Collaborative Conversations

Welcome to Collaborative Conversations!

The 21/22 school year was the worst school year of my career. My schedule was horrible. My course load was impossible. And the students and teachers were still getting Covid which meant there was no such thing as continuity in learning.

I was in such a bad head space that when a teacher leadership summit hosted by the state’s department of education crossed my desk. It caught my attention. I knew the state provided a framework to develop teacher-leaders. I looked around at the newer staff and thought they were equal parts overwhelmed and looking for jobs outside of teaching.

I knew something had to shift for myself and my colleagues, so I applied for voluntary professional development to attend the summit, learn about the state’s teacher leadership framework, and bring the information back to my colleagues.

My administrators denied my request.

I asked why.

Neither of them could give me a straight answer.

I shook my head in disbelief and left school for the summer feeling even more defeated than I had been all school year.

I started my summer break refusing to think or talk about school. In mid-July, I found myself scrolling Twitter when I came across Rebecca Makkai’s thread about making a bigger table for our colleagues. She was specifically referring to literary citizenship, a term in the writing community in which writers pay it forward by sharing resources or amplifying underrepresented voices. In other words, when writers provide a hand up, they are making a bigger table with room for everyone who wants a seat.

Without being aware of the term, “making a bigger table,” at the time, I tried to make a bigger table for my colleagues by attending the state leadership conference and bringing back the information. My administrators didn’t see the value in me attending but that didn’t mean the need wasn’t there.

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There are four waves of teacher leadership. They aren’t sequential, and they aren’t all the same, but they do have one thing in common: Teachers are looking for the space to develop solutions that address challenges in their building or district. Good teachers have been leaving my school and the profession regularly over the last few years. As educators, we can either help create a pathway to teacher leadership or we risk good teachers leaving the profession.  

I can think back over my career and remember the times I had opportunities to travel and study with experts. The first year back from the pandemic, my spirit and my energy for teaching was bankrupt. But I also knew that If I wanted to find joy again in teaching, I had to give away what I had.

Years ago, when I was a single parent, there were times I didn’t have enough money left for groceries or a utility bill. It was at those times; I gave away my last few dollars. Sometimes it was to a charity or my church. Oftentimes it was to get my daughter ice cream or take her to the dollar movie theater. I knew then that if I held on to those few dollars like they were my last, they were guaranteed to be my last.

My daughter is an adult now, and I’m no longer broke, but it’s still hard to shake those old habits. Even though I felt depleted, I was going to share whatever I had with my colleagues by making a bigger table for the teachers at my school.

I began making a bigger table by hosting Collaborative Conversations, a twice-monthly optional meeting during daily collaboration time. I’ve been teaching for over two decades. I didn’t stay teaching because it is a particularly easy profession or because of the pay. I continue because I’ve been able to stay curious and tap into the more creative side of the profession while deepening my understanding of the art and craft of teaching. That’s worked for me, but what about the other teachers who are thinking of leaving the profession? Or just starting in the profession and never really getting a fair start because of the pandemic?

That’s what I’ve been doing last school year and I have plans to continue for next school year as well as creating virtual Collaborative Conversations online. I’ll share what I know and make a bigger table for teachers in and out of my school district.

Monthly, I’ll be sending out emails on different topics. I’ll let you know about grant and fellowship opportunities, or I might chat about unit ideas or writing instruction. Either way, we’ll collaborate.

Pour yourself a cup of coffee and take a seat at the table. There’s plenty of room.