THE BLANK CANVAS

BLOG POST BY PTAC MEMBER REBECCA GIBBONEY

​Elena Aguilar states in her book Onward that it takes about “10,000 hours of deliberate practice to become a master at something as complex as teaching” (p. 239). 

And yet, here we are, teaching through a pandemic--a pandemic that has turned our Picasso masterpiece into a blank canvas. Fall of 2019, I would not say my canvas was a masterpiece, but it was a work in progress. However, as I sit here almost a year since we were isolated by the pandemic, I stare at a blank screen--a blank canvas, not exactly sure how to write my thoughts on paper, not exactly sure how to reach you. Like many of you, I have so many questions. 

Yet, my questions target a different audience --YOU! 

As a former teacher turned professional development provider, I have so many questions. Some have answers. Some seem impossible. Some still have me holding onto hope. 

How can I create professional learning opportunities that do not feel like one more thing for educators?
How do I help educators believe they are enough?
How can I…

My incomplete masterpiece in the past could not possibly be the exact same work of art in the future. I had to let go. I had to find a way, one brushstroke at a time. 

A yellow streak, understanding new learning management systems. 
An orange streak, turning professional development opportunities into professional learning opportunities (yes, there is a difference) through gamification.
Blue streak here, there. Green streak.
Asynchronous. Hybrid. Synchronous. Remote.

Slowly but surely, my blank canvas is getting some color. 

Each of us has a blank canvas. All we need to do is pick up a new brush. Perhaps, try a whole new paint. We all need to paint through our unknowns and sometimes beyond the lines, new perspectives; because with each stroke, we will create our own kind of masterpiece. 

The ultimate question is, what kind of masterpiece will you paint? 

Aguilar, E. (2018). Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

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