Fellow music teacher colleague and friend, Karen, is thinking about tackling the daunting prospect of acquiring a National Board Certificate. She has taken the first plunge by attending a four-hour informational meeting. She has gotten me thinking about it too. It's funny how, even though it immediately pops into my head that it is WAY too much work, on top of the way too much work I already have on my plate every week, month and year, a little spark of excitement lights up my brain imagining that I could really slow down and THINK about how and what and why I am doing what I do. Get feedback, develop new ideas toward best practices, and in the end, get some recognition and a raise. It's not an unattractive idea. Especially if there would be a fellow music teacher on the road too.
We (okay, I AM seriously considering this, even though I wouldn't even have dipped a toe in the water if it hadn't been for Karen diving in first) have till July 11 to decide. Meanwhile I am reading everything I can about the process, talking it over with husband and those who have been there and done that.
It takes a certain self-confidence in one's teaching practices even to think about taking this on. The whole point of the project is critical reflection and it's maybe only after this pretty good year that I feel I could stand up to such self-inflicted scrutiny. After 15 years in this district, I could actually hold a mirror up to my classroom and maybe not flinch. It would be okay to look closely and see what I do, and not run screaming from the profession as an abject failure. Maybe it would even be fun. I'm thinking this blog atmosphere might be useful as a tool to help me think out loud, so to speak.
I will think on this some more...any thoughts, friends?
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