I should preface this entry by stating that it comes across as a complaint but is merely a reflection on my feelings which like all human beings can sway across the negative-positive spectrum.
Are teachers effective? Can we improve their effectiveness? Can we assess their effectiveness? I made the mistake of reading the viewers comments on a recent post about the labour strike in an online paper. After my initial anger from the statements of incorrect facts subsided, I tried to take a step back and assess what teachers do in the classroom and make a decision on whether they can do more in (and out of) the classroom to increase student learning. This led into a glimpse of how education is like a business and how employees or teachers are pushed to the limit to increase productivity.
Some may say teachers have a relaxing occupation full of naptime, paints, field trips and assemblies. This is true to some extent so I wonder if the online comments are true about teachers being whiny greedy brats. However, Apple reaffirmed my thoughts on teachers work output with his notion of intensification. He describes it as sacrificing quality for quantity, isolating yourself, mistrusting your own expertise and quite simply just not having the time to do the job right (Apple, 1993, p. 124). Do teachers suffer from intensification? If so, does this intensification negatively affect the student’s learning? Apple goes on to state that this intensification leads to only the essential aspects of the task to get completed and things merely get done rather than done well (1993, p. 124). Is this one of the leading problems of our education system? Or are teachers just another hard done by group of employees complaining about work at their water cooler?
First of all, water cooler should be substituted by photocopier. I have never found conversations happening as employees sit by the water cooler killing time until 5 pm. Rather, teachers huddle around the sole copier at the school and curse leaving their photocopying to the last minute and wonder why Mr. Smith is taking so long. I have a hunch that the last minute photocopying is a combined result of individualizing or altering a lesson at the last moment to increase learning and that there is simply too much on the teacher’s plate. I know that teachers only work 9-3 and have summers off so how can there be too much on their plate? Are they merely lazy? I am sure some are. But the majority spend 9-3 focusing on helping the students. Most teachers help students before school, after school and on their lunch breaks. They make phone calls home to discuss learning with parents, plan engaging and differentiated lessons, photocopy resources, update websites, mark products and provide feedback to students all on their one hour preparation block. Coaching, committees, student meetings add on average a few minutes a day but that is still reasonable. Furthermore, teachers have to keep up with influx of new resources and technological equipment that has been added to their plate (Ungerleider, 1995, p. 120). The reason that some teachers may feel that there is too much work is because the task is never over and very rarely does anything get taken off the plate.
I fully believe that all teachers have the skills, knowledge and ability to teach every student to the highest level of achievement. So why are the students not all fully meeting expectations? I am getting the majority to this stage so why can’t I get all of them? Perhaps class sizes of 15, preparation time each day, one-on-one conversation time with students and parents, and collaboration time with teachers built into the timetable would help. Few would argue that these things would help so why don’t we do it? I great rapper one sang, “CREAM – Cash Rules Everything Around Me, Get the money, dolla dolla bills ya’ll.” I don’t remember who sang it as it dates back to my pimply face, backward hat and baggy jean wearing days of high school. But I always remember that lyric and I think he had a point in that money and resources are central to many scenarios and in this case could improve the education system greatly. More money won’t guarantee better results but should aid in helping the teacher and the student on a daily basis. Technology, more teachers, educational assistants, resources could be useful. Who decided the optimal number of students in a classroom was the magic number of 30? So why throughout all the cutbacks in schools, do teachers get blamed for the majority of the problems? Poor teachers and curricula have been blamed for putting the nation at risk and that teachers were seen as, “holding on to a curriculum that was ill-suited to modern technological and industrial needs (Apple, 1993, p. 119). Is it the teachers that are holding back the educational process or the lack of resources (time, money, skills) that is holding back the teachers?
Teachers spend a lot of time on continuing their own learning and refining, infusing, and reflecting on their practice. Most are up to date on the current research and latest innovations or strategies. So why are all teachers not practicing what they read? I can only say for one person that is very close to me but their reason is simple – not enough time. They know what to do and could be a master teacher but there isn’t enough time in the day. Furthermore, they are isolated and could pursue new and innovative techniques if they could increase collegiality by helping each other (Cuban, 1982, p.117). Ungerleider explained that most teachers’ philosophical preference is to follow a progressive model which includes collaborative interdependent relationships and professional/collegial relationships (1995. P. 94). Built in time for collaboration should be beneficial for teachers to further hone and share their skills with their colleagues. This could replace the standardized test as the accountability mechanism to ensure that teachers are teaching and students are learning. Of course, one would need to look at the cost to gauge its usefulness.
Every successful store, business and company utilizes Taylorism to cut costs and increase profit. Apple argues that Taylorism has entered the teaching profession by decreasing teacher autonomy, widespread standardized testing, and increased accountability systems (Apple, 1993, p. 121-122).
In the business world, you can monitor the effects that changes or modifications have on the business through the sales book. A cost benefit analysis should inform management where they can cut corners. How does this work in education? We can only measure student achievement to see how we are faring. Shouldn’t we then infuse the education profession with funding and resources to increase results (student achievement) rather than further cut funding? Can the teachers be held accountable for increasing this achievement? Cuban explains that, “the current organizational structure of the high school forces us to concentrate our attention on what teachers will probably do daily in their classrooms” (1982, p. 117). How much difference can the average teacher make on student achievement in our current system? I liken this to a Sandwich Artist employee at Subway as they are responsible for putting the sandwich together in front of the customer but can’t control the types of ingredients or products that Subway sells. As many times as you ask the Sandwich Artist to add caviar, fresh lobster and truffles, they can only direct you to the menu and say ‘I’m sorry.’ Of course, we all know who bears the complaints from the customers.
The education system is interesting in that it is a public domain controlled by society to instil values, knowledge and skills on our children but in a world that is increasingly run by economics and businesses. As a result, schools are caught in the middle as programs and resources are sacrificed due to funding shortfalls and not based on whether they are actually needed or not. Expectations on teachers are rising to meet the needs of the students as school funding is dropping. Can this intensification continue without catastrophic results? Can teachers rise up and become more effective and lead reform from the bottom up?
So can teachers.....or students....or parents....or government do more - that can only be answered by each individual. Can you?
References:
Apple, Michael. A. (1993). Official Knowledge: Democratic Education in a Conservative Age. New York: Routledge.
Apple, Michael. A. (1995). The Politics of a National Curriculum. Eds. Cookson, Peter W. Jr. & Schneider, Barbara. Transforming Schools. New York: Garland.
Cuban, Larry. (1982). Persistent Instruction: The High School Classroom, 1900-1980. Phi Delta Kappan. P. 113-118.
Ungerleider, Charles. (1995). Failing Our Kids: How We Are Ruining Our Public Schools. M&S.
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