President Obama's advisors have signaled that education reform will be one of the administration's main policy thrusts between the midterm elections and 2012.
No matter how the reshuffled Congress shapes what the new version of the No Child Left Behind Act looks like, we already know who it will be implemented by: Teachers. So shouldn't we be part of the national policy conversation?
Unfortunately, that's rarely the case when it comes to public discourse on public education. Consider all the talk on NBC News' recent "Education Nation."
For hours, we heard from governors, mayors, TV anchors, software kings, and others as they lamented the state of education and pondered what could be done to fix it. Superstar superintendents were there, as was the U.S. Secretary of Education. Even the teacher union heads were invited, if only for target practice.
Unless you live and breathe education every day--in other words, unless you're a teacher--you tend to forget how essential the role is to the process of improving schools.
It's easy to forget--I've done it myself. Even though the months I spent away from the classroom last year as part of my state Teacher of the Year duties were filled with education-related events--workshops, conferences, meetings--talking isn't educating. A few months into my term, I already felt like I was drifting out of touch from the practice of teaching.
So to all newly elected members of Congress--and to TV network leaders planning future programming--I urge you on behalf of my 3 million colleagues to be sure to listen to the voice of effective teachers.
Effective teachers enhance learning. They care enough about students to make themselves the best teachers they can be. They use evidence of what works in the classroom. They study for hundreds of hours to stay current in their subjects. They relentlessly analyze their effectiveness and do whatever it takes to make sure all children learn. All this is common sense, of course. But it's not just common sense--it's backed by extensive research showing that teachers who do these things have a strong positive influence, not just on their own students, but on the effectiveness of other teachers in the building.
Maybe it's just me, but I think a large-scale infusion of those kinds of teachers has a better shot at improving education than even our most exalted public officials or people on TV. Fortunately, there's already such an infusion taking place. For example, more than 82,000 teachers across the country have demonstrated they are effective teachers by undergoing the rigorous process of National Board Certification.
The federal government and all 50 state governments recognize this voluntary advanced credential--the equivalent, for a doctor, of being board-certified to practice medicine--and the majority of states cover costs and/or provide salary incentives to encourage it.
National Board Certified Teachers and other highly accomplished practitioners are making a positive difference in the lives of students and in challenged schools all across the country. And yet it's still possible to ignore the difference that an effective teacher can make in children's lives.
Not that we should really be surprised that the network let slide an opportunity to highlight the best practices of effective teachers and their positive impact in schools. Too often, elected officials and television are good at conveying the impression that schools are bad and teachers are ineffective, but not so good at pointing to what is actually working well in public schools and within the teaching profession.
This actually might explain why teachers were so thoroughly missing from all those broadcast hours and from much of the conversation about improving education today: Instead of talking on Capitol Hill or on TV about what might be or should be or could be done to help students achieve more, effective teachers were out there actually doing it.
Parents and other community members do NOTHING about this. Everything is done under a cloak of secrecy. And they get away with it.
My state covered half the cost and there is no salary advancement. There was a bonus but they rescinded it right after I was certified.
There is no recognition or advantage to National Board Certification in my district. We have 3 NBCT librarians in our district, none of which are working in libraries. One is an elementary library prep teacher, one is a classroom English teacher and I am using my primary credential teaching music prep in elementary. Due to budget cuts the district has eliminated funding for secondary librarians and positions have been eliminated or combined so you are shared between two schools.
My voice as a teacher carries no weight in educational discussions. Perhaps if I had a doctorate I might gain an audience, but it would take me 4-5 years and $30,000 to get my doctorate. I was going to, but without the state NBCT stipend I can't afford it. When they took that away I had to relinquish my dream of an advanced degree. (I already have two masters; M Ed, MLIS)
Why aren't we part of the conversation?
Could it be that the majority of us are female and the majority of those making the decisions are male? I hate to be so sexist but I that's what I see.
Since the lack of respect for teachers as professionals has continued for over a century, it's pretty hard to break the habit now. The media isn't helping.
Administrators, not teachers, ultimately decide what may and may not be taught in a teacher's classroom, what methods of teaching and assessment may and may not be employed.
Parents, not teachers, decide what grades their children deserve and should receive, and the reasons why they should receive them. Administrators, not teachers, have the final say over what grades students receive in their academic classes.
Students, not teachers, decide what can and should be expected and required of them academically, what behaviors are and are not appropriate in the classroom. Students, not teachers, receive the benefit of the doubt from parents and administrators in disputes over academic and disciplinary matters. Teachers, not students, are responsible for whether or not students apply themselves, do their work, participate, meet deadlines, etc.
In a dispute between a student, or a parent, and a teacher, the parent always takes the student's side, the administrator always takes the parent's side, and the public always takes the administrator's side. No one respects, or cares about, teachers.
Politicians create the unfunded mandates and their rhetoric further attacks education and teachers get the blame. Especially if a teacher is a member of an educational organization, usually labeled a union.
I am not saying the status quo is acceptable. But positive change can only come from giving teachers more power, and that is NOT what;s going on.
Yes you are PERFECTLY correct.
test all the teachers for 8th grade math....whoever gets less than 85% fire them.
YES TEACHERS SHOULD BE PART OF THE POLICY CONVERSATION.
But seeing that I haven't taken a math class in over 30 years, I doubt I could pass a math test.
I guess I should be fired.
If reformers were serious they would look at how the school day is actually run by the admins. Sports, as in real life, is valued more than academia, Student who cause problems are thought to be poor misunderstood souls who are then given perks that the good students do not receive. Parents are allowed to change curriculum they know nothing about and insist on grades that their children have not worked towards. In other words, schools are mimicing all that's bad in society in general, not the other way around..
Teachers work hard to overcome all this and more, but are the scapegoats when problems occur.
The only students still worried about succeeding are the Mid Eastern and Far Eastern ones. Could it be that they are taught at home that studies come first and everything else is second?
With all due respect, National Board Certification does NOT mean a teacher is effective. I watched as several individuals in my building filled out all the paperwork just right and used all the right 'buzz words' and were awarded their certificates. They did it for the bonus and pay scale increase. Besides, I wouldn't trust them with my neighbor's kid let alone my own.
Effective teaching is a gift and a calling. It is a passion and a hunger. Instead, the powers that be are trying to organize it into neat boxes any bureaucrat can check off. They are using a Total Quality Management mindset in order to quantify teaching and eliminate any autonomy, individuality or creativity.
I started teaching when there was no such thing as standardized testing. I see what this "reform" has done to the profession and students I love. I've known since a child I was going to be a teacher. Now, I just don't know...
BTW -- I was a teacher for 20 years before I changed my profession within the educational system. I have a national certification as well, yet it's not from the teacher's board. Our state law excludes any district employee of benefits from national boards except for classroom teachers.
And the real point I wanted to make is that it takes many people, not just classroom teachers, to make a school system functional and to graduate the young people of our nation. None of us in education have less of a role. And I'd love to see politicians doing more than occasional walk throughs before making decisions that impact our working environments.