For all middle school educators who are itinerant, half-time, or split among multiple schools, welcome aboard!
As a solo practitioner in the field of Gifted Education in two middle schools, my journey has been full of both wonder and loneliness: First, the population I serve is a bundle of hormonal joyride whose parents grabble with the changes their children experience each day. The beginning of autonomy, their flight towards independence, and multiple aspects of interdependence to their peers are a road less traveled for the adults around them. Giftedness, for the teens, has more to do with existential musings than completing an extra set of quadratic equations and engaging in tiered tasks: struggling with locating motivation, discovering truths, developing perspectives for world problems, and asking themselves, why me, and where am I going are the types of learning they desire. (Read more about Claudia Wallis’s “The Benefits of Helping Teens Identify Their Purposes in Life”)
Secondly, Middleville, particularly for the rising 6th graders, isn’t an easy place to be. The children are pushed into a structured environment to adjust to four to five different core content teachers who have different expectations regardless of students’ personal journey. Unless the content and curriculum are specifically designed to target their existential struggles, these children are situated to “catch up” with what each teacher demands of them. In a district where 30 % of the student population is identified gifted, my job as half-time Gifted Specialists in two middle schools is nothing but nominal and superficial through the lens of community stakeholders.
My counterpart and I serve a total of more or less 1000 gifted identified students while participating instructional teams, coaching and mentoring teachers who need help with differentiation for gifted learners, and attending parent-teacher conferences, 504 and IEP meetings for those who are diagnosed with both gifted and learning disabilities. That’s not all. Every year, we have teachers sign Differentiation Education Plan (DEP) a.k.a. IEP(Individual Education Plan) in other districts and make sure to have those strategies in place for gifted students in mixed-ability classrooms. Depending on what administrative and instructional hats we wear in school buildings, some jobs get done, but most don’t get done because it is not possible to hold 1000 students accountable.
To the lone wolves out there, I, too, have howled and moaned at the full moon. Meanwhile, I have told myself that I will not give up the fight yet. In the midst of my inefficiency, I have discovered some gems on how to survive being itinerant.
- Waiting is the highest virtue: Work with mature and confident teachers who will welcome you to their classrooms to give access to their students. After a year or two, you will see some teachers approaching you to take their craft to the next level. You will end up working with some of the best teachers in each school building. There are always 1 or 2 teachers whose teaching methods are rooted in who they are. As Tamara has shared on her blog, we understand that for some strange reason, others find you repulsive and cocky because of what you represent. Waiting will become a dynamic space for you.
- Find a mentor for personal growth: Since the nature of your job is closely tied to the misconceptions and myths your colleagues may have about what you do and who you serve, your presence may steer some teachers away from you. Since you are the only resource person in the building for the high-ability or high-potential students, others will probably measure you up from different lens depending on their past experiences working with the gifted population in their classrooms. Teachers work closely with interventionists who are experts for middle and bottom down, and assume that intermediate to top students are “fine on their own”.
- Keep a journal to reflect your daily engagement. What I also suggest is that you carry a notebook for journaling. Why? Instead of writing down your schedule that reinforces that your work doesn’t matter, reflect on your practices, interaction, and other ideas that come to your mind. Don’t get caught up worrying about fitting
yourself into a Professional Learning Community or instructional teams. At this point, cherish and honor the few teachers you have worked with and celebrate the students who you have reached out and have grown.
- Be a proactive listener for the parents of the children you serve: Develop listening skills. We live in a culture of expressions and opinions, but who we need are the listeners. Some parents want to have their voices heard, but from grading papers and handling behavioral issues in class, teachers can’t make the time for the parents who need more for their children. Before the parents leave a voicemail on their teachers’ desks, schedule conferences with the parents who are doing well and also with those who aren’t doing well. Bring some coffee, sit down, and spend time getting to know the parents, so that you gain insight into their lives, pattern, and learning styles. Be a listener. With parents’ permission, share some insight about their children with the teachers.
Questions for you:
Do you feel like a lone wolf in your professional learning community? In your school? How do you cope with incompetency, inefficiency, or loneliness?
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