Thing 22-Volunteering

During my teacher training I completed a number of teaching practices and learnt far more in those weeks than I did in the hours of lectures I attended.  After all, you can't beat getting real, hands on experience.  Here at college there is a real emphasis of 'leadership at all levels' and part and parcel of this is gaining experience through taking ownership of something new in order to develop and acquire skills.  From experience some staff and students really throw themselves into this and get fully involved.  They understand that in order to progress in their career they need to gain further experiences and skills, otherwise they will be limited to the roles they can realistically apply for.  Other staff are more reticent to taking on new challenges and roles.  These staff may be happy in their job role and have no desire to progress so why would they volunteer to do extra?  For others being given additional time or money to compensate for time spent on a project is an issue.  These staff often don't appreciate that completing volunteering roles will enhance their own professional development and pay dividends in the future.  I suppose it comes down to the individual and how much passion and drive they have to progress in a career.