Oh, I wish I had known....

The biggest thing that I wish I had known prior to my NTI training was how the high school education system would differ almost entirely with what NTI has taught me. If I had known this I would have been able to save myself a great deal of embarrassment in the face of administrators, Instructional Lead Teachers, and Board officials. I would have kept my mouth shut about what I have learned, not because I agree or disagree with any of it but because I have had to listen to them scoff at me about it repeatedly. Next, I wish I had realized that one should never tell colleagues "just wait, because such&such is coming". I have found that the county will tell us that one technique in the new thing, the University system will tell us another thing is the next big idea, and the state Board has yet a third opinion as to what should be next. It is just like the old southern adage, "If you don't like the weather in Georgia....wait five minutes for it to change." I believe this is why so many teachers strive to do just enough to get by. They know that if they commit effort toward the new best practice it will be a waste of that effort. I know what actually works in my room and I will use everything I have learned, and everything I continue to learn to meld a technique that gets the job dome better every year.