Skip to main content

Part of the Alternative Structure is the People


-->

In order to provide the best system of education, you need the best educators.  This is something that the Saskatchewan Party failed to understand in its insistence that teachers in Saskatchewan do not deserve a substantial wage increase because there is not a shortage of workers.  It seems to me that their basic market economy supply and demand thinking is not very progressive.  Should an Education degree guarantee you a job?  The Equity School in the United States does not think so and they underline this by offering high wages to teachers.

The Equity Project, is premised on the theory that excellent teachers — and not revolutionary technology, talented principals or small class size — are the critical ingredient for success. Experts hope it could offer a window into some of the most pressing and elusive questions in education: Is a collection of superb teachers enough to make a great school? Are six-figure salaries the way to get them? 

To a certain extent this makes sense.   Although many teachers claim that they do not do the job for money, one has to wonder if competitive wages would be enough to lure skilled people away from other high paying industries.
A new documentary titled The Finland Phenomenon: Inside the World's Most Surprising School System, suggests that Finland improved its education system by building respect. 

     Every teacher got a masters degree, and every teacher got the very same high 
     quality level of preparation.  So what has happened since is that teaching has 
     become the most highly esteemed profession. Not the highest paid, but the most 
     highly esteemed. Only one out of every 10 people who apply to become teachers 
     will ultimately make it to the classroom (Salon).

This is a model I would love to see embraced in Canada.  We have developed a culture that secures teaching jobs not for the best teachers, but for those who are the most patient.  Speaking about schools in the United States, Harvard Professor Tony Wagner, the narrator of the new documentary says,"I've been in some of this country's best schools in some of the wealthiest districts, and even some private schools, and I've seen stunningly mediocre teaching there with teachers teaching to the test".  Wagner's personal experience supports the idea at the beginning of the page.  In order for systems to work, we need the best teachers.  The best teachers are not simply the ones willing to do the job.  The best teachers are the ones who are knowledgeable and skilled at their craft.  

Wagner continues to laud the importance of collaboration among teachers (who no doubt will do the same for their students),”The second point is that they've defined professionalism as working more collaboratively. They give their teachers time in the school day and in the school week to work with each other, to continuously improve their curriculum and their lessons."   Having recently moved from a school that offered time during the day for preparation and collaboration to one that offers none, I can attest to the difference it makes.   Trying to prepare five lessons a day without any time to do it can lead to mediocre lessons.  Preparing three lessons a day with two blocks a day to plan and collaborate inevitably yields more thoughtful leadership.
In his interview on Salon, Wagner hits on a number of excellent points.  The main idea however is that in order to improve education, we need to have the best teachers in the classroom.  Is getting the best teachers a question of money or respect?  I imagine the answer is both.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Charter schools and Khan - Don't we need both?

In true hypocrite fashion I am beginning this analysis by looking at a couple of programs in the U.S..  Despite years of ranting about the inability of Canadians to consider models outside of North America, and our insistent comparisons to alternatives south of the border, even when models are clearly inferior to our own or others is infuriating.  I will begin here, but promise to cast a broader net moving forward. I have been curious about Charter schools for a long time, particularly because they offer the promise of diversity.  Charter schools are an opportunity within public education to offer something different from the current replicated model.  They offer hope for variation, experimentation and an opportunity to put into practise some of the theoretical ambitions that are so often constrained by the regulations of traditional structures. A couple of interesting quotations about Charter schools in the U.S. that I feel are worth exploring. "Charter schools offe...

Gatto and the MOOC

Consider the MOOC.  No, not Douglas Rushkoff’s Mook from Jackass - the MOOC.  Massive Online Open Course.  Less obnoxious, less male. In 1991 John Taylor Gatto published an article titled “ The Six-Lesson Schoolteacher ”.  The piece outlined six tenants of schooling that Gatto claimed were universal in traditional schooling.  If you haven’t read it - please do.  Click on the hyperlink.  Trust me.  You’ll laugh. Now, we know from Craig Watkins that to successfully master technology, access is not enough - scaffolding, mentoring and modelling are all necessary to increase learning potential.  And, one of the great travesties in education is the hierarchical access to learning around the globe.   Since this hierarchy leads to less mentorship for lower income learners, we need an alternative.   If we agree that the alternative also has to respond to Gatto’s six lessons - we must consider the MOOC:  1) Stay in the ...

'Entourage' and Blended Learning

For decades educators have been searching for ways to individualize education, researching methods for students to explore their own interests at their own pace. Unfortunately, our traditional structure of education makes this difficult. Even Vinny Chase from Entourage understands that we do not all learn the same, nor do we all have the same learning objectives,      Vince: So, how’s it look?      E: Your grammar’s horrible.      Vince: Who cares?      E: We were in the same class since we were six,         it’s shocking to me that you can’t punctuate.      Vince: E – it’s all stream of consciousness.      Turtle:  You can’t really spell either Vinn.                 Faithful is f-a-i-t-h-f-E-l.      E: No, it isn’t.      Johnny: It’...