http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/12/us/12aft.html?_r=1&ref=education
The president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Randi Weingarten, gave an impressively strong speech at the kick off for the first day of the National Conference, according to the New York Times. I say strong because she voiced opinions that are controversial in a time when most people in the public eye strive for political correctness over their own feelings and opinions. She was not afraid to make claims like, "[the debate over the education system] has been hijacked by a group of self-styled reformers" who, in her mind are working to save the system in the entirely wrong way.
Weingarten argues that the transformation needs to be headed by and stem from the teachers and those on the front lines, not by "by people who are happy to lecture us about the state of public education — but wouldn’t last 10 minutes in a classroom" (another rather controversial remark!). Personally, I think she is right! The change does have to come from those in the classroom. No matter what happens outside (policy change, introduction of merit pay, certification changes, etc), if teachers don't change then the schools will not change. The question is, will teachers change without impetus from the outside? And will teachers stick around in the profession long enough to see that change through? It is clear, from what I have read and heard, as well as my own limited personal experience, that a transient teacher force limits the achievement of students. It is even more clear that teachers who last more than a few years become increasingly more effective (unless, of course, they become disenchanted or burnt out). So, how will we get teachers to stay? That is the real question. I think if the policy makers focused on that question and saw the lack of student achievement as a symptom (instead of the main problem) we could really make some change without biting the hand that feeds us.
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In class, we discussed issues of teacher retention. I think that in many cases the ability to change a system through actions taken and choices made inside the classroom is an incentive for teachers to stay in the profession. In reading Ravitch's book, especially her case study on the San Diego school system, it occurred to me that teachers' senses of self-efficacy, their own beliefs that they can make an impact, can attract them to certain districts and convince them to stay.
When given input and responsibility, I felt as though I was a valued member of my school staff and that I was part of a vision-driven movement much larger than my school's population. I imagine that the opposite could also be true; given a strongly and directly-worded memo asking me to enforce a policy I had no part in devising, I would likely feel infantilized and frustrated. I can imagine that other educators have felt the same way.
I think that giving teachers opportunities to create "the change" you are talking about will attract the right people to the profession and keep them there.
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