove far more valuable than so much more structured PD.  I feel sure the parents of most of my students would agree.  

In addition to two periods of CPT and one for administrative duties, there will be two periods a week for parental outreach.  Many of us have done well on this account already. With one phone and far too few computers, the simple logistics of the situation will discourage teachers from calling homes and printing letters during the scheduled PD time.  Our school will, doubtless, expand its technology reserve, but I'm pretty sure it won't be sufficient.  How could it?

And, when I stop to think about the assumptions behind all this PD, i.e., all teachers are deficient and need extensive help remedying that situation, I lament the time lost with my students.  It's a sad commentary, but many I know, when asked about our most memorable PD moments, might point to this video shown by a workshop facilitator invited into our school.  The video is a humorous take on the need for differentiation (in a world in which standardized tests are anything but that).  This is not to say that all PD is meaningless, only that it reaches a point of diminishing returns.  Instead of making me sit through loads more of professional development, I wish educational "reformers" would treat me as a professional and let me do what I do best:  teach to children, not high-stakes, punitive tests!