Last night, I attended the "Writers in Conversation" lecture with Rachel Faldet and Amy Weldon. These two women shared excerpts from their current writing projects. Their pieces were interesting, but what interested me most was their partnership. Professor Faldet and Professor Weldon are writers in conversation. They have become accountability partners in their writing careers. They talked about how they encourage each other in their writing, even if one of them is only currently working on a short essay. They keep each other writing. They keep each other motivated.
Professor Faldet and Professor Weldon are not only writers, but they are also part of the faculty here at Luther. This made me wonder whether or not they are partners in education as well as partners in their own writing. The idea of a partnership and a person to converse with and bounce ideas off of made me think of my own future in teaching. How much more would we excel in our careers if we had a special colleague to constantly challenge us. To keep us teaching.
As a teacher, I would want someone in my life who would bring me back to the reasons why I teach. I forsee a difficulty in maintaining a focus on the students and their futures. But that's what teaching is about: the students. I would also hope to have someone who could give me feedback and let me know how I'm doing. Someone who would give and take new ideas. I think that we could benefit so much from a partnership. It would lighten up the load as a teacher and allow us to be a team, even if it's really just one man or woman in a classroom of thirty students.
I think it's fun to sit in a classroom of education majors and wonder, "Will I know her when I'm a teacher? Will we work together? Will we share ideas?" Maybe none of the future teachers I know now will become a close colleague, but I hope that someone will. And I hope to be able to be that partner for someone else, too.
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I really liked the parallels you drew between the lecture and teaching. Last year, I logged 20 hours of observation for Intro to Music Education. I visited two elementary school music teachers who taught at different schools in one town. They stressed to me the importance of using the resources of other teachers and not trying to think of everything on your own. They swap lesson plans and ideas all the time. Maybe we will be partners in education with some of our fellow ed psych classmates after we graduate!
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