Change Game

I had this saved in Word, but I forgot to post it earlier.

The change game was an interesting one and one that I would like to play again on a Saturday morning. Evenings aren't the best time for me to focus on something that involves strategy, so I may check it out again on a weekend when I have a morning free. I've noticed the same pattern with my planning time at school; last year it was in the morning and I was much more productive than I am now that my planning is in the afternoon. This is probably something that I should keep in mind when I have a job as a media coordinator: mornings are the best time for me to do the detailed work, such as grant writing and cataloging and afternoons are more the time for collaboration with other teachers. I know that with flexible scheduling this won't always be possible, but I do know that getting to school before the expected time will allow me time that is quiet to do the work that I need to concentrate on most.

Learning the ins and outs of who's connected to whom was tricky for me; I had a tough time remembering all the names and what their story was. I kind of wish that there had been a short story to tell more about the characters prior to playing the game. I tend to remember information such as that much more when I have time to process it and have more of the back story. I suppose this was set up the way it was to both facilitate the playing of the game and to simulate the feeling of accepting a new position and having to learn the ins and outs of the relationships within the building.

I did enjoy playing the game with people I hadn't gotten to know very well. It gave me a chance to have some conversations with people and find out their stories. I've found that in education, especially, the relationships are important and networking is key. In some other careers, you can spend all day behind a desk, take a scheduled lunch break, and go home without having to have a real conversation. But in education, it's all about relationships... with faculty, administration, students, and parents. The better you are at building those relationships, the more enjoyable the job seems to be. This is key in the life of a media coordinator, where you are the hub of the school and a resource to so many people.

LSA Collaboration II

So far we're a few weeks into attempting this project. I'm getting more and more frustrated, because despite my efforts and Nancy's, it seems like the LSA students either don't understand the intent of the project, or it isn't a priority for them. We continue to ask for data from the environmental scan with little feedback and have yet to see the schedule that the school currently uses, despite a promise two weeks ago for that to be emailed.

I want to believe that it is a matter of them not understanding the project, but I've seen little participation on the discussion board thus far and have been disappointed with our Monday meetings. I believe that this collaboration could have merit, if all parties were on the same page and equally invested, but I'm not sure if that's going to happen. I've posted questions on the discussion board for all and have discussed with Nancy how we might pull more information out of the LSA students. We're going to look up some information on the middle school to see what we can come up with that might help facilitate making a schedule. Hopefully, we'll get into a good rhythm and be able to complete this project as planned. If not, I suppose this is an excellent experience in communicating with others who have different goals than myself.