PD Beyond “Hand Waving”
the emperor in his beautifully handknitted socks « Craft Nectar via kwout
My Google Reader content could be simplified into two main categories: libraries and crafts. Last month, I led what was probably the best-intentioned, worst-received PD ever. It stung. It hurt. I cried all weekend. And sadly, I don’t think I was the only one.
Then, a few days later, I read the post above (click on the link) by noted quilt designer Weeks Ringle about what bad PD felt like. After years away from being a student, splurged on a knitting instruction class. She found the instructor to be short-tempered, abrasive, and unable to communicate the very technique that had been advertised. Instead of clear instructions, the instructor waved his/her hands around in vague gestures.
It reminded me of my own bad day, where, like the author’s attempt at sock-knitting, had unravelled in a way that didn’t work for anyone.
The post on the Craft Nectar blog, with the fantastic title, “The Emperor in His Beautifully Handknitted Socks” is worth a read as a reminder of how we can consider ourselves “experts” and yet be seen in a very different light. (Remember “The Tempered Radical”?) Be sure to read the comments to see how folks responded.
Just like the folks in the comments, people opt into educational professional development for a variety of reasons: a friend is going, they know need to be externally prodded or they’ll never get around to it, they’re told to, they admire the workshop leader, etc.
And while I believe powerfully that PD presenters must approach their sessions with the question, “What do I want people to walk away and do as a result of my presentation?”
In the case of the class described above, the instructor didn’t have that question in mind. Instead, the instructor seemed more interested, perhaps, in being In Charge and In Front. When the Emperor is more concerned with himself and his perception than with caring for those in the kingdom, people are willing to let him parade around with no clothes on.
Many school librarians have an inner Emperor. Freud called it the ego. It’s a kind of survival strategy. It’s a way of holding fast to our values and our beliefs when others try to define or marginalize us. But when that inner Emperor sneaks out, the universe often reminds us: stop parading. Get back to work. Remember why you’re doing this session: “What do I want people to walk away and do as a result of my presentation?”