Is Professional Development Still a Joke?

[Andrea Ray]

Matthew Miles described professional development as it existed 1995 when he wrote the foreword for Thomas Guskey and Michael Huberman’s book, Professional Development:

"A good deal of what passes for 'professional development' in schools is a joke-one we would laugh at if we were not trying to keep from crying.  It is everything that a learning program shouldn’t be: radically under resourced, brief, not sustained, designed for 'one size fits all,' imposed rather than owned, lacking any intellectual coherence, treated as a special add-on event rather than part of a natural process, and trapped in the constraints of a bureaucratic system we have come to call 'school' (p. vii).

What do you think?  Is Professional Development in 2015 still a joke?

[Norma-Jean Nielsen]

Thank you Shawn for your insights. My EdD research (2018) around professional development of college teachers in rural locations (in Ontario, Canada) indicated that agency and institutional support were key factors in active professional development. What I experienced in my 35 years of college teaching reinforced the concept that the "keeners" and successful teachers were first to sign up for new learning that facilitated their teaching and responsibilities to the learners. Interestingly though, teachers engaged in active professional development were true life-long learners, whether they had institutional support or not. 

[Shawn Mitchell]

Professional Development: A Quality of a Great Teacher
Without concrete development, we cannot have the positive impact a person can make in society. A person who is sixteen or eighteen can have more intelligence than a thirty-year-old. But the same sixteen-year-old person can compete in another way too and that is developing into a professional being. Being professional does not mean being sharp in speech and communication and judging books by their cover. But you will find the genius minds generally shy and quiet in public. Why? Because they respect and savour their words for the time when it all comes together perfectly.
A teacher is a person that has to make an impact instantly. You can check the top quality of teachers here: https://ksa.mytutorsource.com/blog/top-qualities-of-a-good-teacher/. In fact, you will find people that intend to become a teacher and they develop some skills which tip them to be a future success. It means you will have to bring in the development even before you choose a field of work. Why? Because nature speaks louder than words and presents your image in the perfect way without looking. Your dress does inspire the eyes but your professional behaviour inspires the souls. Thus, when you speak, walk, and act professionally, you are changing minds and helping souls.
A teacher for example has to go through various hardships. Even inside a 4x4 classroom too. But does this mean the teacher has no right to examine freedom? No, rather a teacher is just a human being trying to better the lives of the people in the front. But during times, the professionalism for teachers just becomes as necessary as a board marker and a duster. Without a marker, you cannot do something that will allow others to see. And without a duster, you cannot erase the wrongs for which you are brought in to correct.