Helen Perdue
Reflections on the Forum: McKinsey Report on Education
March 10, 2009
As someone who recently left the ‘traditional classroom teaching’ profession after 8 years as an English and History teacher in California public schools, the problem of (and solution to) teacher retention in the United States school system is 'close to home'.
Listening to the Forum: McKinsey Report on Education podcast was both refreshing (therapeutic) and disheartening. As I listened to the discussion based on a McKinsey study and report which suggests that ‘attracting, training, and retaining good teachers’ is the main thing needed to improve education I found myself thinking: Finally! The educational professionals who spoke on the forum supported this premise with specific examples based on their experience, as would I. But I must say it was one of the first times I have heard this perspective discussed and statistically defended in a public forum.
Like Dave Iverson (the forum host) said himself, the focus of educational reform discussion is more often about issues such as resources (or lack there of), funding, program implementation, and accountability (re: No Child Left Behind). When the topic of “teacher retention” does arise, the proposed solutions seem to revolve around financial bonuses and rewards. Furthermore, these rewards are often for teachers who are willing to sacrifice even more of their time or energy, by working longer hours or in more troubled schools.
I mean, let's get real: Do token financial awards really solve the deeply embedded value (or lack there of) of teachers in our society? Not the ones that we have seen thus far.
Certainly if you raised teachers salaries from a median $50,000/year to a $150, 000/year (why not?), then you would. Why? Because as a society and culture (deeply entrenched with capitalistic values), we equate financial success with professional success. If you are driving around in a used car, renting a studio apartment, and staying living at your parent’s house during the summers, then you are NOT regarded as successful. Well, I hate to tell you folks, but that is what many young teachers are doing.
So for a few years, a young idealistic teacher might choose this profession regardless of the financial limitations, almost like a ‘peace corps’ mission. Not so bad, at least for awhile. And for those that stay in it long enough, the placement on the ‘salary scale’ will increase and the retirement benefits will be good enough to make it ‘worth sticking it out.’ Maybe. But it won’t be because you are thriving in a top-notch profession.
So what resources would I need to stay with (or return to) the teaching profession? I would need a combination of time, money and work-load that would make it possible for me to be (and feel) like a successful professional educator.
I did not leave the teaching profession because of the salary. Granted, if the salary was significantly higher, I would have stayed. But the real reason I left was because I felt a desire to live, grow, learn, and succeed in a positive environment. Mainly, I wanted to feel that if I worked hard enough, I could accomplish my professional task. Furthermore, I wanted to be able to pursue learning opportunities and give adequate time to the students who deserved and needed my attention. Not only did my students need me to prepare for class and grade their papers, they needed me to come in well rested, with a positive attitude, and with new inspiration and ideas about how to teach.
The load of a high school English teacher, full time, never seemed to allow for those opportunities. At least, it would not allow for this and also provide time to have friends, a family, and a healthy body. And let’s face it, our society measures success not only on your financial position, but also on the status of your family, health and happiness.
So here I am, finally taking the courses to clear my teaching credential. But I am not teaching. I am, however, giving myself time to read, reflect, and learn. Wouldn’t it have been wonderful if I had the chance to do this while also teaching?
Alan Miller, a high school teacher who spoke on the forum, talked about ‘teachers needing more training.’ To my own surprise, I found myself agreeing with most of what he said. While I spent years in school to receive my teaching credential and Masters in Education before entering the classroom, I was truly ill equipped to tackle the challenges that came my way as a teacher. As Miller notes, most teachers are not trained on how to use an instructional aid. That was certainly true for me. ('Who is that?' I wondered as she walked into my class room after 3 weeks of instruction. I did not even know that we had an instructional aid, much less what her purpose was or what my responsibility was. She didn't seem to know either).
Now, do I need to go back to school to learn how work with an instructional aid? No. There is a better way. Take Japan, for example. Catherine Lewis, a distiguished research fellow and guest on the forum said the teaching profession is highly regarded in Japan and the process by which teachers enter the profession is highly sophisticated. According to Lewis, a process called ‘lesson study’ is followed in most Japanese schools. Teachers have a chance to collaboratively develop curriculum and observe students’ response to the curriculum in depth. In essence, there is collaborative on the job training; teachers learn from other teachers. To me, that makes a lot more sense.
Miller agrees with the idea of collaboration, but insists that we need to totally restructure our ‘school day’ if we want teachers to truly collaborate and learn from each other. I would have to agree. As Miller notes, programs such as BTSA exist to help new teachers work with veteran teachers, but as all new teachers would attest, there is simply not enough time to endure and benefit from such a process while simultaneously teaching a full load.
So, how do we attract top quality people to the teaching profession in the first place? Tim Daily, who works for the New Teacher Project, says you have to think about the over all job market. Is the profession highly selective? Does it allow individuals to be successful and to advance their craft over time? Is there a career ladder that inspires a teacher to advance? These are questions college graduates are advised to consider as they determine their professional track.
Catherine Lewis asserts that even if teachers are attracted to the profession, there is still a “tremendous” turnover. Based on her comparative observations of the educational culture in Japan, Lewis adds that a collaborative experience with other teachers helps put the “professional part” back into teacher.
I agree with all of the speakers on this forum, as I think they each provide a sound perspective on various aspects of the same issue: Our educational system needs help. Attracting and retaining quality teachers is key, and the solution to a high turnover is multifaceted.
Certainly, smaller class size does make for a better teaching and learning environment. Iverson (the forum host) questions whether this is the only factor. Of course, it is not. But this should not be an 'either/or' discussion. A proper educational system (and a culture’s values around it) should include all factors that support it to be strong and effective. Small class size, higher teacher salaries, better resources, more time for collaboration and reflection, opportunities for professional growth, and a deep transformation of cultural values are all part of the picture.
Perhaps one day, I will go back into the classroom. But for now, I am looking for professional opportunities that will inspire me to work 'on behalf' of education, from the outside in. From the inside, I will feel trapped; I fear if I return, I may never get out.
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“I felt a desire to live, grow, learn, and succeed in a positive environment . . . I wanted to feel that if I worked hard enough, I could accomplish my professional task . . . I wanted to be able to pursue learning opportunities and give adequate time to the students who deserved and needed my attention . . . they needed me to come in well rested, with a positive attitude, and with new inspiration and ideas . . .
ReplyDelete“So here I am, finally taking the courses to clear my teaching credential. But I am not teaching. I am, however, giving myself time to read, reflect, and learn. Wouldn’t it have been wonderful if I had the chance to do this while also teaching?”
Yes, wonderful indeed!
Helen, it didn’t occur to me until I started extracting the above quote from your writing, but aren’t those desires and opportunities that you want for yourself the very ones that we as teachers try to provide for our students? For the students, we see these as rights. Yet, too often, we fail to demand respect for our own rights. We bend, accepting encroachment upon our rights. If we bend too far, our rights become violated, and we burn out.
As a beginning teacher I, too, believed that hard work would lead to a job well done. Friends in other professions could not believe the amount of time I devoted to planning, preparation, and assessment for a school day shorter than their working day. Teachers at my school sympathized, saying it was hard in the first year or two, but that it becomes easier as you get to know the ropes. When I was asked to take on a position of extra responsibility at a time in the school year that was already particularly busy for me, flattered by the offer, I accepted. But I was stretching myself too thin, and it began to show - not in the new area I’d taken on, nor in my organization of the carol service, nor in the Christmas show that I coproduced – but in my own classroom. Time and time again, it was my students who sat in with another teacher’s class, it was my students who sat on the gym floor to do their math exercises with minimal input from me, while I worked with another class in singing, dance, and drama. I was not firm enough in voicing my concerns; I was not self assured enough to refuse colleagues’ requests that increased my burden; it did not even occur to me to request a substitute teacher to cover for times I rehearsed other classes. While the show got better and better, I became more and more tired, and the pile of my students’ completed work grew on my desk.
I was new to teaching. My ideals were still intact. I wanted to do everything!
I still tend to bend further than I should. Flexibility is good. But I now know enough that I will not bend so far that I break. And hope is on the horizon. Good teachers will probably always want to do more for their students than they have time for. This is especially so for new teachers, but changes are coming to alleviate some of the load. In schools near me, I see excellence in school leadership, and well resourced opportunities for collaboration between teachers. Teachers plan together, observe each other, appraise each other, and solve problems together. I see teachers having time to read, reflect, share, learn, and grow in their profession. Can we teach and learn from each other? Can we draw inspiration from each other? Can we do this while also teaching? Yes, we can. Yes, we can. Yes, we can. I see it happening already in some schools, and the teachers like it. The students like it. The parents like it. If it can happen in some schools, it can happen in other schools. If it can happen in other schools, why not in all schools? We just need to believe in and stand up for what is right, we need to believe in and stand up for ourselves, and we need to believe that yes, we can make it happen.