THE TREASURE ON THE ISLAND

Theresa Gillespie
Susan Wersch

The 1970's television sitcom "Gilligan's Island" portrayed Gilligan, the Skipper, a millionaire and his wife, a movie star, the professor and Maryanne shipwrecked on Gilligan's Island. This was the musical introduction to the half hour show in which a group of stranded castaways lived with each other on a secluded island. The daily problems experienced by the crew and passengers were explored during weekly episodes. The viewing audience appreciated the nonsensical and hilarious quality of the program.

"Gilligan's Island" provides a familiar point of reference for readers as we recreate stories of our personal trials and tribulations as educators. Our narrative explores the many parallels between our situations and the lives of the shipwrecked castaways. We find ourselves thrown together in an environment that puts us to the test and nurtures the caring collaborative relationship that we came to treasure. It is not by chance that we select the word "treasure." The relationship that evolves out of our shared experiences is nothing short of a gift.

It all started in the Spring of 1996 when a memo was issued to all staff members introducing the concept of a team approach and senior year integration as a goal for the 1996/97 school year at GCC. The memo, issued by our Skipper, had a multiple choice format that read something like this:

MEMO TO STAFF

Please indicate your choice for next school year and return to Liz by Friday at 3:30 P.M.
_____ Yes, I am interested in being part of a team.
_____ Yes, I am interested in teaching an integrated course with one or more teachers.
_____ No, I not interested in teaming.
_____ I do not wish to be teaching on the Island next year.
Name_________________________
Subjects I would like to teach __________________________________

It was obvious to most of us that the last two choices were not the favored ones if you wanted to remain at GCC. The team was perceived of as a vehicle for "staying afloat." It was no secret that certain teachers would be set adrift in the division. Who could predict where they might end up? Teams quickly became the buzz word. Teachers formed "wanna-a-be" teams and some were given the green light by administration.

I was drawn to this idea immediately, but I knew that option teachers would probably be looked at a little differently . We could not really be part of a school team as such, because we were required to teach students from outside schools, and have traditionally fulfilled the role of providing prep time for the teams to meet. I consoled myself with the knowledge that we had already formed our own curriculum teams within our subject area, largely unrecognized outside the Technology and Applied Arts department. (The Technology and Applied Arts Department houses all Industrial Arts and Home Economics courses offered in the school division)

For years I have been working with Home Economics teachers, but these individuals were teaching different grade levels and curriculums than I. Like many teachers, I have been bounced from course to course, room to room, scrounging for office space, a small drawer in the overflowing filing cabinet, and a classroom that I could feel I owned a part of. Every year brought new experiences and new challenges. In a sense I felt hardened and strong from the constant change, but not enriched. I became a survivor of the system that manipulated me. At the same time I was a new parent and trying to balance the role of parenting and teaching. On one hand my babies drained all my energy at home, and my junior high students zapped what was left of it when I got to school. After the birth of Michelle, my second child, my mother died of cancer. I tell you this not to create a sense of "poor me" but rather to give you a sense of how exhausted (both physically and emotionally) I have felt for a large part of my teaching career. I no longer feel this way most of the time, and I know that is largely because of what has happened this year for Susan and myself.

At my previous junior high, I had spent the last two years in a hut, the only outside facility on that site. I used to laugh that I could come and go for a week in that hut and only the janitor would be aware of my presence, since he and I were the only two adults who entered that building. If the main building had a fire drill I was usually unaware of it. What really surprised me is that Susan's' experiences in her previous school were in many ways parallel to my isolated existence. When I moved to GCC I finally reentered the building with full teacher access to the staff room and washrooms. (Any teacher who has ever taught in a hut develops excellent bladder control). It has taken me about 3 years to establish any sense of belonging at GCC. This has been partly due to the part-time nature of my position.

My first five years of teaching was on another island. This facility was an off sight classroom. I taught in a basement of an elementary school with junior high students walking across the field to my class. I registered a homeroom twice a day in the junior high and walked or ran across the field to meet my class at the door. Funds were not available to offer the program so I collected money from the students, issued receipts and operated my own account at a bank within walking distance to the school. The banking was my lunch time activity. I delivered Home Economics instruction in French and English to grades 7-9 students and an Occupational Entrance class across the Nutrition and Textiles Junior High curriculum. Essentially, I was teaching thirteen different programs. Thirty students were timetabled into some classes with seating for twenty and other classes were composed of eight students. All the management issues of photocopying, purchase orders, film booking and word processing requisitions were done at the junior high. Even the transporting of film projectors across the field was part of my job description. Weekly grocery supplies were bought on the weekend and loaded into the car Monday morning. I purchased a fridge out of personal funds and placed it in the basement of my home to store the school groceries during the weekend. There was no P.A. System or access to a phone near my classroom in the basement of the elementary school. I repaired my own equipment, picking up parts on my way home from work or I hauled machines around in the trunk of my car to find servicing. My husband and dad helped me get some of the mechanical tasks taken care of. I was at work from 7:00 am until 5:00pm.

After five years, I was begging the school division to airlift me from this destitute island. The rescue was successful. Wow! . . a classroom in the same building as the students that I work with. Only two grades to work in with one language of instruction. I was able to perfect my craft of teaching. Access to a phone, P.A. System, adequate financial resources, very reasonable class sizes and superb timetabling all guaranteed quality home economics programming. Groceries were ordered and delivered on time and there were repair/maintenance contracts on all equipment. Courses provided a challenge for myself and the students. I was in utopia.

Ideas and opportunities seemed endless and they were supported by colleagues, students and parents. After my first five months on this island, a beautiful bouquet of roses was delivered to my classroom by the senior skipper of the ship. I had relationships with staff and students that were never paralleled on the destitute island.

There were two young, good-looking partners (industrial arts educators) in the same department known as Technology and Applied Arts. They welcomed me with open arms and were willing to assist me in most of my endeavors. One of my infamous traits is the ability to come up with numerous ideas but I often need assistance executing my plans. My two male counterparts watched in amazement as I moved from one tangent to another. I was bringing brackets, hooks, paint, white boards etc. to work. I was on a mission to improve the environment of myself and the students. Cordless drills and any other power tools could be heard happily whirling in my classroom on a regular basis as the renovations were underway. I negotiated, begged and whined for help from my new partners. One of the best examples was when I designed a demonstration table with their help. As a student I had failed art and I needed to know how to draw three dimensional objects so I could design the demo table. I made numerous pleas for help from my Industrial Arts co-workers to draft the specs for the table. Finally they said, "Do it yourself!." After some nifty tips from them, I drafted specs for the construction of the demonstration table. (It was not a pretty sight but the table turned out great). They suggested changes and additions to the design. An attached garbage can and inclusion of a element system with a drop power cord from the ceiling were incorporated in the design. I would have never have been able to achieve this without the involvement of my new found friends.

The three of us worked together, laughed and had our emotional breakdowns. It was never a threesome, more like a partnership. There were the two of them and me. I included them in ideas, did to the majority of the work for the department initiatives, and offered to pick up supplies for them when I was out purchasing items. Unfortunately, the consideration was not always reciprocated. Our collaboration was prearranged as we worked in the same department. The equity and equality in our relationship on this little island never fully materialized.

In the past six months my new islander arrived. We found each other by accident -- two weary castaways shipwrecked together on an island.

Our collaboration was our own initiative. For a long time we have both been starved for a colleague to discuss curriculum and implementation of ideas with, someone that would act as a "sounding board" without judging or placing a value on a thought, an idea, a concept. This would need to be someone that wanted to explore the "what if we tried this?" or "how about this?" or "so how did that work with your class?" Our alliance seemed to form quite spontaneously because we shared a lot in common. We were both in the Masters Program, of course. We found out that we would have the same grade levels and subject areas to teach (purely by coincidence, not by design), so we could work on our programs together and share resources. We now had someone that we could count on for support.

I knew we would not brush each other's ideas aside with a "Oh, I tried that. It doesn't work."

Knowing that no additional planning time would be provided, we agreed to meet over the summer to discuss curriculum and to start putting together materials that we could use. We talked about what we thought the students would enjoy and what would probably turn them off our subject area. For a week in August we worked non-stop, feverishly putting together recipe books. We seemed to feed off each other's energy. We had a lot of fun and laughed at our devotion to this task.

I looked forward to starting the school year. I felt strengthened and confident in the knowledge that I had a partner, an ally. I had found my shipmate…Susan and I would be on this voyage together.

The first week of September it became clear that the island was not going to be a hospitable environment for castaways. We braced ourselves for what might lie ahead. A reality check was the first order of business when we found ourselves shipwrecked on the island. We took stock of our situation. We quickly identified that our biggest asset on the island was to be each other. Our chances of survival would be greatly improved if we joined together to fight the odds. Our discoveries were many as we toured the island. We made some quick assessments of our situation:

• Estimated contact time was two to four hours per week with approximately 450 students for the ten month period. (Could we teach them how to swim with so little time?)
• More students in our classes than we have chairs and equipment for…safety concerns arising on a regular basis. (Would we need to throw students overboard if there wasn't enough life rafts?)
• Extension cords connecting equipment, glue oozing from the floor tiles and mice playing tag in the cupboards. (How did those mice get on the island?)
• The same budget money as we had seven years ago with 100 more students. (Would inflation affect us on this secluded island?)
• Classes that run during the lunch hour to accommodate the students so that they can have lab experiences in the foods room. (What day is it anyway? Time has no significance on the island. Hours, days, weeks just run into each other.)
• Some lab classes were scheduled during one hour blocks. (How can you build a fire, cook and eat in one hour? Fortunately, we had some microwaves.)
• Developing curriculum for six grades. (Would the curriculum on the island be subjected to close scrutiny by the local savages?")
• Management issues of weekly ordering and operating two classrooms (textiles and clothing). (Is it possible to schedule regular deliveries to the island?)

The problem solving and relationship issues evolved daily as we proceeded through our adventure. At times our situation sounded so unbelievable, nonsensical and hilarious that we learned to keep it to ourselves. Like Gilligan and his castaways on their island we became survivors and learned to be reliant on each other. In our states of exhaustion we phone or email (S.O.S. MESSAGES) to each other in the evenings or during the day. At times we have sat back and laughed so hard that we start to cry.

We were able to support each others in ways that had never seemed possible before. Buchanan and Schultz talk about developing "a long-standing relationship based on friendship and mutual trust, as well as professional collegiality and respect." (page 38) A rare relationship indeed in the teaching profession. This relationship was greatly enhanced when we both accepted the invitation to join the Master's group. We jumped aboard looking for a challenge and never expecting to find a shipmate in the same discipline. We shared the same language and we understand each other struggles. We had a common goal. We learned how to make living on the island a positive experience. We swam up stream together. Sometimes the current has been kind to us. More often than not we have felt as though we were swimming against the current. At times we have needed to rescue each other from the undertow.

In many ways the Masters program has made the collaborative process a reality for us. During lunch hours and quick exchanges in the hall, we have made "spur of the moments" decisions about what goes on in the classroom, but during weekly meetings of the Master's group we have been able to "unpack" our beliefs, expose our tensions, and explore the curriculum issues. As Buchanan and Schultz (1993) illustrated we have developed "a relationship which supported both our individual and collective work, the ways in which our perspectives merged while remaining distinctive (p. 38)."

From the beginning I felt that the relationship was probably lop-sided from the point of view that Susan had been doing these programs for 8 years and had a wealth of information and expertise to bring to our collaboration. I had some knowledge of the age group because I had taught middle school and junior high for 8 years as well, but had since then gone to a high school setting where I was doing less and less Home Economics -- not by choice I might add.

Buchanan and Schultz wondered, as we have, "whether "collaboration" is to neat a word for the shifting partnership we have undertaken" (p. 50) Like them, we are constantly learning from each other. We have shed the notion that we need to be equals. We know that we come to this relationship as individuals and we appreciate that we have different needs. We are complementary parts, rather than equal parts. Equality is not sought after because of the mutual respect and trust that forms the basis of our relationship. We spend no time weighing the value of each others' contributions, but rather marveling at the outcomes. This treasured gift has come along only once in our teaching careers so far, but we were always yearning for it. We are unsure of what to call our relationship, but we know we want to continue teaching within this type of supportive atmosphere. Perhaps the example from food science illustrates this well.

Vegetable proteins are incomplete, unlike animal protein. A vegetarian must combine their incomplete plant proteins in creative ways to achieve a complementary protein dish. (example: tortilla and refried beans). Susan and I have learned to combine our strengths to maximize our potential.

Being the fairly assertive one and at the same not being afraid of change/risk I was anxious that perhaps my ideas, approaches and philosophy were being shoved down Theresa's throat. We never had the luxury of debating each others' beliefs, although the Master's program allowed some "away from work" time to debrief. It was during these precious hours that we were able to make sense out of curriculum issues we were exploring together. During one quick get-together at lunch, we made a decision to change the grade 6 project for next term. The project we had initially selected for them was inappropriate. We had decided the curriculum for them, although there had been an element of a choice -- a totebag or a lunch bag.

My grade 6 students had been completely overwhelmed by the lunch bag. This was their very first experience with a sewing machine, and in fact one little girl confessed to me that her mother wouldn't let her near this kind of stuff at home. I realized too late that this was not working, about the same time that Susan was facing this same reality with her grade 6 students.

"My sewing machine is jammed! This sewing machines doesn't like me."
"My sewing machine ate my project. I can't get it out. Now I am going to have a big hole in my lunch bag."
"Kristin hurt her finger. She got it caught between the presser foot and the needle."
"Does it feel like part of the needle is in your finger? What happened? Did you run over your finger?"
"No, I just caught it. It hurts!"
"I know it hurts. Take it over to the sink and run it under the tap. I'll give you a bandage as soon as it stops bleeding."
"Is there any reason why you chose to put blue thread on the top and black in the bobbin case? Your project in green. There is lots of green thread available."
"I can't sew this. How am I supposed to get this velcro sewed on?"
"You sewed your lunch bag shut. How are you going to get your lunch in there?"
"My presser foot fell underneath the sewing machine. I can't get it out."
"Can I start a new one? This lunch bag looks deformed."
"Teacher, what do I do next?"
"Here, I'll do this seam and get you caught up. You watch me. You can do the other side."

I caved in and ended up finishing the lunch bags myself. I saw this as a way out of the dilemma I had created for the students and myself. I realize now that this was a very non-collaborative way of handling this situation. By taking ownership of the problem the grade 6 students were no longer part of the learning process. I felt that I couldn't take time away from the Foods curriculum because I had built up the expectation that we would have 5 cycles on the sewing project and 5 cycles on the foods project. When this schedule became unrealistic I responded in a manner that smacked of teacher intervention at its worst. I may have rationalized this as being the kindest way of approaching the problem but I now realize that this was probably the least helpful thing I could have done for my students. When I talked to Susan I realized she had dealt with the situation in a much more collaborative manner.

I decided to finish the project with the students even if more time would be required than I had originally expected. The situation was compounded by the fact that we had lost two days to inservices, reducing our working time significantly. Needless to say students were satisfied with their projects, and looking forward to starting in the foods room. This was a trade-off for them because they would have less time in the Foods class. But I felt it was the best way to handle the situation.

"The other class is already cooking. Why do we have to take longer sewing these lunch bags?"
"That's just the way it is. We should be able to finish them today if you work hard."
"No point in complaining. Let's just get to work."
"I'd rather be in cooking. Why couldn't we do that first?"
"My lunch bag is sewn all crooked."
"I probably won't use this anyway."
"I am going to give it to my Dad."
"Slow down, Cole. Remember, keep the machine speed between the turtle and the hare."

Later we talked about why we had handled a similar situation in such a different way. We realized that our values speak for themselves.

I believed that as a teacher I must provide students with a way out of a situation I had created, and continue on schedule with our original plan to finish up after 5 cycles, and move into the foods room.

I felt that the circumstances of the inservice days had created the situation, and that the students and myself would have to resolve this together by spending more time on the project unit, and less time on the foods area.

It is important to unpack the reasons why we deal with situations in different ways.

Perhaps I saw the situation with students as less negotiable, because I had built up their expectations that we would be switching to foods.

I had outlined the program more simply and in the students minds' they were not expecting things to happen at a certain pace.

As a teacher, I see myself as a "problem-solver" in my relationships with students. At one time I may have looked on this as a positive "teacher trait." Now I am seeing it in a totally different way. It was only because I could share this experience with Susan that I was able to reflect on my handling of it.

From the beginning the tensions of our island existence have been many. We have grappled with solutions. We dealt with safety issues as a number one priority. We analyzed our rooms together and reorganized and restructured our learning environments. Both facilities had been designed for a maximum of 20 students and it was clear that numbers would be 22 and up. GCW was a high school facility and GCE was a junior high facility. Now both would be providing a learning environment for grades 6 to 10.

"Susan, look at this room. It's so crowded. This might have been okay with senior high students, but younger grades will be running into all this furniture. And look at this crooked table. One leg is bent. If a student sat on that table, it would crumble under them. I need to make some changes here."

"Okay, let's get that table out of here and create a big open space at this side of the room. The other side of the room can be used for older students when they come in for family studies classes. But this side of the room needs to be open for students to work around the sewing machines."

"Good idea. That will give students more freedom of movement. I'm also concerned about those electrical boxes sticking out from the floor right in the middle of nowhere. I have stubbed my toes on those stupid things more often than I like to remember. The students will be tripping all over those things. I need to protect them from that possibility."

"Theresa, why not position these tables over the electrical boxes that jut out from the floor and move the sergers over here so you don't have cords running across the floor that students can trip over."

"Yeah, and if the sergers are closer to the front I can keep an eye on them. They are always breaking down for one reason or another. And I'll put the ironing boards here so students can access them easily."

"I never let them line up at the ironing boards. They push each other into the irons."

"I know what you mean. My irons end up on the floor on a regular basis. That's why I buy the $14.00 irons. They won't last long in here."

"I have a lot of electrical issues that I am concerned about right now. I have 5 microwaves on order and no place to plug them in safely. I think I'll go out this weekend and buy a whole bunch of extension cords. When the fire inspector sees them duck taped to the floor, I may finally get the electrical improvements I need."

Time blocks were shrinking to accommodate increased numbers of a students with decreased numbers of staff.

"Susan, I have a class of 35 students and I can safely accommodate 20 students in this room."

"This is a big safety issue. We need to have our teachers' association involved in this. We need to protect ourselves and our students from the risks created by this overcrowding. I am going to make sure we are represented at the teachers' association meetings to get this issue dealt with in our collective agreement. This can't continue."

Besides safety issues, we needed to address budget issues and order supplies for the first term. We streamlined our ordering process to maximize our financial and physical resources.

"Theresa, I have worked out my budget on a per student basis in case I am asked to defend my spending. It's cost about $1.40 per students to run each foods classes. I have really had to watch the budget when I am dealing with about 500 students each year in my programs. I seldom use meat in the food labs because of cost. I order all my fabric supplies through wholesalers that I have found over the years. I am always thinking about budget."

"It also makes sense if we order supplies together and share the costs. We can make our budgets go further this way. We don't want our programs to become too expensive, and end up on the divisions' cost reductions for 1997.

"Exactly my point. Do you need fleece? I have a lot left over from last year. We should use this for the grade 8 mittens and headbands. You won't need to order for your class."

"If I have any boxer shorts fabric left over I will send it over to you. You can use it up with the grade 8 class you have. And by the way, I need to get the sewing machine repairman to come out this week. Do you need anything fixed?"

"Yeah, I have a machine that is running by itself right now. I think a student has stuck pins in the presser foot cord."

"Sounds like it. I'll send the repairman over to your room."

Curriculum decisions have been ongoing. We talked about everything from boxer shorts to how to guard our rooms against mice.

"Susan, I am terrified of mice. Last year the janitor was catching mice on a daily basis in this room. The thought of it makes me sick."

"I don't have mice in my room. I used to. I'd be teaching and this one mouse would run out and I just prayed that the students wouldn't see him. Those mice were getting very nervy"

"Last year you could be sitting in the room in broad daylight and they would run across the middle of the floor."

"I got rid of them. I got the janitors to staple wire mesh underneath the baseboards and I haven't had a problem with them since."

"I am bringing containers from home to put all the food in. The janitor in our building tells me there will be mice no matter what because students leave food in their lockers. His advice was to protect food using containers. Those gross sticky traps are placed in different places around the room to catch the creatures."

(About a month later) "Well it happened. I had my Special Needs class in the room and there was a dead mouse stuck to the floor. I figure he ran across one of those sticky things and then got stuck to the floor."

"Oh, the thought of it makes me ill."

I was so confident when we had the "how to control the mice" discussion. In my confident and cocky state, I told Theresa that it had been six years since any mice were in my room. The maintenance staff was instructed years ago to pull off all the baseboards and put wire mesh behind them and to cement around all the pipes. No mice would enter my room again . . or so I believed.

Guess what! Weeks later, during a class with the Special needs students one of the teaching assistants came to me and said "There is a dead mouse on the floor. My immediate thoughts were "F--- and the blood rushed to my feet. I don't need this right now. What next!" I proceeded to call the caretaker on the P.A. system. By the time the caretaker came another teaching assistant saw the mouse and announced it to the class. Then we had a story telling episode on mice as students took turn swapping "mice stories." I was in panic mode. "How were 12 special needs students going to handle this? Are they going to scream non-stop or want to touch and pet the dead mouse?" They actually handled the situation better than I did. They asked a few questions, but didn't seem to be that interested in the dead mouse.

Then the caretaker walks in and takes the mouse away. He mentions that the exterminators have already been called as he spotted one the day before. Now I need to settle all the kids down and get them to finish cleaning up.

Before the teaching assistants left I made a point of telling them that announcing to the class that there was a dead mouse in the room may not have been the best way to handle this. If students go home and say they saw a dead mouse and then a parent calls the health department, I will have more to deal with than is necessary. There was no response from the teaching assistants and the issue was over. What an emotional roller- coaster. The next class was waiting at the door……

A lot of our interaction, as with Buchanan and Schultz (1993), was taking place both "formally and informally (p. 39)." Listening carefully to each other stories of our lives in the classroom made us feel valued and supported.

Susan, boy am I mad. You'll never guess what happened.

What?

Someone stole the boxer shorts right off the bulletin board. They were only up there for a week. I spent a whole day working on those this summer. Now what am I going to do?

I have a couple of samples that students left behind. You can take one of those.

Are you sure? Thanks, I appreciate it.

We began to experience the phenomenon that Buchanan and Schultz described when they talked about "seeing one's work through others' eyes." This was made possible through our ongoing "collaboration and dialogue (p. 40)."

At times we felt we had a sense of each others' classrooms although we didn't actually observe each other at work. We could picture in our minds each other working, and thought about how the students would react. We would find ourselves mentally straying from our own classrooms, to imagine what might be going on next door in each others' rooms. We fed off each others' successes and failures.

I think this stuff on fats is a bit too complex for grade sevens. How do you make this information interesting and something they can relate to?

I use stuff they can relate to like McCains Superfries, peanut butter, and other foods they eat. I discuss the topic using samples of fats.

Obviously you have managed to pull that information together in an interesting way. I like the idea of having the samples. Maybe I will try the samples but distribute them amongst the class to see what they already know. Maybe I could develop a case study -- someone about their age preparing dinner for the family with a discussion about fat from that perspective.

Yeah. I think that would work. I could try that with my other group of sevens. I'll bring you a copy tomorrow morning.

I have been working on some stuff for the grade nines. I'll give you a copy .

See you tomorrow then… .

One aspect of our collaboration that keeps nagging at us is whether our complementary relationship has spilled over to include our students. We hope that we can foster these types of situations with students, and that perhaps through our own positive experiences, we will be able to recreate this learning situation for our students. The question keeps coming up -- How do we share this with students?

As our students are getting ready to move onto to a different option area, we decided it would be interesting to gather student feedback. I did it in a written format asking students to share their experiences with the grade 9 Foods class. Theresa did it much more informally, simply asking students as they left to verbalize their feelings about what they had learned. Both of us gathered some interesting responses. We will be acting on this feedback as we start a new group of grade nines. Students generally enjoyed the demos and foods lab, saying they learned a great deal and had fun. One area of criticism was the note-taking on theory day. Students enjoyed group activities on these days, so we will try to accommodate this request. The really great part was that most students said they would definitely recommend this course to anyone, and said they would take it again next year if at all possible.

Responses about demo:

"Pay attention big time because if you don't when you cook food you screw up"
"The demo days are a good idea."

About the lessons:
"Group activities are more interesting than writing notes."
"The group activities were better than the writing because you learn and have fun."

About the cooking labs:
"I know my way around the kitchen and you work hard as a group."
"Cooking with my friends was fun."

Overall evaluation:
"I like this course and I want to take it again."
"I will go back to cooking in grade 10."

I received some positive feedback from parents during the last round of conferences. Parents have been very impressed with what students were learning and have been writing me little notes of thanks to send to school. One parent commented on the relevance of the course information to her current profession as a food service provider at a personal care home. "I am amazed at what Darrel is learning in this class. He is learning all about food safety and sanitation and this is what I need to know for my job. These skills are very relevant."

With this type of feedback in mind, both of us have been able to reflect on curriculum issues. We continue to make changes according to the present needs of our students, as well as considering their future directions.

A collaborative venture I have embarking on with my students surrounds recipe demonstration. Traditionally, this has been a "teacher-centered" activity with students sitting passively and listening. I have been trying to move the recipe demonstrations away from teacher-centered to "learning-centered" activities. Susan was intrigued by this, and wanted to experiment with it her classroom as well. I raved about how involved the students were, and how less structured and more relaxed I felt when students were given this role. Often students have volunteered to take the place of a student that was missing that class.
Kitchen teams have been taking turns so that everyone in the class has an opportunity to be a demonstrator. The demonstrators are responsible for testing the recipe in class, explaining to other students what they did, and serving samples of the food to fellow students.
"Would you like to be responsible for the cheese buns, Joey?"
"Tessa has volunteered to do the chopping for the soup."
"How about Jarrett and Rory working together on assembling the soup?"
With these invitations…. the class begins. Joey goes to work with the cheese buns. Tessa washes, peels and dices the vegetables. Rory and Jarrett start assembling the soup. There are giggles amongst the group as Joey starts to knead the cheese dough, The class wants reassurance that he washed his hands first. I assure them that kneading the dough with bare clean hands is perfectly acceptable.
Jarrett and Rory serve the samples of soup. The class gobbles up the samples of cheese buns that Joey prepared.. They look forward to the next class when they will all get to prepare the food..
This has sometimes resulted in situations were the demonstrations strayed from the "ideal." On several occasions, mistakes were made that had to be quickly overcome. The learning process was one of collaboration and I felt that this was a big hurdle for me to attempt.
"So who wants to do the chopping for the Pizza Soup demo?"
Hands fly up! Students are jockeying for position close to the demo table.
Anthony chops the green pepper … Scott the onion . . Lisa the garlic clove . . Ramona the mushrooms…Richelle, the quiet one, is invited to shred the cheese.
Chatter follows … That should be chopped smaller. (Anthony suggests) I think the pepperoni must be sliced thinly. (Jason comments and then follows through)
What do you know about chopping techniques? Are there different ways to chop depending on what you are trying to do? (I ask)
A discussion follows…This is the way the chefs do it. (Anthony argues)
Just don't get too fancy . . remember safety is our first concern in this room. (I interject)
Jason is eating the cheese. (Stephen tattles)

Students sense our strong convictions and dedication to provide them with quality programming. They witness the strong support and relationship we have developed. Students have often noted that we appear in each others' classrooms and work as a team. They often check with their friends to confirm that similar activities and experiences have occurred. They confront us with little differences in the way we deliver the program. "Why did that class get to use chocolate chips and we got the raisins in our cookies?" "Why is that group one class ahead of us?" "How come they got to do the lab and the demonstration in the same class because of the inservice?" In this way we can communicate through our students. Without having been in each others' classrooms, we have a sense of what happens.

It is nice to know that Theresa is in the building next door when I need someone to talk to. If one of us is having a bad day, we know where we can find a sympathetic ear. This had made all the difference for us. We still work in separate buildings. In fact, we are separated by a physical distance greater than many teachers at GCC. But we try to make contact each day through phone, e-mail or a visit to each other's room. We always come bearing small gifts for each other -- an overhead one of us has run off, some prizes for the grade 7 students, a box of supplies, some teaching materials, words of encouragement, a smile. We have come to rely on each other for support.

Sometimes our conversations have been ongoing and have spilled over into our personal lives.

While cooking supper I have this overwhelming urge to call Susan.

While driving home additional strategies that Theresa and I could use to resolve ongoing issues were coming to a full boil.

Meantime my pot was boiling over on the stove as I made a urgent phone call to Susan.

After a glass of wine I sat down to write an e-mail message to Theresa. Oh what a relief to have that form of expression available to us. I was so excited when a response came back immediately.

The e-mail message Susan sent was entitled "Let's run away." My response was "Don't make me laugh."

It is through this constant dialogue that we help each other cope and resolve the curriculum and timetabling issues.

In the back of our minds, we both have this looming sense of impending loss.

In February, I will revert to my previous program.

One of the largest tensions facing us right now discussed numerous times is how to respond to the colleague who will be arriving back in February. We have worked together for seven months on curriculum issues and new programming. The grade 6-9 programs will also be new for the colleague arriving back in February. There has been considerable anxiety about how we should react to the inevitable question of "Can I have the lesson plans, resources and support work necessary for these four grades?"

I have difficulty with the concept of handing over 7 months of shared time and energy. We have worked together and she had the same opportunity for years. When I was teaching grade 7 and 8 only, there was an attempt made by myself to work on a grade 9 program that would have provided an important link from the middle years grade 8 to the senior years grade 9 program. The response was "Sorry the outline and stuff is not available. The program is always being changed each year."

What do I do? If she asks for assistance, how am I going to rationalize saying no. I have to share the room with her in the new year. This is going to be hard for me.

I will be really upset if the stuff is handed over. The sweat equity has been done by us. She had the same opportunity. In the spring and summer the three of us could have worked on the curriculums/programs together. I have no problem indicating that I am not prepared to share the work we have done together, as in the past she was not willing or available to do the same. We can discuss this with her together.

I will just say that it is Susan's work and resources that I borrowed. I have to give it back to her.

I have no problem with having to deal with this, because I have tried to collaborate in the past and there was no interest.

I think we have to leave the door open for further collaboration if she chooses to come on board.

Absolutely -- if there is a genuine interest, then I am all for it.

Our collaborative efforts will take on a new direction. We have grown immensely through this process and want this relationship to continue.

It is with regret that I start the second semester. I will no longer be teaching the same grade levels and courses as Susan. We will still share a lot of common ground because we will both teach a grade 9 and 10 foods class.

This week I had several potential issues in regards to the second semester that I needed to resolve. I could go to Susan for input and mull over these ideas. At times our conversations ramble as if we were thinking aloud. We can work through all kinds of scenarios together, discarding each one as a new one evolves. When we are on a roll we can go through about 5 different scenarios in about 5 minutes. A timetabling dilemma that arose recently left us fantasizing about where it could lead us.

I came "head-on" with a timetabling dilemma today. It looks like my grade 9 Foods class for second semester has been scheduled to take place at the same time as the grade 10 class, and even more problematic is that they are both scheduled into the same room. I think I feel a panic attack coming on.

Are you kidding? So how are you supposed to resolve this one?

I discussed it with our administrator briefly, and I indicated that it might still work if the other teacher is willing to teach some of her theory classes in another room. He asked me if your room was also in use at that time and I assured him that were both fully booked with grade 9's . He pretty much left the ball in my court at that point… suggesting that I discuss it with the other teacher concerned. It leaves me in a state of not knowing until she comes back from her leave. I have been mulling over a number of possible solutions but I really need to think this one through. I even suggested that I could switch to Clothing even though the grade 9 students have signed up for Foods. I think this would be inviting a riot, don't you?

You would be asking for trouble. The grade 9's are clamoring for Foods. They all want to take it.

You know…. this could be an opening for us to work as a team in your building. How do you feel about me sharing your room for the grade 9's? Do you think this could work?

It certainly is a possibility. We could even videotape our demos, so we could use some of the tapes later. It could be interesting all right and kind of exciting….

I would love to do it. But how do you feel about packing 43 grade 9's into your room? You know your layout better than I do…Is this a workable solution? Will the students be able to see what is going on during the demos? It could be mass confusion. One of us would end up being the police officer while the other would be trying to do the demo. So much for asking for class participation. Movement in the room would be totally banned for safety reasons.

I'm not sure either. How could we run the program so that we could each have our foods lab on separate days? And this new program would have to start this Friday to coincide with the switch over to new grade 9's. I am not sure if we can get this together that quickly. There are a lot of factors to consider. We may have to be patient and hold off on this until next year.

As attractive as it seems, I don't think it would work at this point either. I will have to work through this situation in some other way. But I think we really need to push for timetabling where we can maximize the use of the rooms and continue to function as a team. I really want to be timetabled into your facility next year. I hope this is a possibility …

I think we can make it happen. I will come up with a list of suggestions for next year. We need to discuss this with administration.

It seems that we have come "full-circle" with the dilemma of what issues we can or cannot control. Where does this leave us then? Are we back to where we started? NO We feel much stronger as a team no matter what lies ahead of us. Our values and beliefs about our programs have been strengthened. As strengthened and valued individuals we go to our classrooms.

How will we continue to grow in this relationship?

There is a light in the distance, not far from the island. We have already started discussing how next years' adventure will take us to a new situation -- perhaps a new island, a new set of challenges. We have discussed how we might market ourselves as a team. If we can survive this adventure we are confident that there is nothing that we can not handle together.

One way we have thought about is to make a request for a collaborative team next year. We realize that this will leave us vulnerable in many ways. Right now our "secret relationship" on the island has drawn little curiosity or criticism. We have been able to function without being judged or undermined. We have been protected from the scrutiny of others on our secluded island. We fear that the power of our collaborative efforts might be dismissed. We would find it impossible to continue without the support of our skipper. The timetable would need to facilitate similar programming for our relationship to continue. We know this may not be a priority. There are lots of other issues demanding our skippers' attention on the island.

Chapter two of this adventure may be similar to the series Unsolved Mysteries, as no one knows were this experience will take us. The future is full of unknown territory. We know the treasure of our relationship will be something we will take with us to our new teaching experiences.

We hope you gained a sense of our adventure on the island from reading this joint effort. We tried to show you what it means to be a Home Economics teacher in our school system today. Our struggles are real…our tensions are shared…and we know we can't exist on this island forever, nor do we want to. We are running out of survival strategies. Is there anybody out there? Please respond.

S.O.S.
S.O.S.
S.O.S.

Buchanan, J & K. Schultz 1993 Looking Together: Collaboration as an Inquiry Process. In: S.J. Hudelson & J. W. Lindfors (Eds) Delicate Balances: Collaborative Research in Language Education. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English: 37-52.