Jun 12 2011
Reflecting on My Proposal
I have to admit that this assignment has been one of the more challenging tasks that I have had to complete, yet it was only 1000 words! I have written much longer pieces for other courses, but it was the content of this one that had me sweating. I found that I had to put myself in the mindset of actually facing my Learning Services team – my Director, the 2 Superintendents and managers of finance and ICT in order to develop the language we use when we present proposals – and I have done a few in my years as a central office adminstrator for secondary curriculum programming. Each time I have pitched an idea to the group, I faced the toughest scrutiny in the area of financing my ideas. I decided to create this proposal as though it was an authentic task – I told myself that I really am proposing this at our next meeting (maybe I should?) and so I used current practices in our board so that it could be as authentic as possible for me.
The Learning Services team is not as tech-savvy as I would hope (with the exception of the ICT manager) and so getting into the tech-vocabulary usually results in glossy-eyed boredom on some of their faces. So I stuck with the pedagogical focus – that’s where I can hold their attention. I’m not criticizing them for having a different perspective than me – in fact, I am told that it is why I am part of the team – to help move them forward in their thinking about 21st century teaching and learning. I really hope that I can pitch this for real some day!
You’ve touched on exactly why this assignment exists in 565A: good proposals are written for their audience–ideally their skeptical audience. Eloquent, concise persuasion can be rather effective!