Let me start by saying I love being a teacher. I have had one time in my teaching life where I wanted to leave the profession. Most of my building administrators are helpful and supportive. I have come across some wonderful colleagues and teachers alike. I am blessed to be surrounded by them daily. That being said I feel the need to speak up against the problems I see in education today.
Recently I completed a course in my masters program that looks at the social injustices in education and the common practices of education. We covered a multitude of topics ranging from banking model teaching, to standardized testing and inequalities that face our students today. I learned a lot in this class, common biases, my own biases and the future of education.
Long story short the class ended with more questions than answers. Across the country we have schools everywhere that answer the call of high office administrators telling teachers what to do. Educational policy makers telling school districts how to teach and what to teach. We have government officials making the changes and not waiting to talk to a teacher. All of whom have not experience in education.
I am lucky to work in a school where my principals value my input and want to hear what I have to say. I wish this were true for everyone.
This is not a blog to speak ill of the current district I work in. This is more a blog to speak about the possibility to improve. I don't know what its like to be an administrator that has to make changes in a school district. I don't know what it's like to look at a school budget and make the tough choices. I don't think I want to be in your place. What I do know is what it's like to be in the unknown. I know what it's like to not know if I'll have a job next year. I know what it's like to have a fear that my program will be displaced and the team that has been created at my current site will change. I know the fear of having to start over and gain the trust of new principals and staff. I know what it's like to just want some answers and wish there was a way that we could know them sooner. I know what it's like to feel disrespected like I don't matter when decisions are made behind closed doors. I know what it's like to be at the bottom of the rung and feel like I am disposable. Moving forward I don't know what is going to happen in the state of Oregon or the school system but I would just like to offer up a few words of advice.
Ask questions, ask teachers what they think. We aren't are as crazy as you think and we want to understand. We want to learn, otherwise we wouldn't have become teachers. Before making a move maybe sit down with a few teachers who have been around the block and try to hear them first. Sometimes the best thing to do, is for teachers to feel heard. We just want to know that someone understands the pressures we go through and that we are not dispensable. Please do not think that teachers are dispensable, that good teachers are a dime a dozen. We work hard, we stay late, we want to make a difference in children's lives. We are the cornerstone of education, without which you would not have a job. Be upfront about what is being done. Have those conversations, have a plan in place if change is going to happen and share it. We are a collaborative bunch and I think you will be surprised to find that we want to find solutions just like you. Teachers are the heart of education, things can not beat with out the breath of teachers. We are in the front lines doing what needs to be done in order to make a difference.
The worst feeling in the world as a teacher is to feel" that I am not important" and that I am just a movable piece in this game called education.
