Can We Talk About PLCs?
You know the feeling: it’s family vacation time and you’ve packed busy bags for the kids, have enough Goldfish crackers and juice boxes to keep them in snacks for weeks, suitcases stuffed in the back and under feet, special blankie and stuffed bear freshly laundered. Silently, you remember the last car trip which led to the discovery that Silly Putty sticks to fabric and think optimistically that this time will be better. It has to be better.
Who’s in your minivan?
With the rise of teacher collaboration in a professional learning community, the potential for teachers to increase student learning and achievement increases exponentially. With our GPS set to locate and find “success” on the map, we tuck ourselves in for the trip, singing “we are family,” and the rest is easy peasy, right?
Well…not always…
What happens if we aren’t one big happy family?
What if we all have different ideas of what “success” looks like?
What if some people in the car want to discuss the philosophy of road tripping instead of actually getting on the road?
What if some people complain because the busy bags have Goldfish instead of pretzels, goddammit, and don’t even get them started on the juice boxes?
What if some people aren’t comfortable and want to stretch their legs, have a bit of adventure, make the experience more meaningful?
What if some people are so obsessed with following the GPS directions exactly and fail to see that there may be more than one way to reach the destination?
What if some people chill the whole way and let you do all the driving?
What if some people don’t like traveling together?
You see, I’ve experienced functional and dysfunctional PLC’s…sometimes at the same time.
Sometimes there is this instant synergy, an understanding that we’re going to do this teaching thing together. This type of road trip is more like an adventure because every stop promises a new discovery.
Common philosophies about teaching and complimentary teaching styles have these teachers working together to make sure that students are engaged and learning as they plan formative and summative assessments that truly matter, and have fun while doing it.
Other times, there is a dread, even cold-sweat, feet-dragging reluctance, of going to professional learning community meetings. These teachers might feel misunderstood and frustrated. Personalities and philosophies clash.
Time is wasted.
While PLC’s should be, as Richard DuFour intended, rising higher in the interest of student achievement, these teachers flounder as they try to find common ground.
Or worse…they feel like PLC’s are just another administrative initiative, taking time away from what really matters.
You know, when every meeting is a different spreadsheet or district-mandated chart to fill out and data becomes a curse word?
I have been a part of a very challenging professional learning community, one that often left me in tears.
I have also been a part of a PLC that challenged me to become a better teacher, one that I actually looked forward to working with.
And now…in 2026, I am again reflecting on PLC culture because the members of that awesome PLC have shifted, changed, grown, become disenchanted, entered new phases of life, and I’m feeling an imbalance.
Can’t We All Just Get Along?
People can be delightful, yet difficult. People can be challenging on their own or just as a result of group dynamics and structure. Personality types influence collaboration, and here are a few that I’ve noticed in my PLC’s:
The Philosopher: I respect a good philosophical conversation. If too much time is spent here, the professional learning community becomes less practical and useful for everyone involved. It can help to have a specific question or focus/goal in having a philosophical conversation in order to keep this in check. Norms are helpful, also, as long as they’re enforced. Otherwise, a well-intentioned philosopher cannot derail a PLC meeting talking about point values and rubrics and whether or not every. single. discussion should be graded in the interest of equity, etc.
The Complainer: I understand that in teacher world, nothing is ever perfect. And I’ve definitely worn the complainer hat. That being said, there will always be something to complain about. Complaining can set a negative tone and often goes hand-in-hand with gossip. I’ve found that I need to just flat-out avoid certain negative nellies, but if the nellie is in your professional learning community, it can help to redirect negative comments or ignore them completely. As for complaining that so often masquerades as the “airing of teaching concerns and struggles?” Turn the focus to be solutions-oriented vs. a venting session which never helps anyone.
The Adventurer: I understand that some people are comfortable being comfortable. It is important to understand that some teachers thrive as creators and need the flexibility to explore and try new things. Try giving students choice when it comes to assessment, or allowing teachers to explore different types of assessment with the goal of figuring out what works best. (Raise your hand if you’re a fellow adventurer! Take it from me, there’s nothing worse than feeling “trapped” in a professional learning community because there is no freedom and flexibility.)
The Rule Follower: Make sure that there is a time for crossing t’s and dotting i’s. This time is not when teachers are “in the trenches,” but rather at the end of a unit or school year as a way to reflect or at the beginning of the school year to set goals. Make sure to set an agenda and stick to it. This can help provide organization and focus.
If you struggle with a mix of different personalities, it can be a strength as well as a struggle. It can help to take some time at the beginning of the year to discuss personal preferences and working styles - understanding is an important part of working well with anyone.
This Compass Points resource can help to start the conversation. What is your compass type? How can you harness your own strengths while keeping in mind the strengths of others?
Four Tips for Professional Learning Community Harmony (From a “West” Compass Point)
We are teachers, not clones. Make student learning the bottom line and understand that every teacher will get there in his or her own unique way.
Don’t compromise into mediocrity. If an assessment isn’t working, re-read tip number one, put on your big girl or boy pants and do the hard work it takes to find success. Don’t water down the curriculum to make everyone happy. Don’t settle. Keep the focus on student learning and engagement.
It’s curriculum, not your baby. Don’t become so emotionally attached to something that you can’t change it, drop it, or discuss it objectively. To this end, collect data so that discussion can be facts-based rather than emotions-based.
If it’s not working, seek an outside perspective. Think of this as couples counseling for a professional learning community. Ask a lead teacher or instructional coach to sit in on a meeting or two and offer suggestions and observations.
More Goldfish, Anyone?
In the end, teaching is a hard profession and one that is best accomplished when fellow teachers are good travel companions. Before you buckle up your seat belt, take some time to get to know each other and establish the “rules of the road” a.k.a. a common vision and rules of engagement for teacher collaboration in your professional learning community.
Even the best PLC’s can use some recalibration along the way. For example, I’m starting to feel like, when school starts in August, I have to have an impossible conversation with my PLC (and one of my very best teacher friends) because the past couple of years have led to a shift in our team and also a shift to a dynamic where I do 95% of the planning, resource creation, etc. Admittedly, this is something I love, but the imbalance is real and I’m starting to feel resentful.
I recognize that I can’t get out of the minivan, but I need to stop driving it all the time… so hopefully we’ll stop at a metaphorical Buc-ees and recalibrate and have a better year (fingers crossed) in 2026-2027.
How about you? What’s your PLC dynamic and what personalities would you add to my list? What works for your team?