There is an old joke that gets passed around from school district to school district.  The angel Gabriel greets a newly departed teacher at the pearly gates.  He welcomes him warmly and begins to take him on a glorious tour of heaven.

     "Here is where the doctors all live," he explains.  For their dedication and service to mankind they are given a beautiful section of heaven." 

      The teacher remarks how happy everyone looks and the excitement on everyone's face as they bustle around.  They continue on the tour. 

     "Here is where the firemen live."  Again the teacher remarks on how beautiful the space is and how happy everyone looks. 

      Finally they arrive at the the teachers' section. 

      Gabriel announces, "Here is the special section set aside for teachers."  The teacher is astounded by the beauty of the place.  

     However, unlike the other sections, it is desolate and quiet ---there is not a soul to be seen.  "Where is everyone?"  he asks Gabriel.

"Oh--they're in hell--for a bit---they had to go to professional development."

     I have the dubious privilege of arranging for the professional development for the teachers in my district.  Once in a great while teachers find the professional development inspirational.  Sometimes, it even impacts their professional practice.  More often, they find it just bearable.

     I have learned over the years that professional development has to be ongoing.  It must be sustained over time and must sometimes occur during the insturctional day.  The one-time charismatic wonders with magic solutions to solve all classroom problems are like a puff of smoke on a windy day. They make piecrust promises that are easily made and easily broken.

     Teachers in my district are required to take a minimum of 10 hours of professional development.  I try to have a broad menu of choices and most years offer over 100 possibilities.  However, I have had difficulty finding content rich sources for my secondary folks. 

     For the past two years I have been able to provide high quality webinars for my art teachers.  These have been a great resource.  They are provided by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  They are affordable and the teachers have raved about them.  But these kind of webinars seem to be the exception. 

     Does anyone know of some high quality on-line professional development that is affordable?

     Should professional development be an independent endeavor?  Should all professional development be orchestrated by the district?

     I have great respect for people's time.  I want to make sure that if I keep teachers after school or take them out of their classrooms it better be for a good reason. If I want to impact instructional practice---let's say ---in improving questioning techniques-----how much time has to be dedicated to the initiative?  How do you know when it's taken hold?

   I welcome suggestions!