Why do we keep sitting through professional development we already know?
Mandatory training sessions often rehash basic concepts teachers mastered years ago, yet introduce new buzzwords that force them to completely rewrite established lesson plans. This wastes valuable prep time on redundant activities, leaving educators overwhelmed and ready to quit.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1wishing for time to grade or lesson plan instead
- 2fantasizing about quitting to open a theme bar
- 3sitting through mandatory sessions
- 4finding substitutes for classes
- 5trying to differentiate across enormous ranges of ability levels
- 6feigning engagement in chat
- 7Mentoring or coaching new teachers through the process
- 8Not sweating the assignments too hard and recognizing it as a formality or liability shield
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I’m being required to miss three days of instruction for a training and find substitutes for my classes.”source ↗
“And through all of it, the answer always seems to be another PLC.”source ↗
“I’m tired of discussing instructional strategies when I have students who cannot independently read the directions.”source ↗
“telling me about something I learned twelve years ago and have been implementing for eleven...”source ↗
“now you get to learn a new definition with them which means you get to write all your lesson plans again”source ↗
“nobody is on camera and when the instructor asks us a question nobody speaks up for 20 seconds, and then when we're interacting with the product people are commenting the most shallow things that look like they're trying to feign engagement.”source ↗
“I swear if I have to put a small post it note on a larger post it note one more time I'm quitting and opening a theme bar.”source ↗
“We all know this stuff is dumb and pointless and missing the mark, but until we aren't afraid to walk out of meetings or negotiate to limit admin's power, they will continue to walk all over us.”source ↗
“I am new to teaching in CA, but not new to teaching, so I have to take a new teacher induction class.”source ↗
“My first assignment was to watch a video on how to fill out a google form. Not to fill out a google form, but HOW to fill out a google form.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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