Skip to main content

The Rights of a Teacher (a partial list) and other thorny issues

Teachers have always worked in collaborative groups.
Sometimes the makeup of these groups is self-selected and at other times it is not.

Disclaimer #1:  I always learn something when I work with other teachers.

Disclaimer #2:  I don't always need to work with other teachers.

I have the right to time and space to reflect on what is happening in the classroom.
I have the right to make (informed) decisions about teaching and learning because, next to my students' parents, I am the only one that knows them well enough to be able to do that.  And, the information I use to do this comes primarily from observations, conversations, and the work that children produce on a day-to-day basis.

I have the right to have a say in my profesional learning.

But, the times they are a'changing.

It is no secret that teachers are no longer trusted to do our work.
Instead, someone decided that a carrot here and there, but mostly sticks, will coerce us into doing our jobs.  (What do they think we were doing before this wave of teacher bashing and repression swept the globe?)

More and more decisions are being taken out of the classroom and into the boardroom.
I have the right to make (informed) decisions about matters that affect me and my students.  And, the information I use is based on my professional knowledge and expertise, including the many courses, workshops, inservices, observations, and professional readings, (online and otherwise), that I've accumulated over the course of my career.

Teachers are expected to do more meaningless work and think less.
I have the right to think.  My students and their parents depend on it!

This is not a good thing.  I need a good thing.
And, come to think of it, is the recent iteration of teacher teams, aka Professional Learning Communities, or PLC's, a good thing?  Not if teachers are being forced to collaborate on topics not of their own choosing in teams they did not initiate for decisions that do not resonate with their students.

So, what is this post really about?

I have been ruminating about the tension between collaboration/collegiality vs. teacher autonomy, and my rights as a teacher.

Disclaimer #3: I am an agnostic when it comes to the exclusivity attributed to PLC's to transform teaching and learning.  I've seen and experienced other possibilities.

And, given the current climate, I err on the side of autonomy.

But before I share (next week) more of what I'm thinking and why, I'd like to hear from the readers of this blog.  Do you think that working in teacher collaborative groups is more effective than working autonomously?  Why or why not?  Can teacher autonomy thrive in a climate of collaboration?  What would that look like?

Cross posted on the weekly Slice of Life at Two Writing Teachers.

Comments

JenniferM said…
I think that teachers need a balance of collaboration and individuality. (Or at least, I do.) I've seen wonderful things happen when I collaborate with other teachers as we taught and learned from each other... in PLCs of our choosing, on topics of our choosing. I also know that sometimes I don't agree with other teachers and can't imagine being constrained to do what they want to do... and I know that I want to do what's best for my kids and what fits with my teaching style/philosophies. So I think collaboration can be amazing, but not necessarily ALL the time, and certainly not when it's forced!

Popular posts from this blog

Partner Reading and Content, Too Routine (PRC2)

I'm a hoarder. There, I've said it. I try to deny that I'm a hoarder but it comes back to haunt me every time I move houses, or pack up my classroom at the end of the school year. I have old articles, lesson plans, handouts, folders brimming with teaching ideas, past issues of profesional journals. I hardly throw anything out though I've learned to be more selective over the years. My one rule of thumb, and I really try to stick to this, is that if I haven't used or referred to something in a year, then it's time to toss it into the recycle bin. One exception to this rule (you knew this was coming, didn't you?) is past issues of journals from professional organizations. However, with the ability to locate articles online through my professional memberships, even this exception is becoming less and less useful, which brings me to the topic of this blog post. I am currently reading a copy of The Reading Teacher from 2010. I've clipped a cou

The Reading Strategies Book - Chapter 12, Supporting Students’ Conversations – Speaking, Listening, and Deepening Comprehension

The strategy lessons highlighted in Chapter 12, Supporting Students’ Conversations – Speaking, Listening, and Deepening Comprehension, in The Reading Strategies Book by Jennifer Serravallo are critical to students’ engagement and comprehension, as well as their ability to write literary essays, or even book reviews, summaries and reflective pieces about books. If students aren’t able to talk about books in a way that is invigorating and joyful, they will be less likely to develop an interest in growing ideas for writing about books. In her introduction to this chapter, Jennifer Serravallo, reminds us that when conversations go well, children are inspired by what they read and are motivated to keep reading. However, when conversations fall flat, then kids get bored and tune out. How do we avoid this situation and teach kids to  have  focused conversations about books?  The answer is easy: teach kids  strategies to help them develop effective conversational skills .  As in

Are we listening?

A child sits alone with a ripped worksheet packet on his desk. He appears to be singing or subvocalizing something though no one hears him. Or, perhaps they're ignoring him. The teacher stands at the front of the room teaching on the SmartBoard. The children follow along in their worksheets. Except the child sitting alone. He is in his own world. No one engages him and he engages no one. My heart aches for this child. He is physically and emotionally removed from the class. I ask him why his paper is ripped. (It's not an accidental rip.) He says he did that on a different day. When he had been frustrated about the work. He tells me that he sometimes sits by himself because the work is too hard for him. He later tells me that he sits by himself because the teacher thinks he talks too much during the lesson.  He says he does that because he wants to find out about the "lives of the other children". My first impulse is to rescue him from the wrongheade