Indie teacher doesn't think outside the box. Indie teacher figures out how to reuse the box or how to subtly turn it into a tetrahedron when no one is looking. And when indie teacher has an idea, it's not in a standard light bulb, it's in a compact fluorescent bulb.
Although I don't experience this in our staff lounge, I have noticed in my online experience that there is a certain type of teacher who is eerily similar to me. For lack of a better term, I call this type of teacher the Indie Teacher. I have a hunch that if we got together a group of indie teachers from around the country and put us in a room, we would self-organize, have tiny breakout sessions with no keynote speakers and the soundtrack would not be typical hotel music. It would be the un-conference, a Burning Man of learning enthusiasts.
It won't happen.
At first I wondered if it was an issue of age. Perhaps the younger generation fits this description better. However, I can think of teachers who are middle-aged that fit the description above. I wondered next if it had to do with post-modernism, but there are aspects of the indie teacher that goes against postmodern thinking (many indie teachers have little patience with pastiche and with absolute relativism).
I'm not always a list man, but there is a sort-of prototype that I'll label "Indie Teacher." The following are some characteristics:
- Independent Taste: Prefers indie, or at least non-mainstream music. Doesn't blush at a self-published book, either.
- Independent Ideology: Tends to vote independent and uses strange labels (I'm a left-leaning libertarian, I'm a green moderate) in the process. This teacher is skeptical, but not necessarily cynical, toward social institutions like schools, government, corporations - this type of teacher doesn't "love" public school so much as loves the learning process.
- Independent Social Networks: Tends to share and sees horizontal collaboration as more valuable than being forced to use an "expert" resource. In other words, this type of teacher likes to share links, share resources, share ideas, share content. You'll see a Creative Commons license on blog posts, for example.
- Independent Teaching: Develops resources rather than using school-imposed curriculum, doesn't depend on schools to fix discipline issues, etc.
- Independent Mindset: Tends to be open to new ideas, supportive of paradox and contemplative. At it's worst, this can look like chincy, cheap idealism. At it's best, it becomes innovation. It's no wonder that you see so many indie teachers quoting Seth Godin's Linchpin.
Hey, check out my book Teaching Unmasked I'm selling it at-cost or you can download it for free as a PDF.
I remember being so inspired by "Indie teachers" at a NECC conference that I got choked up thinking about the possibilities of closing the doors and telling them, "Start a school, here and now." Wouldn't that be cool.
ReplyDeleteIts April Fool's Day, I was waiting to see what you would do. I don't match up with your checklist but I would still like to attend the conference. I think I needed number four to be split in two. I certainly have difficulty with fixed discipline issues. It would be the main reason administration did not work out for me. I could not meet the expectations of my colleagues. On the other hand, I really do rely on school-available resources: textbooks etc.
ReplyDeleteAs you can imagine, online resources loom large in my classroom and I have two shelves of resources collected over the years. The independently produced materials might be considerably more extensive after 30 years but I have learned to let go. There is no room for an archive and my assignments have changed to much over the years. These days I am a minimalist.
I do not have the time to develop alternative resources (and these days I help the students to find their own resources). I am a generalist not a specialist so I have to rely on textbooks and teacher materials to carry through the new and unfamiliar courses. Textbooks set the path for me and I wander off that path like an inquisitive dog roaming freely around the more linear path of my titular master. Another reason I remain a textbook user is my horror over the piles of paper we generate in our quest for resource based learning. I need to take a picture of our recycle bins and trash cans. It is nearly unconscionable. Text books reduces my addiction to photocopying. 1-1 computing attracts me hugely. It would end my dependence on a single textbook (or two) for each subject, and free us for resource-based learning.
I'm not feeling very independent today. Last night and this morning we have interviews. Far too much of what I have to say relates to the assessments for/of learning we did this last term. It distorts the image of learning in my classroom and returns everything to grades. It leaves me discouraged.
Great post! I'm always amused at how my musical tastes match up with many of those on teachers on Twitter. I think it's fun to see if you can find the other Indie teachers at conferences.
ReplyDeleteI think there's some danger in being an indie teacher though. It can be easy to isolate yourself in the real-world to the point that you're not really having an effect on those around you. At the same time, I love Twitter and blogs because they're a space to hang out with other like-minded teachers.
Hmmm...another charictoristic I have noticed in UK Indie teachers...second carreer teachers..ie those who have spent a significant part of their working life doing some other job.
ReplyDeleteI've always put it down to an underlying desire to adapt and continue learning.
I was reading your list, checking off my own qualities, and then I flashed to the South Park episode where they have the dance-off, and the Goth kid chooses to be part of the group--he says to be a non-conformist, he's going to be a conformist, in order to be the ultimate non-conformist. I just don't want to be "Goth served." :) And I don't need no stinkin' license to be creative or common! (But will post one just the same!)
ReplyDeleteI love this list, but I'd like to add one criterion to it. One must realize that teaching is probably a craft. A few might be be able to make it an art. No matter how much the politicians claim otherwise, it will never be a science.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that almost every school has one or two "indie" teachers. These teachers tend to be isolated (whether by self-imposed isolation or the staff is uncomfortable with what they may say or do), they seem to be loved/hated by the parent community and staff, and tolerated by the administration and "Ministry of Magic" members. It has also been my experience that, like outcasts on a high school campus, they end up hanging out at meetings, in-services, conferences - and inevitably the wish for a "dream school" with all the creative "indie" teachers working together is discussed. A Mighty Defiant Nerd Nation of educators.... Wait... am I one of the "cool indie" teachers or am I just one of the awkward outcast teachers???
ReplyDeleteUmmm...I want to be included...anyone...someone...Bueller...
Tom, you are indeed indie. And I think you hit one something there - the notion that indie and outcast are often combined. Blessed are the geeks, for they shall inherit the quirkiest music and the most obscure pop culture references.
ReplyDeleteSee my dilemma, Tom—what if John doesn’t think I’m indie/cool enough?
ReplyDelete:)
(thanks for the "age" comment, John - I'm still in denial, but more tech savvy than many of my younger peers...)
Kelly, you are indie. I'm not qualified to judge cool, because I've never been cool in my life.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! favourite music: www.radio3.cbc.ca , My buddy (http://twitter.com/acmcdonaldgp) just sent me a great quote:
ReplyDeleteDeb Meier: “Only secretly rebellious teachers have ever done right by our least advantaged kids” -http://bit.ly/dgWwOe
indie teachers always seem to work alone: have been accused of being an 'independent cuss'
indie teachers always seem to have their "results" scrutinised by admin and parents. i have been told 'cover your ass better, or you will be looking for a new gig'
sigh!
great post, john!
If you gathered up all the indie teachers...well then there would be even more of an unbalance within the schools and students, staff, parents would see more of the mainstream and not the differences! In short...we need indie teachers and their families and their friends and their music! The differences can reflect the positive, make us all look deeper and with our head cocked to the side and say "Hmmmm, that works too." (BTW, I am about quarter-indie, quarter-cool and quarter still-figuring-it-out) ha!
ReplyDelete