In the reading this week, one sentence stood out to me more than anything else. It was the testimony of a former graduate student about working in a school where collaboration was more present. The graduate student said of the job "I work even harder than I used to, but now it's fun."
This statement really made me reflect on my own work experiences and think about the effect collaboration or a lack of collaboration has had on the experience. I started thinking about my job at a drop in gym day care center. We are the bottom of the totem pole, and none of the management of the gym wants to spend any time or money to improve the facility. There is no collaboration between the managers of the gym and the daycare, and as a result it is miserable to work there if there is a maintenance problem. It will take weeks to fix, and even that may only happen if enough parents complain. I then thought about my job at a preschool, where there is a lot of collaboration. Today at work, a two year old boy tripped and fell down the stairs. He wasn't hurt, but the teacher called his mom to let him know. They both share the goal of protecting the boy's well being, and the mom was appreciative to hear about the fall firsthand rather than through gossip. This is just one small example of the kind of parent teacher collaboration that goes on at this preschool. I can honestly say that I have never enjoyed a job as much as I enjoy this job, and have never worked harder to make sure that I'm doing my job well.
In this positive collaboration environment, the characteristics of collaboration are very evident. For example, many of the parents volunteer to teach "specials" such as Spanish, drama, or even yoga. These parents are not compensated, they provide these specials out of a genuine desire to create a positive school environment for their children and other children. These parents bring their knowledge resources together with the school's resources to create an effective environment to teach these subjects to the children. Through these collaborations a great sense on community and trust has developed in the school. I think that this has created a really positive environment for these children to grow and learn.
I'm so glad you pulled out that sentence! Your examples added depth to my thinking about the positive results of a collaborative environment and the consequences when no collaboration is considered. The contrast was very clear! Your example about the parents' provision of "specials" reminded me of how many of the home school co-ops and groups I've worked with do this, too.
ReplyDeleteYes, I musat admit that I missed that thoughtful sentence! Your examples portrayed the benefits of effective collaboration. I appreciate the teachers at the daycare being willing to let the parents come in and display their expertise. Examples like the ones you provide can help others see in a concrete manner that students can and will benefit when we as adults work together!
ReplyDelete