Should Teachers run the school?
After reading chapter one from “Teaching Strategies, a Guide to Effective Instruction” I contemplated what I could blog about. I kept coming back to what had caught my attention right off the bat when I read it. The section about decision making and responsibility has always been a concept I have had an opinion about throughout my teaching career. I had just read an article in the Minneapolis StarTribune over the past weekend geared toward the same line of thinking. It has long been my personal theoretical idea that teachers and students should be left alone on a deserted island for the duration of a student’s education, to be as far away from parents and administration as possible. I have had so many experiences that if the teacher and the student would be “left alone” life would be good. Some how letting the teacher teach and the students learn sounds so ideal. Outside of my reality show-esque thinking, a more realistic opportunity is on the forefront. Minnesota is actually following through with a reform that is relinquishing power over to the teachers. A question can be posed than, that if teachers are in power would there be more accountability for student success? Would that improve learning and the whole educational process? I sort of feel like this is one of those no-brainers where you smack your self in the forehead and say “duh”. How could it not lead to more academic success. There would be no interference from administration that the teacher could actually just teach. I have often been posed the question “do you like/love teacing”? My frequently given answer is: “I don’t know, it has been so long since I have taught, I couldn’t tell you. I find that I am so often dealing with the proverbial bureaucratic red that my art of teaching is lost. Here is where my reality game show would come in. The premise would be teachers and students stranded on a tropical island (just for added flair) and you are eliminated based on who learns the least!
I was amused by one of the comments left by a reader that said this is a bad idea because leaders need to be clueless. That is clearly not the definition of a teacher. I liked this comment but look out if you continue to read the list of other comments. It was very negative towards teachers and teacher unions. I guess maybe I missed the boat with the involvement of the union as one of the governing bodies. I was really just focused on teachers being in charge. Clearly there is a strong opinion out there about unions and teachers in general. That is an idea for a future blog. For now I will just live in the delusional moment where teachers can be in charge.
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Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteYou brought up a very interesting idea. I too feel if teachers were just left to "teach" the world would be a better place. But then I start to think about some teachers who are on their road to retirement and don't put forth the maximum effort needed for their students. If teachers were left alone would the accountability for student learning decrease? Would teachers start to slack because they are on their own?
I would love to be on my own and just teach but I wonder if all teachers would put forth the same effort.
Jenna
While I am in agreement with you on this issue I am going to play devil's advocate. There are buildings in my district that are staffed almost completely with new grads as teachers. In my building there are 5 teachers who have little experience teaching and way more than that who probably need someone to be looking over their shoulder. New and disgruntled employees absolutely need direction, support and leadership from administration or they could become burnt out or frustrated quickly. It should also be noted that the proletariat in any profession believes they could do their bosses job and that they really do not need administration at all. My family has had businesses since the 30's and I have grown up with family as the 'evil administration' and I know for a fact that workers need to be held accountable based on what I have seen. Teachers are people too and while most of us would not take advantage of not having a boss breathing down our necks, some of us would surely push the envelope and make us all look bad. In any business administration is an absolute necessity.
ReplyDeletecheers,
ct
Jenna,
ReplyDeleteI have often sat in my classroom and felt like banging my head against my desk. I have so many parents and teachers telling me how to teach and what to teach. In my school parents rule the school. If a parent does not like the way you do something in class they simply complain and you are asked to change the problem. Most of my students learn from my classroom but there is always one hard-headed child and their parent who thinks they do no wrong. I really like your idea and I think students would benefit from it. I do love my job but sometimes the headache of dealing with the secondary parts of it drive me up the wall.
Good Job!
Blaire
Reading your blog makes me feel lucky I have the principal I have. Criticism is constructive and followed with possible solutions. I can’t see how teachers running schools would work in reality. Who would decide curriculum priorities? Who would decide how to divvy out precious budget money? Discipline teachers if necessary? We are a staff around 50. If a simple majority was used the loudest or most charming teachers would win out. If a committee approach was taken wouldn’t they become administrators in spirit? There needs to be a boss in any organization as large as school systems.
ReplyDeleteI was shocked at the emotions toward the teacher union on the link. I may be naïve, but isn’t a union’s job to look out for their members’ best interests?
Elizabeth
ReplyDeleteI like the concept of letting the teacher be in charge of their classroom. After all, we are the experts, aren't we? There was a time that I felt in charge of my classrooms, since being a secondary business teacher most administrators admittedly didn't understand most of what I teach, so they left me as the expert. This is still happening to a point, but the last few years we are having more things dictated to us to incorporate in our classroom that is limiting the content I can teach. This has been a frustration for me, because most of the extra things we have to add was already being done, but accountability made it necessary to add more visible math, reading, spelling, and language arts lessons to my classes which took time away from teaching what I am supposed to teach.
Unfortunately, we have a lot of teachers that would not achieve more accountability if they were left alone. I am appalled by the strategies being used by some teachers, leaving the student to learn on their own. Also, the reason a lot of the extra demands are being placed on my classroom is because they are not learning the skills in the classes they should. I question if that would change if the teacher was allowed to be in charge of their classrooms as you suggest. Learning should be fun, but fun should not be the primary concern of teachers, which unfortunately is the emphasis for some teachers.