Teachers Speak; We Listen
Scholastic and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation yesterday released Primary Sources: America's Teacher on America's Schools, a report presenting the results of a national survey of 40,000 preK–12 teachers. (Read the press release here.) I haven't read the actual report yet (not even the executive summary), but of course I already have my own selective interpretation.
Overall, the teachers surveyed:
- Believe that supportive leadership, time to collaborate, and quality curricula are all more important to retaining quality teachers than higher salaries
- Have high expectations for their students but at the same time feel that too many students leave the public education system "unprepared for success beyond high school"
- Believe that national core standards can help their students but at the same time feel that standardized testing should only be one part of assessing student performance
When I put all those things together, I get this: teachers want high-quality tools, they want deep and thoughtful measures, and they want a supportive and richly-collaborative environment in which to use and further refine them. That gets me excited about the work DSC is doing with lesson study and online professional development, makes me feel proud of what we've had to say about assessment, and inspires me to work harder than ever with my team to continue creating some of the highest-quality curriculum out there.
It should be no surprise that the collegial community teachers want for themselves is exactly the same classroom community we want for kids: a safe, engaging space where they can learn to work together and work together to learn.
Stay connected with us:
I've been a HUGE supported of
I've been a HUGE supported of DSC's Lesson Study program and have tried getting the principals that I work with and the teachers to sign on and adopt the "lesson study" philosophy. The only problem is that with the way that current school systems are run, some teachers are afraid that the program will be just another added piece of work to do, an additional 'job' on top of the piles of paperwork that seems to have crept its way into the teaching field.
Teachers seem to want to try DSC Lesson Study but need all the unnecessary extra paperwork and additional duties be removed before they'll test the waters- Those who have seen it used know it will be successful once it's done and we can only look at model schools that are currently employing the program, with fidelity, to acknowledge its powerful effects towards collaboration, increasing student achievement, and enhancing teacher attributes.
You are absolutely right that
You are absolutely right that teachers need to not feel like Lesson Study is an extra burden. It needs to be woven thoughtfully into a schools professional learning community. In my experience if it feels like a burden then teachers won't do it.
The role of the principal is crucial here. The principal is the one who can "protect" teachers from other initiatives and create a schedule that allows the teachers to collaborate. We are in the process of revising our lesson study kits so that schools will have some concrete support to create the space for lesson study to occur.
I think the actual program
I think the actual program itself isn't really the issue. I think you hit the 'nail on the head' when you mentioned the role of the principal and how she/he should protect the school (students and teachers from these trickle down from the top programs - decisions made by school board members who sometimes- most times- aren't even educators...) because when you take a look at research it's not the millions of dollars that are spent on textbooks that make a difference in classrooms and with students- it's the climate of a classroom, it's the knowledge a teacher has of subject matter, how to present the topic/materials, how to be able to address the needs of every learner and how to reflect upon practice, collaborating with colleagues, and the research I have read on lesson study has shown to make impact on all of the pieces.
I still don't understand why (well- I won't say this happens everywhere but maybe just in some areas) but it seems as though the message from the 'top' is teachers aren't knowledgable about research and pedagogy, and need to be told what to do and what is right and given scripted lesson plans and TE's and every 5 years new books need to be adopted- WHY?? When looking at the whole picture- I've seen a district spend over $1.5 million on blackberry's for administrators yet they can't give teachers a raise and there's no money for programs such as lesson study. Talk about foot in mouth disease... I find it sad and disturbing that students aren't put first. Yet- I won't keep quiet because if teachers aren't vocal about what is important, schools won't change and these programs won't get where they need to be-
I also think as you said teachers are burdened because they know they are doing all this extra work, most likely what they are doing will again change next year because (it doesn't work) it's time consuming, it was a hasty implementation made for no reason, and (most importantly) they haven't been asked for their input. I know that some teachers would be okay with keeping some textbooks for a bit longer so that the money could go towards Lesson Study and to other areas- but our input is not often solicited. So what do we do now??
Post Reply