No Man is an Island

I've learned here not to lower my expectations, but to have no expectations.  In a tropical tourist destination no one worries, and changes in schedule are met with a smile and shrug.

I woke up early to review my notes, eat breakfast and make contact with my family.  I was met with a flurry of activity as undergraduates prepared for summer camp and literacy camp; their excitement was contagious.  After a shuffling of schedules I learned I would join in on the summer camps, helping the leader of the camp.  As a community college instructor I was comfortable with working with undergraduates, but was disappointed that I couldn't do more for the local school system.

I ended up doing something for a school I never thought I'd have to do: prepare for a hurricane.

Attendance at my professional development for teachers was light; overnight an Atlantic storm had transformed into a tropical storm that would hit Belize.  Families were preparing their homes for the storm.

During professional development, fostering a sense of professional community was something that they wanted.  On their exit tickets as they left my session, most appreciated how interactive my session was; they yearned more time with each other to share successes and develop strategies.  Michael Apple notes in his text Educating the Right Way: Markets, Standards, God and Inequality that curriculum represents a struggle for power.  Perhaps the voices of these teachers are not being heard.  Perhaps their island is their inability to control their curriculum.

However, it was easy to notice their sense of community elsewhere.  At the morning summer camp, half a dozen people were moving desks to create a shelter in case the storm hit.  At the afternoon literacy camp, the library had people ebbing and flowing who would pack up books and secure technology. The sole librarian was obviously grateful. No man was an island here, even though they lived on one.

How would I help them transfer that sense of community during disasters into their professional learning communities?

References
Apple, M.W. (2006). Educating the "right" way: Markets, standards, God and inequality.  New York: Routledge Falmer.