Fellow Alabama NBCTs, Two weeks ago Pamela Harman and I had the opportunity to attend the NBPTS Academy in Phoenix, AZ. The focus of the Academy was to connect NBCTs from across the nation and to allow us time to collaborate on ways to further educate school and district leaders and legislators on the benefits of National Board certification. I found that we are quite fortunate in Alabama - many states provide little or no incentive for National Board certification. While we still need to actively promote the idea that Alabama needs more NBCTs, I believe that Alabama is on the right track regarding National Board certification. From the Academy I gleaned three main themes: the importance of empowering and honoring teachers, reasons why NBCTs need to recruit and support candidates, and ways to elevate and rebrand the entire teaching profession. I wholeheartedly agree that these are things we need to focus on here in Alabama. So what can we do to further these ideas? First, I believe that educators need to promote the idea that we are professionals. We are highly trained practitioners who must make hundreds of decisions a day that ultimately affect the futures of our students. This idea goes hand in hand with rebranding the teaching profession. Unfortunately, especially within the last decade, the education profession has lost some of its value and respect. There are many reasons for this, but Id like to put forth the idea that we need to ensure that we are always saying and doing things that show others our dedication and expertise. At the Academy, we had the delightful opportunity to hear Daniela Robles, the teacher that the film documentary, Mitchell 20, highlights. In her speech, Daniela encouraged all NBCTs to learn professional courage so that we can make an impact on fellow educators and students. She shared with us her journey through National Board certification and how that process helped her articulate the complexities of accomplished teaching practice and provided her with opportunities to demonstrate excellence. She encouraged us to create collaborative cultures within our schools and discussed the importance of building the capacity of teachers so that we can build the capacity of students. Daniela charged us with transforming the teaching profession and told us that in the beginning of her National Board journey, she didnt think she was capable of accomplishing anything, much less affecting her colleagues and students beliefs and attitudes. But she did it, day by day, month by month, year by year. And her last thought was this, One NBCT can make a difference, but several NBCTs are a force to be reckoned with.” So what can each of us do to impact and elevate the teaching profession? The answer will be different for each one of us. My personal goal is to do all that I can to increase the number of NBCTs in the Mobile area. How do I accomplish that? Im planning to meet with some of our district leaders again to discuss next steps in candidate support; I will contact our local educators union to see if they will provide funding; and I will provide ongoing support for our new cohort of candidates. What will you do? If every single one of us accomplishes one goal toward furthering the mission of the Alabama NBCT Network, what would happen within one year? Let’s become a force to be reckoned with! I look forward to the possibilities. As always, know that your board members want to serve you. Let us know how we can best assist you. Valerie Johnson, NBCT-SC Membership & Outreach Chair Alabama NBCT Network
Posted on: Mon, 04 Aug 2014 23:43:22 +0000
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