It’s people, not technology. “It’s people, not programs.” Both these statements, one my own, the other Tim Whitaker’s, go hand in hand. We, the people, have this undoubted belief that if we change the way of doing something by adding technology or implementing a new program, then everything changes for good. This usually works for a while and looks quite nice to everyone looking in from the outside but does this really create a lasting effect on our students?
Whitaker believes that if we “get better teachers” and “improve the teachers in the school” then we’ve got school improvement.
Higher Good Teachers + Improve the one’s you’ve got = Good School.
Could it really be that easy? It seems so, yet logically, this equation hasn’t been solved for most schools. Yes, programs and technology are great ways to create stronger education for students but if teachers and faculty aren’t trained properly to implement technology or programs, then eventually it will fall through the cracks. Today, we are surrounded by research, ideas, innovations and “secrets to good teaching” (open classroom). But no one uses these tools after they have written them down.
I wonder if evaluating teachers would force teachers to improve or bound them by rules/text books/limited ideas? I think this would weed out teachers who need improvement vs. teachers who are skilled at teaching. I don’t think teachers really know how to improve because it always seems like they are attacked and not guided. In other words, the new teacher evaluation hasn’t been introduced as:
“We think you’re being successful as you can be. We believe you have our students’ best interest at heart but we just want to see what areas they need more help in and what strengths you can use vs. things you can improve on to be clearer for your students”
Instead, it seems like we got this instead:
“Here is an evaluation. Students’ aren’t doing well enough compared to Finland, so if you don’t help them improve on state exams-you’re fired.”
This makes me believe more in the idea of “It’s the people, not the programs.” If those who are mandating program changes (state exams/evaluations) don’t change and see that state exams, evaluations, and other things they are trying to push on our students aren’t working, then they’re the ones that need changing.
I really agree with this post. Often teachers are expected to survive evaluations and many negative judgments, but are not given tools they need to do well and improve. I really do think that studying longer and becoming an expert in one's field is essential as is studying psychology and how to be persuasive and motivating to students.
ReplyDeleteThis is so true. If teachers need to realize they always can and need to improve, I think we can also say there is always room for improvement when it comes to the educational system, specifically look at standardized testing.
ReplyDeleteAlso, even though it may seem like we're being judged when being observed, I think we have to push that perspective out of our minds. That's only going to scare us. We have to take on a new perspective. We have to focus on how we can be effective teachers, reflecting on and improving with every lesson we teach.
I really enjoy reading your blog because your so blunt with your arguments. I agree that we sort of need this reality check in order to change the culture of learning in the United States.
ReplyDeleteBut to play devil's advocate although we have plenty of bad teachers, the people who need jobs are mostly inexperienced. And although they bring energy they are nowhere near being a master teacher. So would you rather have an average teacher who has subpar enthusiasm or a young inexperienced teacher with lots of energy?
Finally do you think educational reform can be accomplished in school if we give it enough time? A lot of time we give up if we don't see immediate results and try to utilize a new method/reform.
Teachers really are not guided! When I observe all I notice, whether it be the school district I am in or schools in general, is that the teachers are getting reprimanded that a certain percentage of their students are not passing the regents. My coordinating teacher told me that her supervisor yelled at her because a student failed her class the year before, but instead of noticing that the student just did not want to work, he blamed her. I think that teachers should get more respect than they are getting, especially because of all the pressure they are under.
ReplyDeleteDanny,
ReplyDeleteQ: So would you rather have an average teacher who has subpar enthusiasm or a young inexperienced teacher with lots of energy?
Great question: I would rather have an inexperienced teacher for the following reasons: To my belief, inexperienced teachers are the first ones in the building and last ones out. They are more willing to spend time on lessons and with students. Why? Well of course, because they don’t want to be “fired” and they want to look “good” for a perspective school. More importantly, they’re learning through trial and error. The only way to do that is to try everything ( exactly what an inexperienced teacher would do) and then see if it works or not.
Whereas an average teacher would most likely rush off towards the door when that 2:30 bell rings for dismissal, with their head down towards the floor, avoiding eye contact with any students who may ask questions. An average teacher is motivated to be average. However, this doesn’t make them a “bad” teacher, this just means that this teacher needs to recognize that there is always room for improvement.
Q:Finally do you think educational reform can be accomplished in school if we give it enough time? A lot of time we give up if we don't see immediate results and try to utilize a new method/reform.
Most likely with everything we seek change in, we expect an immediate result. If we don’t find that result asap, as you stated, we try to utilize another method. What we fail to learn is that never works because we’re looking for methods to change people. It’s people who can only change people and themselves. School’s take a long time to reform because technically we’re not reforming a building, rather we’re reforming minds. Can you imagine changing 100+(faculty, teachers, administration, and oh God, Parents) minds on how children should really be educated? I believe that educational reform can be accomplished in schools. School reform involves a strong team of individuals who aren’t scared to stand for what they believe in, have incredible amount of patience and perseverance, and aren’t easily persuaded by the politics of education.
Your post is dead on. Teacher assessments are seen as a way that teachers can be fired or denied tenure. Therefore it is a bad thing. No one sees an “assessment” as what it was created for and for the purpose teachers use it. When teachers assess student’s work, it isn’t to fail students, even though that is what students believe. It is to judge what they know, what they need help with and as encouragement to improve. Teacher assessments should be the same way. How can we change the view of teacher assessments and remove the threat of being fired?
ReplyDeletei agree that assessments aren't there to fail everyone and i think they are there to help the students to learn from their mistakes. Teacher assessments shouldn't be based on the student's scores and should be looked at with teacher performance and evaluation.
ReplyDeleteYou make an interesting point with teacher evaluations. I feel that new methods and standards can be proposed as often as administrators want, but the whole process can still be subjective. As long as you have a principal or other school employee evaluating a teacher that he or she will have known previously, I think that their judgement will consciously or sub-consciously be influenced.
ReplyDelete