Traditional school policies and curriculum may work for some students. Some kids can sit quietly at a desk and work. Some parents, feeling nostalgic about when they were in school, wish teachers would go back to drill and kill worksheets and weekly spelling tests or letter grades (rather than rubrics) because they understand them. Being expected to change reading or math programs whenever the new boxes of materials arrive may excite some teachers. But many educators are often left feeling as if they have no voice or choice.
You can review or catch up on previous weeks here:
Chapter 13, Focusing on What You Know is Right, encourages teachers to trust their gut instinct. We are educated and trained to know how students learn best, and we understand what type of school (and district) environments are necessary for teachers, administrators and staff to thrive. Depending on your particular building, you may have more or less autonomy. On certain campuses, teachers are not encouraged to veer from mandated curriculum. However, a wise experienced teacher told me, "Close your door and do what's best for your students. Ask for forgiveness, rather than permission." (Advice that I've passed along to all my mentees over the years!)
One summer during high school church camp, I clearly remember one of the leaders talking about the importance of choosing friends who were supportive and had similar values and beliefs. "Don't be a lemming," the leader stressed. What is a lemming? (We teenagers were very confused!) A lemming is a small rodent found in or near the Arctic tundra. Due to a 1958 wildlife documentary, White Wilderness, a popular myth states that lemmings follow each other to their deaths, jumping off cliffs without thought. Although it was later discovered that Disney filmmakers actually threw or pushed the lemmings off the cliff, using editing and tight camera angles to suggest that the lemmings were purposefully ending their lives! But I digress. . . the point is to not just follow all mandates, but to trust yourself and your own instinct. Are these policies or curricular decisions good for all students (& teachers)?
When I first started teaching, teachers were "stulled". According to United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA), "The intended purpose of the evaluation process is to evaluate employee performance, provide assistance, remediation, or discipline when needed, and improve the quality of educational services provided by the employee." Depending on the principal, this process looked very different. My first principal was a very friendly, elderly man. He would drop into my classroom every so often, smile, pat a few of my students on the head, then walk out again. At the end of the year, he asked me to sign my stull evaluation. I didn't realize I was being evaluated but there were multiple dates listed in the observation category! (These must have been the drop-in visits) He told me I was doing an excellent job and to sign and date the form. (I was an emergency credentialed teacher with ZERO experience!) Another principal at a different school insisted her teachers copy the goals she had written on a sample stull form. I figured that was an example and wanting to make my goals personalized and meaningful, I wrote my own. She told me that was NOT what she wanted; I was to copy the goals she had written, exactly the way she had worded it. Hmmm. . . something did not feel right about this process.
Thankfully, when a new principal came to another school I was at, I spoke up and conveyed my disappointment at the stull evaluation process. I felt it was inauthentic and meaningless; I truly wanted to set goals and show progress toward improving my teaching. She was very open-minded and after getting approval from her director, agreed to try something different. Teachers who were being evaluated could choose between the traditional stull evaluation or they could keep a teacher portfolio. Those who chose a portfolio evaluation could design it however they wanted, as long as it demonstrated growth with evidence by the end of the year. This process was amazing!! It truly made me reflect on myself as an educator. I examined my thoughts about how students learn. I was constantly looking at student work and reflecting on class discussions to see whether I, as a teacher, was effective or if I needed to change the way I taught certain lessons. I put together photos of student work, students in action, and wrote detailed reflections. Going through this process also helped me to empathize with my kids and their own portfolio process! It was a much more meaningful way to evaluate and see growth as a learner. While many teachers decided to continue to be evaluated with the traditional stull process, other colleagues became interested and willing to try creating a teacher portfolio. Every one who chose to keep a portfolio was excited to note their progress and success!
Professor, author, and podcaster,
Kate Bowler writes, "Agency is a word I use a lot. It describes the degree to which a person has the ability to make decisions about their life. To change it, control it, direct it." We need to know our students and our school community so well that when something doesn't feel right, we don't just complain about the issues but actually do something to change them.
Researcher and educator,
Regie Routman, wrote
Literacy at the Crossroads: Crucial Talk About Reading, Writing, and Other Teaching Dilemmas. This book is highlighted and dog-eared from reading it cover to cover, again and again. Waaaay back in 1996 (I know this dates me!), Routman was urging teachers to use their voices to counteract powerful special-interest groups (who are often not educators) seeking to influence education. This was in the days of battling
whole language against
back to basics. She comments that most teachers are not in the habit of taking a political stance, even though we need to be. "We can no longer just have others inform us. We need to be there to get first-hand information and knowledge... being a responsible educator necessitates our astute and active participation and decision making in our school communities. . . as teachers, we must begin to share with parents and community members the reasons we seek reform and changes in our teaching practices." (p. 15-16, 54-55) Some grassroots suggestions for getting our messages out:
- Get to know the local education reporters.
- Invite the media (as well as parents and community members) into our classrooms.
- Brag about the "good stuff" we are doing.
- Make videos and photos of our teaching.
- Invite school board members into our classrooms and schools.
- Write an editorial for the local newspaper.
- Find out how to write a press release.
- Attend community meetings and board of education meetings when we can.
In video 13.3, teacher and author,
Meredith Newlin advises, "Be the you that
you are without trying to force it." She says that loving teaching begins with loving yourself, and when you do practice active self-love, your students have the opportunity to pick up on that positive soul-energy, they begin to feel safe, and they become 21st- century thinkers and problem solvers. (p. 160)
Are you familiar with Liz Kleinrock of
Teach and Transform? She is a Korean, Jewish, queer, transracial adoptee, antibias and antiracist nationally recognized educator, author, and consultant. Her identity is complex—it has taken her a long time to grapple and reconcile the many intersections that she holds. She
was born in South Korea and grew up in Washington D.C. in an Ashkenazi Jewish family and as one of the few Asians in her community. As a kid, she didn’t learn anything about Asian or Jewish history in school—those were things she had to teach herself. Kleinrock says, "Many of us didn’t grow up familiar with the concepts of allies, advocates, and bystanders. I wanted my students not only to understand these concepts and how they fit within the context of history, but also realize how they can become change agents themselves." In staying true to herself, she not only teaches students, but also uses her voice to speak up and work with schools and companies to facilitate learning for adults that supports antibias and antiracist practices.
CEO of the
Teacher Self-Care Conference, Fran Warren (video 13.3) describes the importance and implications of engaging educators around themes of mental health and well-being as necessary component of systemic change. In her article,
How to Practice Habits of Self-Care When You Have no Time, Angela Watson gives easy-to-implement suggestions for incorporating simple habits into your daily routine. She claims that self-care needs to be a habit, rather than an occasional treat. What you do on a regular basis is far more important than what you do occasionally. Consistency is far more important than intensity.
A component of soul-care is being aware of what licensed clinical social worker and author who specializes in complex trauma,
Deb Dana calls glimmers. Glimmers (vs. triggers) are micro moments that foster feelings of well-being. They work with our nervous system to help to spark joy and restore inner calm. They have a positive effect on our well-being and mental health. Dana claims, "Your nervous system gathers glimmers, adding them up one by one until something in your world feels just a bit different." Watching the Olympics this week have been such glimmers for me! I end up teary-eyed whenever I watch the pride, joy, and support on the faces of the athletes' families and teammates! Looking at the clouds and my drought-resistant cactus blooms are glimmers.
This week's reading had SO much to think about! How will you use your voice to speak up? What are some of your glimmers? I cannot wait to discuss these issues with other local educators and Danna Thomas at Village Well Coffee and Books on August 24th! I hope you will join us!
No comments
Post a Comment