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Staff Development Ideas
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To most people, ‘vocation’ simply means what one does for a living, one’s occupation or career. The secular definition of ‘vocation’ usually implies only income-producing activity. The religious definition, however, is more literal and yet far more complex. ‘Vocation’ literally means calling” (Peck, p 152).
If a vocation is a calling, what is the role of the administrator/supervisor in the calling process? If we truly believe we are all “called” with our talents and skills to complete some task during our lifetime, the role of a supervisor or administrator must be one of enrichment and nurturing.
In a school district the moral purpose of the school is to maximize the learning of all those who are part of that learning institution. In keeping that moral purpose alive, the supervisor or administrator is charged with the task of providing the training or opportunity to take part in training that will enable the people in our organization to grow in their skills and ability to excel in their called profession.
While a goal for the district may be to increase reading comprehension scores, how can providing training for secretaries in use of the latest computer software benefit students and move the district closer to the district goal? |
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- If the secretaries in the district are more efficient in their assigned tasks there is greater efficiency in their work and less “drag” on the system.
- If the secretaries feel more effective in their performance they will take greater pride in their work and the organization of which they are part.
- If the secretaries feel valued enough to be part of the “life-long learning” efforts of the organization they will feel valued and will also see the value in other types of “life-long learning,” which may take the form of staff development for faculty or inservice training for other staff.
- If the secretaries are “still going to school” to learn new things, the community will see how the district values a well trained staff and support staff.
- If the secretaries see the long-term, holistic picture of staff development, they will have a greater understanding of adult learning and research-based professional development models.
- If the secretaries have input into the training that will benefit them the most they will have ownership of the process and a clearer focus as to the intended outcomes for the training.
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If these hypothetical perceptions are true for secretaries in the organization, can the same truths not also be true of any other support personnel in the school, or for that matter any adult learner? A school is a learning institution. How can we overlook solid learning theory, regardless of the age group occupying the building?
Staff development and inservice training is a map of the direction your school district is going. If you look at a matrix of training your support staff personnel has gone through the last half decade, what direction is your district going? Is your district beyond support staff training that centers only on blood-borne pathogens, building crisis plans, or learning about asbestos in the work environment? If the last thing the support staff learned about reading came as a result of their own K-12 experience, the district will struggle to get the entire support staff on the same page to help raise student achievement scores in reading. |
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