Mel Pace (mpace1@tampabay.rr.com)
Wed, 24 Mar 1999 21:50:18 -0500
From: "Mel Pace" <mpace1@tampabay.rr.com> Subject: Technology and training Date: Wed, 24 Mar 1999 21:50:18 -0500
Karen,
With respect to purchasing technology and not providing for teacher training, as you already have heard from others, is professional suicide for the school system that attempts such a move. First, they spend large amounts of money, which later the public finds out has been wasted because they see that the technology that the system bragged about when they purchased it is not being used with their children. Therefore, when the school system ask the public for money for other ventures the public is resistant.
Secondly, teachers should NEVER tolerate such actions. They are the professionals and they need to bring pressure to bear on the School Board, by whatever means possible, to change this policy. In my district, which is the 12th largest in the U.S., we wanted to change some of the philosophical emphasis on the way in which we taught Reading. I was on the committee, as a union rep., that was making these policy decisions. I argued in favor of making the training mandatory for all teachers. By doing this, it generated two results. First, we have a better chance of getting all teachers on the same page of the proverbial hymnal; secondly, it forced the school system to provide the training during the regular school day and thus provide substitutes for the teachers, or they had to pay the teachers for the extra after school hours that they spent in training. The same could be done, if the system is really committed to technology implementation.
When teachers stick together, they can move mountains. It is not unprofessional to demand the same respect and remuneration that is given, as standard operating procedure, in the regular business world.
Mel Pace
Media Specialist Roosevelt Elementary
Doctoral student Instructional Technology
University of South Florida Tampa, FL USA
mpace1@tampabay.rr.com
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