"I don't feel like teaching today...it's Friday and the kids are fired up about the game...I'll just give them a puzzle and some worksheets...we've covered enough in this unit...they deserve a break as well...BUT ON MONDAY ITS BACK TO WORK." Even if there is a problem with what I have just written, who would now?
I teach on the third floor, where six other teachers reside as well. We are the World Language Department. Our supervisor is a vice-principal who is also responsible for Music and Special Education. We have one department meeting a month and it is always cut short because our supervisor has other responsibilities within the building. I wrote the curriculum for each level of Italian and the program is practically all mine. I decide the speed, depth and breadth of each class. By the way, I get observed 2 times a year. The other Italian teacher teaches two sections of Italian 1, and three sections of Spanish; I have the remaining sections as well as the upper levels of Italian. When the kids have me in Italian 2, I slowly begin to realize how poorly my colleague prepared them for the next year. The only reason why I think I am great is because for the rest of their tenure in Italian, I am the only teacher they will have. Even if I do a poor job, no one will know, including me. My supervisor thinks I am the greatest, my enrollment is strong and the kids love coming to room 306. So let's just leave good enough alone...right?
The above mentioned is what Schmoker would call a "buffer". This buffer creates isolation from the community and administrators. Ergo, everyone believes that all is well and that adequate instruction and learning is taking place. Here, he mentions that teachers believe that they are professionals and should not be checked constantly and forced to work together with other teachers and administrators. As a result poor instruction is never improved and busy work is not suppressed. If no one really knows what goes in the classroom, things will stay the same. "Isolation ensures that highly unprofessional practices are tolerated and thus proliferate in the name of professionalism" (Schmoker, 2006, p. 24).
In the study and visitations conducted by Schmoker, startling findings were presented. In short, neither our teachers nor students are not making the grade. Literacy is poor, curriculum is not followed, standards are neither met nor used, and supervision is a rote exercise that is infrequent and useless.
All of the findings are quite evident in my school and I feel as if there is a lot of resistance from the veteran teachers; many would just like to put their time in and go home.
Schmoker also finds the problem with our leaders; they are not working cooperatively with their teachers. I believe this as well, but I feel as if our administrators do not have time to cooperate with teachers; there are so many other things they need to do such as discipline, grants, accreditation and many other things that deal will law or just making the school look good.
Schmoker claims that the changes that need to be made a few and reasonable. I agree that the actual physical changes are totally reasonable. On the other hand, I feel as if the actual mind set and culture of mediocrity needs to change before the rudimentary adjustments are made.
We need to create teams/cohorts of teachers so they may share ideas and develop some coherence among the courses they teach. Supervisors need to make time for true observation with actual feedback. Here, pre and post conferencing and a real clinical approach need to embraced. Moreover, teachers should have time to observe other teachers while not loosing a prep. period. I think time is a major factor in the improvement of the way things have become. Teachers need time to witness good practices and administrators need time to oversee the entire process of effective change that will really help our kids.
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5 comments:
You make a good point about having teachers work together in groups and allowing teachers time to observe each other. Some of the best techniques that I use in my classroom have come from observing other teachers. But, we don't get to do it often enough because it isn't built into our schedule. A simple way to address this is to share lessons through video. That way, teachers can watch colleagues when they have the time. (And you can also watch and critique yourself.)
Joe, you always have a good story to relate to our readings....The one suggestion I also agree with him is to allow for teachers to work together and not in isolation. If teachers build teams that can share and contribute ideas and lessons, instruction can improve vastly. Just like when we allow students to work together, the end product is usually a lot better than if they worked alone.
Overall, I think Schmoker was not one of my favorite reads in this class....too negative for me. Some are valid points, but he focused on all the negatives.
I agree with Mary- you have a great knack for narrative and engaging the reader.
Though the author might be perceived by some as "negative" perhaps he calls it like he sees it. I am not a teacher basher by any means- I see myself as first and foremost a teacher. However, I think even many excellent teachers do work the buffer sometimes.
Picture either of these two analogies:
A mechanic who was told by you to change the oil, clean the brakes, and rotate the tires only changes the oil. How would you (unless you are really good with cars) know? You don't. You trust that he/she as a professional will do what they are supposed to do. After all, it is your car. I can imagine it is the same in a classroom, but perhaps the stakes are higher?
Hey, this probably happens in every building. I agree that teachers should collaborate on curriculum and lesson plans. Observing other teachers and sharing ideas can only help improve instruction and perhaps develop consistant standards amongst the department or grade level.
Hiding behind the "buffer" is just too easy to fall prey to, and some teachers may enjoy the easy ride. More communication with other teachers and supervisors could help expose these teachers, but little is being done to prevent this type of practice in the classroom.
I agree with Prof. Bachenheimer that certain expectations of any professional are reasonable. The accountability of a mechanic is inherent in how the car runs after he/she has finished the work. Any non-mechanic could tell if they accomplished the task that they are trained to perform. Not to overstate the obvious, but the performance of a student is not as easy to assess a car. How can we tell if a teacher is doing the things they are supposed to do? And when a mechanic changes the oil, it pretty much is done, no question about it. However, a teacher can "change the oil" in their class, but how can we hold the teacher accountable if the things they teach are not absorbed by the students? The accountability factor is so difficult for teachers and is a major part of the challenge.
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