Teacher Power
and Responsibility
A MiddleWeb Listserv conversation
John introduces a thought-provoking topic when he steered MiddleWeb
readers towards an Education Week article entitled, "Show Me the Power."
Readers benefited from the perspectives of teachers and administrators alike.
Unless we give teachers the power to make intelligent, student-based, and
creative educational decisions, writes Jillian N. Lederhouse, we will never
be able to attract and keep the type of teachers we most want in the profession.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=40lederhouse.h20
-John
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Michelle, a former middle school principal, shared her belief that teacher
empowerment can occur within the context of standards.
I read the article, with interest. While I still agree with school and teacher
accountability, I would also say that a quality school organization would
ensure that teachers feel empowered, even within the context of standards.
Actually, we could feel more empowered to "show our stuff" through
demonstration of high student achievement.
Just a thought,
-Michelle
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Brenda shared some ideas about the importance of releasing teachers to
act responsibly.
Here are some further thoughts on John's posting about "Giving
Teachers the Power". I wrote it June 14, 2000 after a posting appeared
on a Listserv I was participating in, about some of the demeaning practices
some teachers experienced at the end of the year regarding a room cleanup
expectation, such as pay checks being withheld until the end of year room
cleanup was up to snuff. I have never taught anywhere where this happens.
Have you? "Giving Teachers the Power" brought my previous thoughts
to mind, so I thought I'd share them with you.
It appears to me that in spite of the fact that we consider
ourselves "professionals" and are responsible for designing and
carrying out the education of the future citizens of our country, those
who manage us (our administration, school boards) doubt our competency to
act as professionals unless we are being closely monitored.
Administrators may assume that their teachers will not conduct themselves
in a professional manner and therefore are doing things like withholding
paychecks until their teachers do what they are being required to do, such
as clean their room up before leaving on summer break. Check this article
(The One Minute Babysitter):
http://www.mansis.com/page128.htm#
Instead of putting in place such a procedure (treating teachers like children),
I would suggest that they deal with the teachers that do push the limits.
I would resent this reactionary approach to getting end of the year cleanup
done. If getting teachers to turn up that week has been a problem in the
past, perhaps administration needs to see if it is a systemic problem such
as:
-Is that cleanup week up part of the teacher's vacation time?
- Is the expectation to turn up stated in teacher contracts or just "understood"?
This can be called "Management By Dropping Hints". Check this
article out:
http://www.mansis.com/page126.htm#
- How many teachers have not met the administration's expectations for this
week in past years? One teacher, two, twenty?
- Has administration allowed for some feedback from their staff on the issue?
This might identify misunderstanding or systemic problems that only teachers
would be aware of. The data might indicate that there are only two teachers
that are abusing the end of the year cleanup. Why would you then withhold
salary because of two offenders?
I would recommend the use of the Edward Demming's "Total Quality Management"
philosophy (or in a school environment it would be called Total Quality
Learning).
A "TQL" environment requires that focus be placed on empowerment,
enablement, and shared decision-making, and on coaching others to assume
more responsibility. It more or less calls for a "hands-off" approach
to management with emphasis on facilitation rather than directives.
In "TQL", management will analyze why you weren't achieving consistent
quality in the past and plug the holes. Could it have been, for example,
that your standards and procedures for quality weren't clear, documented,
communicated or enforced? Principals will be successful in leading teachers
by inspiration as opposed to threats. Check these articles out:
http://www.mansis.com/page1210.htm#
http://www.mansis.com/page124.htm#
A few of Demming's points that need to be considered by people who lead
other people (that's not just administrators, that's teachers too- we lead
others daily) are as follows:
"A manager of people needs to understand that all people are different.
This is not ranking people. He needs to understand that the performance
of anyone is governed largely by the system that he works in, the responsibility
of management."
"Drive out fear, so that everyone may work effectively for the company."
If you'd like to do extra reading, the above articles and a number of other
excellent articles can be found at:
http://www.mansis.com/page12.htm#RecentlyPublished
Articles
We clearly need a new breed of administrator and a trust established in
those that we hire to do the job. This will in turn breed a new type of
teacher and in the end a new breed of student.
I guess that is called Education Reform!
Sincerely:
Brenda A. Dyck
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Kathy observed that one could feel a lack of power even within an empowered
environment!
I missed John's posting but I need to go back and read it.
Well, my check has not been held (at least I don't think so), but I am
certainly in the room cleaning business. My colleague and I are very frustrated,
as everywhere you look there seems to be junk and boxes etc. That comes
from teaching 3 different curriculums. At the 4-6-grade level, that is a
lot of stuff. I have at least 1 more full day of clean up time. The majority
of the staff (granted there are only 7 of us) were out of there by Wednesday
afternoon. Anyway power is something I am definitely lacking at this point.
Kathy from VT
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Jean explained how two different schools approached end of the year closure
procedures.
Your comments caused me to reflect on the year-end practices at the two
schools I've worked in most recently.
School 1 - we were given a four-page handout with exactly what to do with
signatures required for each little step. I guess the assumption is that
unless someone checks up on me, I won't turn in my grade book or put away
textbooks. The last step was always turning in keys and "checking out"
with the principal. When I walked out the door, I did not go back to the
building until the next school year. No one does as far as I know. Should
I mention that there is a high turnover rate at this school?
Current school - we receive a list of reminders of things that need to be
taken care of. Period. A list. I keep my keys, and I am always welcome in
the building. We don't "check out" because we don't need to -
teachers are in and out of the building all summer. If a teacher needed
to finish up something after the calendar school year, so be it. We are
treated like professionals. If I show up at lunchtime during the summer,
the office staff and/or principal invite me to eat with them. We already
have four social outings that I know of planned for the summer with groups
of teachers. Teachers like working here.
Jean
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Anita shared her own experiences.
The second district sounded interesting....I have never taught in a
district with that philosophy though. Texas, Germany, the UK -- all fit
the first category, not the second! Though, to be honest, I do tend to go
and visit the school in the summer whether I have keys or not. AND, I tend
to be one of the first to get keys in August so I can get started. Even
though we have the list that must be initialed, I have usually been made
to feel welcome when I do go in to the school.
-Anita
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Mary Anne questioned whether teachers really want to have increased responsibility.
Brenda and all -- It is interesting that this piece of discussion came up.
One of the things that I have run up against in trying to change the environment
we work in is that a large number of teachers say they want the power
when in reality they do not want the responsibility that comes with it.
At a school I worked with the principal asked teachers to sit on a "budget
committee." The purpose was clearly explained--I would like the teachers
of the school to make the decisions and set budget priorities. He did not
invite a certain group--he opened it to all faculty members.
Two people showed up at the first meeting--four at the second. This man
was willing to turn over the entirety of the school budget to the teachers,
but his overwhelming answer was--that's your job. Now, he turned it over
to those of us who showed up. When we presented our budget to the remainder
of the faculty, several were not pleased. Again the answer was--it isn't
the teachers' job to do it--the principal should tell us what to do and
we'll do it!
It was interesting to me--because teachers did it, it gave the rest of
the staff reason to question it. If the principal had done it, they would
have just done it.
This is only one example and there are many positive ones I am sure. This
particular faculty stands out in my mind because the principal really did
try to turn over the power to make major decisions to his faculty--and met
resistance at every turn. I never truly felt sorry for a principal until
I spent time there.
-Mary Anne
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Ivone agreed with Mary Anne's opinion.
Mary Anne, You could be talking about my school!!! I work with the biggest
complainers. In the 5 years I have been there, the current principal is
the fourth. There also have been 3 changes in vice principals. Yet if you
ask the teachers it is always admin fault. I have stayed because I love
the kids. However every summer I question my sanity!
-Ivone
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Naomi shared her perspective as an administrator of middle school.
As a supervisor, I have a slightly different perspective. My belief
is that most teachers do what they are supposed to. But I have to tell you
that there is a significant percentage that do not. It is a hard call. We
have a check off list that is signed by the responsible person. With a staff
of 100+, it is necessary to check that all is done.
Last year's record cards, for instance, were not grouped properly by many
teachers, not checked properly by those responsible, and while running summer
school, the secretary and I had to regroup hundreds of records. I don't
think the check off is bad; it is how the supervisor implements it.
-Naomi
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Michelle provided MiddleWeb readers with an administrator's perspective.
As a former principal who was held responsible for all these things,
and who had a one-page checklist for the end of the year "turn-ins",
(some of this conversation) makes me defensive. Many of the folks on this
list are very professional folks and would do what they are supposed to,
but you'd be surprised that there are teachers who don't consider this important
and don't complete it if it isn't monitored. "What gets monitored gets
done."
It isn't that the principal isn't treating you as a professional; he/she
is responsible, legally, for most of these things. It's like the attendance
and grades that teachers keep.
Hope this offers a different perspective,
-Michelle
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Laura observed the importance of establishing effective systems that
ensure that teachers have met their responsibilities.
How a check-out system is handled can make a difference. Frankly I like
the sheet as it helps me to remember all the areas I have to take care of.
We also have a few in the building with the attitude of "make me."
There's always going to be a few negative ones.
-Laura
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Brenda shared her belief that establishing a culture where teachers take
an active role in decision-making takes time.
I think that creating a culture where teachers choose to take the ball and
run with it takes modeling and time. If my present school asked teachers
to sit on a budget committee there would be few takers because teachers
know that power is given and frequently taken back if admin is unhappy with
the approach employed. Let me explain further.
Last year, due to teacher requests, a survey committee was put together
with a mandate to do an "anxiety audit" on teaching staff. I was
chairperson of this committee and we began the task very enthusiastically.
Our goal was to identify the level of stress the staff was feeling, its
sources and possible solutions.
We met 4 or 5 times and eventually had a dandy survey ready to implement.
We sent admin a copy, explaining when we planned to give the survey. Admin
informed us that they needed to go through our survey to check that it was
appropriate and that they would be the ones to decide when or if it was
to be given.
They edited it with a fine toothcomb and sent it back to our committee.
Admin included questions that made it easy to identify the surveyed since
they felt the info was useless unless they knew who was feeling stressed.
We knew teachers would not be honest if it wasn't anonymous. Our survey
committee was very upset. Several people resigned and as chair I was left
trying to salvage something from our efforts.
In the end, the admin version of the document was given to staff the last
week of school (we had wanted it to be given in April so that a second one
could be given in early June to see if anxiety levels varied with the time
of year and so that some strategies could be employed to improve the stress).
Nothing came out of the survey (other than the results which admin shared
the last day of school....the results, according to our administration's
version, showed there was low anxiety on our staff) and we've never heard
about the survey again.
I share this incident because many of us have come to the realization that
we are empowered only if we are doing it the way the admin wants. Empowerment
means to give someone the power to approach the initiative the way the teacher
sees fit. It may not be the best or only way, but it is the way the teacher
has taken it. Most of us have been reluctant to volunteer to be on committees
such as this year. I would guess a budget committee would be handled the
same way.
I would like to suggest that when teachers get the message that "their
way" (in handling a project, committee etc) would be acceptable, they
will choose more responsibility the next time. Just like parents can create
co-dependency in their children, I think that admin. can create that in
teachers.
Sometimes teachers will come to a staff co-dependant because that's what
they've experienced on previous staffs or even in their upbringing. Efficient
administrators can breed this kind of environment and then wonder why no
one ever signs up for responsibilities.
As teachers, we can even do this with our students. I know there are slack
teachers around- those who don't sign up for responsibilities because they
don't want anymore work, but I think what I've described above may contribute
to unwillingness of teachers to take charge.
I may be all wet but I think it's worth considering....
Here is a Staff Empowerment Inventory URL, worth looking at:
http://www.ivcfne.org/leadership/168
-Brenda
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Deb challenged MiddleWeb readers to be willing to question the decisions
of those in charge.
I agree that we've all experienced this type of "shared" leadership.
I guess the question for me is, when it happens, why don't we collectively
challenge it and demand a response?
-Deb
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Brenda directed MiddleWeb readers to a book on leadership techniques
by Warren Bennis.
I'd like to recommend a book for anyone who leads....which is probably all
of us:
Managing
People is like Herding Cats by Warren Bennis
Terrific book. If you'd like a breakdown of the chapters, go to:
http://pirate.shu.edu/~rafterje/managing_people_is_like.htm
If you'd like to order it: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1890009105/ref%3Dase%5Fthevirtualmirror/002-3026171-3306406
-Brenda
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LeeAnn questioned the role of the "school secretary".
We have a check out procedure similar to this, but we are not required
to turn out keys in. If we choose to keep them (and I think most staff does)
we just have to give a list of the keys we have to the admin.
One thing that has been bothering me is the amount of control that our school
secretary has over our end of the year orders. I turned in a lengthy order
for books and I had intended on giving a proposal of my intended classroom
changes to the super and the school board. My principal told me that wasn't
necessary and that he'd see I got everything I was asking for and then the
secretary told another teacher she was cutting my order in half!
Even if it were in some way up to her, what knowledge does she have of
my classroom to determine where the cuts should be made?! It especially
infuriates me because my orders have always been small and I am the only
reading teacher that has not received new textbooks in the last 5 years
(and it shouldn't matter that I don't want them--I should get something
in place of basal readers, and novels make more sense anyway!)
-LeeAnn
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Deb emphasized the importance of keeping communication lines open with
non-teaching personal.
Lee Ann,
Did you ask the secretary about this information? Does this person actually
have this authority? Can you rely on the person who carried the info to
repeat it in front of the secretary? I'm just wondering if an off-hand comment
like, "I don't know how we're going to pay for even half these items..."
might have been misinterpreted. Sometimes things like this happen and because
we're not there we get very upset.
At my old school we had an NTA in charge of all ordering and deliveries
and many folks were afraid of her. She sometimes had a gruff manner, but
I just used to tease her and we got on well. Others would complain that
she delayed their supplies etc., but they never investigated directly with
her. Sometimes non-teaching personnel get a bad rap and talking directly
to them can cut through the confusion. If that doesn't work, it's the administrator's
problem and they should deal with the conflict.
-Deb
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Juli wondered why it's so difficult for administrators to trust their
teaching staff.
Having just had a negative experience with closing at a middle school, I
love the description Jean gave of the difference between the two schools
where she has worked. About the second one she said, "Teachers like
working here."
Why is it so hard for some to trust teachers?
-Juli
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Ellen expressed her frustration of being distrusted by administration
because of the weaknesses of a handful of problematic teachers.
At my school, several teachers have earned the distrust of the administration,
and because of them, we all are suffering. For example, several teachers
failed to keep up their attendance records, which are legal documents in
our state, and did not do anything but complain about the paperwork. Even
after administration checked their records and placed sticky notes on things
that needed to be corrected, many of them failed to make the necessary corrections,
even after they were told our school's records were being audited later
in the year. As a result, all of us had to turn in our records every five
or so weeks--grade books, attendance records, etc. Furthermore, this summer
during training, all of us have to suffer through instruction on how to
keep records, and those of us who took care of our business have to work
with those who didn't.
It's not a matter of them not knowing how to do the records; those people
with questions or honest mistakes fixed the problems like professionals.
I don't know how giving the rest of us the responsibility of working with
these people will help change their attitudes; they don't feel they should
have to do this work. (Or at lot else in some of their cases.)
The admin is taking this approach because they don't want to single anyone
out, but isn't that their responsibility? After measures to help them have
been taking, isn't it time for a job target? It makes the climate unpleasant
for those of us who take our jobs and responsibilities seriously.
-Ellen
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In an effort to explain why teachers may be reticent about taking on
more responsibility, Anne shared a list of teacher responsibilities that
may shed some light on this issue.
Mary Anne wrote a message about a principal who tried to give his teachers
budget-making authority in his school. She remarked, "This particular
faculty stands out in my mind because the principal really did try to turn
over the power to make major decisions to his faculty--and met resistance
at every turn. I never truly felt sorry for a principal until I spent time
there."
That is really a missed opportunity by teachers! I would like to add one
observation, however. I am working with a middle school whose principal
wants me to help initiate learning teams to implement and sustain a focus
on reading in the content area. I asked what other responsibilities the
teachers had. She opened the handbook, and these were the ones listed:
Scheduling students - using flexibility to accommodate individual
student needs
Handling student discipline problems (including keeping a team discipline
notebook and making copies of all previous referrals if - as a last resort
a child is sent to the office)
Organizing special activities (quarterly student recognition programs, etc.)
Preparing team budgets
Ordering/purchasing team and individual supplies
Conducting new student orientation
Team aesthetics
Communicating regularly with parents (4 week progress reports, etc.)
Planning intervention strategies for at-Risk students
Arranging field trips
Intramurals
Student guidance
Implementing school-wide programs
Creating and maintaining a positive learning environment
Using interdisciplinary teaching methods
Documenting in plan book the date and time of teaching each SAT-9 standard,
high school graduation standards, and course of study standards
Attending weekly after-school faculty meetings
Those were for starters. Then there was the inevitable home-room record-keeping;
the duty-list roster for before, during, and after school; hoops teachers
needed to jump through for the school clerk; procedures for distributing
textbooks and turning in those lists to the office; and on and on and on.
All of this was in addition to two other major school initiatives - one
in writing and one in math. And, of course, there's the matter of teaching
and all that that entails in terms of planning and assessing.
I told the principal that I thought the teachers would benefit greatly if
we could figure out a way to relieve them of some non-teaching responsibilities
and collapse some of their remaining initiatives under the same umbrella.
She was honestly surprised, and assured me that her teachers wouldn't want
to give up anything.
I guess I've said all of this to suggest that, at least in some schools,
teachers who don't want to participate in school budget making might not
be just lazy. They could be totally swamped with other types of things.
-Anne
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Michelle agreed with Anne's posting and explained how she, as an administrator,
tried to free up her teachers to focus on the integration and quality lessons.
I will agree with that! As a principal who wanted input on things, who
had eight different committees, I always tried to keep my eye on the prize.
If my clerical support, my Vice Principal, if I, could take some of their
"stuff" off their plate, it would allow the teachers more time
to focus on integration and quality lessons. The irony is that the teachers
who don't want to spend time on this make an issue about not being given
"the power" of "fixing the schedule" or "writing
letters of recommendations."
It's hard to put in words without sounding "power hungry," but
we always tried to involve teachers (as well as parents and students) on
the long-range planning and the thought-processes behind it. We utilized
our School-Based Decision-Making Council to direct the work of the committees
(including the budget committee) on which teachers, parents and students
served; but we tried not to ask the teachers to complete busy work, management
kinds of things. We tried to keep their thinking to the "out of the
box" kinds of stuff.
-Michelle
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Brenda responded to Deb's question about why teachers don't challenge
the administrative decisions they disagree with.
Challenging something collectively (as a staff) will only happen if:
- a culture exists on staff where open dialogue among teachers is acceptable
and not viewed as gossiping or dissension
- it is safe to disagree or debate (no worries that your job may be in jeopardy)
with the opinions of those in charge
I'm not sure if authenticity is more prevalent in a public school staff
but most of my experience has been in private schools. When a teacher has
a concern, the only acceptable course of action is to go on your own to
the principal. Anything else is considered brewing up trouble, so for the
most part, teachers struggle alone.
It is said that there is power in numbers, but when the numbers don't know
about each other they may feel more like a voice crying in the wilderness.
-Brenda
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Brenda continued her thoughts by noting that freedom of speech and trust
are elemental for collective challenging to take place.
I think "collective" is the key word here. There are a few things
that need to be in place in a school culture for collective challenging
to take place. There needs to be freedom of speech so that any group meeting
together to discuss an issue isn't perceived as participating in gossip
or dissension. There also needs to be trust between staff and admin that
one's job won't be in jeopardy if one disagrees openly (and respectfully).
I don't know if there is more opportunity in a public system for authentic
dialogue or disagreement to happen but my experience in a private system
is that there is one way or the highway. Any group that might meet to put
together thoughts on a concern would be frowned upon so what tends to happen
is that teachers go to the administration, one at a time, unaware of each
other's common concern. There may be power in numbers but that power isn't
there when the numbers don't know about each other... Sincerely:
-Brenda
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Michelle reflected on what it means to be "empowered".
Thank you for sharing this Brenda. As admin., it is very hard sometimes
to really hear the truth, to really listen, just as it is hard for teachers
to hear the truth about their classroom climates from students. Consequently,
we don't want to ask many times, and you are right; your faculty got burnt
with that example.
However, on the other hand, sometimes "empowerment" is misconstrued
and interpreted to mean, "I can do anything I want," and that
can't be true either. Instead, empowerment should mean that we all stay
on a vision (and sometimes a leader who is a change agent may have a different
vision than all in the school or may learn a vision from the staff and community
members) but it is the leader's responsibility to lead the troops toward
the vision, and to keep the troops making decisions around the vision.
This means that we can't always say yes, especially when the decision is
being made around adult needs, not student needs. I know this doesn't fit
your example very well, but it was another perspective I wanted to provide.
-Michelle
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Deb explained how the "Critical friends" group at her school
fulfilled the need to constructively address school-wide problems.
We are so accustomed to being alone in our classrooms that it seems unnatural
to come together, but I think it is our only hope. My Critical Friends Group
(CFG) met to discuss our teaching practice but we gradually began to look
at the whole school, its problems, policies etc. as well.
We were careful to come at things from a constructive angle, but we never
stopped raising questions. We offered to work on professional development
sessions about inclusion when it was a hot topic, we modeled protocols for
Looking at Student Work (LASW) etc.
It's unfortunate that looking for answers and challenging the status quo
gets looked at as being troublemakers, but if we don't "trouble the
trouble" in our schools, how will we move forward?
-Deb
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Betsy, a middle school principal, described how her teachers effectively
took charge of an initiative that focused on a school systems problem.
As I have worked with my faculty to plan the ways in which we will overcome
our under performing school status, the very first teacher-driven response
was a group of teachers redesigning our bell schedule to include a teacher
planning time built into the school day. Monday mornings were selected -
the theory being that we would all be fresh and it would get each of our
weeks off to a positive, energized start by meeting together. The motivation
came from the teachers on the Action Plan Team who articulated the kind
of work that we will be doing and the time we all need together to process,
practice and support one another.
After weeks of working on various versions of the schedule, the whole faculty
came together and an overwhelming majority voted to adopt this new schedule
for the next year. However, as implied in your last paragraph, Deb, the
powers that be have asked our faculty to hold off until mid-year to give
time to work with our parent community to help them accept what would be
a one-hour late arrival of students on Monday mornings.
The instructional time would be made up in 15-minute increments Tues-Fridays.
With all due respect for the reasons for holding off, the faculty feels
very strongly that they need this time together to make the best use of
all the training that we will be doing this next year. It was very exciting
to me that, after moving beyond the frustration of being labeled an under
performing school, the first move by the faculty was to create time to work
together.
So, our quest to overcome our culture of isolation continues and we hope
that we will be able to convince our parents that this will ultimately be
a positive force for improving their children's education.
It is interesting to me as I begin conversations with parents about this
idea that they really have never thought about the fact that teachers rarely
have time together to plan. It appears that this is just not a culture of
isolation within the school itself, but it is also a culture that is expected
by our communities.
-Betsy
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Richard told how his principal not only empowered her teachers to make
decisions, but made them responsible for the outcomes of those decisions.
I am currently teaching at a middle school of 800+ students and have had
five principals in five years with a different philosophy from each. Our
latest principal has given the PDM team and staff ALMOST total control of
the school. She does take a stand when it comes to some of the day to day
decisions, but basically she allows us to spend the money, tell how much
each dept. receives, who goes on what in services, etc. She allowed each
dept. head to assign teaching positions, (they don't abuse the privilege
as she does not) and they have a big hand in positions hired in their depts.
When we developed our Campus Action Plan, our PDM team went on a retreat
for a day to come up with the initial plan. We began by dividing into teams
and taking a different part of the plan. We presented it to the rest of
the PDM team, took critics, and then had a week to come up with the final
version of the plan. We then met as a faculty, split up into groups, and
each group from the faculty looked at each part of the plan giving feedback
to the PDM sub groups. It gave each faculty member true ownership of the
final draft. She is the best at not only empowering the teachers, but also
making them understand that they will be responsible for what they decide.
-Richard
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"Trusting teachers to do what they should do" is important.
Jean further elaborated on this idea.
I certainly didn't intend to put administrators on the defensive. This year
when I turned in all of the required items, I had to sign in as I did so.
The difference to me as a teacher is that the expectation is that I will
do what is expected, not that I have to have someone witness me doing what
is expected. Then the person responsible for all of these things in my current
teaching position (that is guidance counselors and asst. principal) individually
contacts those who are lacking something.
I am not surprised that there are teachers who don't consider these duties
important. It angers me when my colleagues don't do what they need to, or
when they whine in the process. I sort of liken the situation to how teachers
with students who are irresponsible and don't do what is routinely expected
of them. I would hate to punish the whole class for behaviors of a few.
I will grant you that our staff is relatively small (35 or so teachers for
about 430 students), and I'm sure that makes a difference. Also, you mention
that you have a one-page checklist for teachers. My previous school had
a four-page, not user-friendly, detailed checkout process. I think my current
school's method is easier and professional.
-Jean
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The ideas expressed in this discussion prompted Bev to make a plan for
her next years' staff.
Betsy Burch and others who are organizing and meeting to plan and examine
school and teaching practices deserve commendations. I hope to overcome
some of the negativity, apathy, benign neglect of kids, and reluctance to
take power among my building level colleagues next year. After reading the
various posts here, my plan is to establish a small cadre of like-minded
colleagues and just do it! I just hope some of them will be on my team.
Thanks to MiddleWeb, I don't feel so isolated. You all are inspiring in
this conversation. Thank you.
-Bev
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Ellen pointed out the responsibility each educator has in making his
or her school environment a place of effective collaboration.
Beverly,
I felt powerless for such a long time. Who was I, one lone teacher (a newer
one at that-5 years), to be questioning the powers that be and pushing for
change? I wondered for a long time what I could possibly do, and I felt
frustration because no one else was taking the steps to make the changes
or work towards improved student learning. I did not feel it was "my
place," for a long time, and I've struggled with resentment that there
is no one in my building who has years of experience and is taking a leadership
role.
Finally, because of the wonderful people on this listserv and spending time
reflecting on my situation, I've come to the realization that I cannot wish
my situation away. Since I see the problems and the potential for growth,
I have the responsibility to work towards those things. Once I stopped resisting,
I discovered several other people who felt the same way and who are willing
to work together to effect change.
I have to say to all of you on MiddleWeb, thank you for being the mentors
and support I desperately needed. Having an outlet like this one has pushed
me to grow tremendously in many areas.
-Ellen
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