Where have my teaching skills gone?

Well, today was the second day of leadership training this week and I am not feeling good about my teaching. Connie carried the load both days and did her usual admirable work. She truly is gifted and it is an honor for me to work and learn from her. I think today was a little better as far as my presentation, but yesterday my contribution was of poor quality. I believe the content is appropriate and adds to the quality of the work, but my delivery is not. Too much talk on my part and too little engagement by the learners. It is a good thing I am not being rated on the Classroom 1, 5, and 10 scale; it might be embarrassing.


This thing called teaching is not easy. These experiences for me are both humbling and confirming. They confirm my belief that it takes hard work and commitment to become a good teacher and working with these leadership teams also confirms for me the high quality of teacher that we have in our schools. They persevere through my speeches and still have the energy to engage in the given tasks. They also appear to put up with my questions and feedback though I wonder what the parking lot talk is like after a session like today where I spent quite a bit of time with one group trying to bring clarity to their goal.


This evening Dawn and I had the opportunity to share with the Rock Creek PTSA our Classroom 10 focus. I feel much better about this, probably because it was a presentation and it is expected of the presenter to stand and deliver. A long time ago I was a good teacher, but now I think I have become a good presenter and have lost much of my teaching skill. Presenting is far easier even when trying to use the presentation zen model. It still takes hours to plan, but the skill level necessary to deliver with fidelity is far less than that required of a teacher.


In the morning I present again this time to our Rotary Club. These people are a wonderful support to our schools and to our students and families. I am proud to be a member of this organization. I'll try to represent you well. I think I have a good shot because again, it is a presentation, something I think I can do when I give it quality preparation and planning time.