He or she is judged from outside the classroom based on whether or not order is maintained.The teacher's power over his or her students is the basis upon which administrators and fellow teaching staff judge the teacher's effectiveness, and yet when it comes to kids, intellectual engagement is more often expressed by an enthusiasm that would be adjudged intolerable in many schools. So one can see that administrators and policy makers would like to find some way to measure teacher performance without having to put directors and stage managers in every class.
Seymour Sarason had maintained a rather dark but realistic view that every attempt at reform of public education would fail and so far he's been proven 100% right.
The charter school movement takes a spitwad approach. Throw a bunch of new ideas (that are really old ideas) in the form of charter schools (most of which follow a single not so new formula) against a wall, and see which sticks best. Sarason, on the other hand, suggests that the secret to effective schools may have more to do with how we train our teachers for collaboration within and between classes, training them to draw forth from students their deepest engagement.
His thoughts are a deep well, and should be read by all who might take an interest in the subject of school reform. Between 40 books and 60 articles, getting to know Sarason would be a monumental task, but for the book I'm reading, the Skeptical Visionary, edited by Robert L. Fried
Today I have lots of kids classes in the wood shop, grades 1 through 8. We'll be making wonderful things, using real tools and real materials, removing the artificiality of school learning, and taking the teacher (me) out of the way of direct learning.
Today, also, I will receive the laid out version of my Froebel book and begin the process of review before publication.
Make, fix, create, and extend to others the likelihood of learning likewise.
I saw teaching more like being an orchestra conductor. When things were going well it all came together and the room just hummed with energy. When things didn't go well it was more like torture.
ReplyDeleteMario
As Sarason notes, it is very difficult for teachers to transition from time alone with their classes, to having observers that are often perceived to present a threat. The thing of being judges on your performance. What you are talking about is hen you are just there with your class and all are on exactly the same page.My classes, like the one today with my 1st through 3rd graders, are also like an orchestral performance with highs, lows and the occasional crescendo.
ReplyDeleteWhen a theatrical performer gets to the actual performance, the stage manager gets out of the way and lets the performance happen without disruption. Some teachers don't have that.
Administrators. No wonder in other professional settings management is referred to as "manglement."
ReplyDeleteMario
I like that. It goes along with the Bob Dylan line, bent out of shape by society's pliers.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, being a mangler ain't easy. Administrators deserve sympathy if not respect. And rather than be caught unsympathetic myself, I can admit there are some very good administrators who empower their teachers and inspire them. My daughter Lucy is teaching for one of those at Harvest Collegiate, in NYC.
ReplyDeleteYou're right. There are good ones. But it seems like the bad ones are the ones who stand out, like the one who inspired me to retire. She must have been bored after I left since she retired shortly after that.
ReplyDeleteMario