Lynn Tuttle

For Educators, Getting Professional Development Can Be Tough

Posted by Lynn Tuttle, May 26, 2010 0 comments


Lynn Tuttle

In the Americans for the Arts May 2010 Monthly Wire, a Top-10 list of reasons to attend the Half-Century Summit in Baltimore in June included: Reason #4: “Think you don’t have the time? Fake a cough or take a well-deserved vacation day (just kidding!).”

Unfortunately, for many of my colleagues in arts education, this joke hits a little too close to home. Arts teachers in public schools are given very little time to attend professional development opportunities outside of their school or school district. In Arizona, the dance educators hold an annual “pink tutu flu,” where many have to call in sick in order to participate in a statewide professional development day for dance teachers. Even when the day was devoted to our new state standards in dance, many teachers couldn’t take the day as a professional work day – they had to call in sick.

Colleagues working at the state level don’t necessarily fare any better. One of the leaders of my national organization, SEADAE (State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education), is routinely “sick” in order to attend Arts Education Partnership meetings.

Another colleague was forbidden from attending the National Art Education Association conference where she was presenting her state’s work in visual arts education. When she said she had outside funds to pay for her travel, and that she could take vacation days to do the travel, she was told that she could not present work from the state. The workshop had to be cancelled.

Building a supportive environment for arts educators, artists and teaching artists, the second pillar of the Arts Ed Council’s Green Paper on arts education includes simple steps like investing in professional development opportunities for arts educators. Building understanding about what these professional opportunities can and should be, however, is a larger conversation with school superintendents, principals, and fellow educators outside of the arts.

Helping the larger system understand the importance of connecting with our colleagues – and most arts educators work solo in the schools they serve – whether locally, at the state, or national levels such as at the Half-Century Summit, is vital to our continued growth as a profession.

Do you have any successes in building support for your professional development as an arts educator or teaching artist?

Respond to this blog and let’s start building a toolkit in support of arts educator PD!

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