I recently watched “Stupid in America“, a documentary which basically questions why American students performed so poorly compared to Belgian counterparts – and quite readily points the finger at teachers. It’s a bit scary, in many ways – as I think there were some gross generalizations, but I must say I was intrigued by the discussion on teacher competence and the power of the unions. The fact that New York District and several other states didn’t seem to want to open their doors to the public (granted, the media isn’t exactly Joe Public) rings alarms for me. I thought the comment by the teacher from one of the charter schools was really telling when she stated, “I’m a good teacher. I don’t need tenure to protect me. I need to get rid of tenure to protect kids.”
I’d have to say in some respects, I agree with her. While controversial, I think it’s safe to say that anyone involved in the education system could identify teachers who simply shouldn’t have been in the profession – for a myriad of reasons. And so in many ways, I think transparency and accountability are not all bad.
But how do we decide who is and isn’t competent? Is student achievement our sole marker? Should it be? And who makes those decisions? And what happens if someone isn’t competent? Do we simply close the school, as is the case in the U.S.A.? Fire the headmaster, or teacher, as was my experience overseas in England? Is more money to schools the answer?
While I don’t think any of these are a suitable response, I also think it’s equally irresponsible to have NO response in situations where teacher competence comes into question. It’s not fair to kids. I am very intrigued to see the Competence Code that our STF is developing. Right now, especially after amalgamations, teacher competency issues are falling on the shoulders of our administrators. As a former administrator, I can say this is not a comfortable place to be. Hopefully this competence code will offer a framework that will encourage teachers to be reflective practitioners, as opposed to posturing on the defense, and help to support administrators with the task of teacher supervision.
Teaching is complex; students are diverse. There are no silver bullets, certainly, but I think one of the first steps we need to make is to be upfront about what we’re doing in our classrooms, in our schools, in our divisions…is it really meeting the needs of our kids? If it’s not, we better be open to at least having the conversations about what IS best for our kids.
March 12, 2008 at 11:59 pm
This video did grossly generalize their comments, but there are always points to be taken from any media. I do think that teachers should be accountable (as should any professional), but I don’t know who can answer the questions you pose. It is a double-edged sword, because a teacher may not appear to be doing a good job in one person’s eyes, but in another’s, they maybe made a difference in just one child’s life. Very difficult to judge. I too would be interested to see the Competence Code and see what effect it has on the profession.
March 13, 2008 at 12:20 am
Hey Connie,
no easy answers – that is for sure. And you’re right – people’s perceptions of what a “good job” is in the education system can be very different.
I think for too long, though, as a profession, we’ve been able to get away without being accountable. Teacher “isolation” has been an easy out for alot of us…but I’m not sure we can get away with that any more!
March 19, 2008 at 5:05 pm
If any person can’t pick out a hard-working professional that cares, they need a brain transplant! Far too long in education have “weak teachers” been able to get away with doing very little or nothing at all. I love this quote “I’m a good teacher. I don’t need tenure to protect me. I need to get rid of tenure to protect kids.” My experiences as a principal for 10 years have told me that there are many very good teachers out there, but, there are a few that should not be teaching and they are very hard to deal with – period! They have way too much protection, and we should be questioning them way more often about their teaching and their students learnings.
April 13, 2008 at 5:56 am
Accountability starts by knowing what outcomes you find important and have a means of measuring and determining success. What defines a successful teacher – it’s certainly more than his/her students’ performance on mandatory tests. What defines a successful student – grades, test scores, getting into college? What defines a successful school – graduation rate, higher test scores that a “benchmark” district, decreased violence/increaed student attendance? Too often we neglect to think deeply about what we see as true goals for students, teachers, schools, the community. Establishing a culture of success is challenging and takes time. Many schools/districts succumb to short-term thinking and planning about goals and change directions as leaders, ideas and trends come and go.
Communication is critical. Fortunately, we have a variety of means to communicate with our constituents.
Bernajean Porter said, “You get what you get because you do what you do.” Her point was that you need to have a clear sense of purpose in all you do and understand your organization’s willingness and ability to change.