Hello Everyone,
This post was originally on our class site, but I have also put it here for reference as well:
After reading and reflecting on the articles related to teaming, I feel more determined to be a part of a school that incorporates and completely implements the essential components of teaming. The idea of being able to collaborate with other professionals and to listen to the unique perspectives your fellow experts in education have seems both logical and incredibly valuable. The biggest takeaway for me in regards to these readings would be the importance of accountability and fully implementing teaming within middle schools. It is without doubt that a team is as strong as its weakest link, and having the time to work and grow with all team members provides the opportunity to improve and build upon each other. Educators constantly espouse the importance of community within the classroom, yet so many middle schools do not have a stable/existent team community for the educators. By allowing educators to collaborate in meaningful ways, and also learning about their fellow educators, these teams can create a necessary community of their own that results in consistency and quality instruction for the students within the team.
In terms of ideas that have challenged me, I am very much in support of teaming in theory, but my greatest concern lies within the amount of time and the structure that school administrators provide teams to having common planning time. What's more, is the openness of communication and feedback a school's administration is willing to listen to in order to build a stronger team within middle schools. It can certainly be a daunting task to restructure the design of an entire school, and administrators, as well as faculty, could be hesitant to make such substantial changes within their school. I would say in response to this, that it is up to all stakeholders to work together to make such a transition, as it is one that will end up benefiting the largest stakeholder in the long term, but I'm concerned that many school districts are unwilling to change their ways of instruction.
Thank you for your thoughtful insights in regards to teaming. I completely agree with your statement: "It is without doubt that a team is as strong as its weakest link, and having the time to work and grow with all team members provides the opportunity to improve and build upon each other." The beauty of being a member of a team is that you develop professional relationships with colleagues that you may not have initially thought had similar philosophies.
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