A few questions to ask yourself before you talk to me about bad teachers.
What is a bad teacher? Out of the dozens of teachers you’ve had, how many of them would you actually call “bad”? Are you successful because or despite those teachers? Did your school environment exacerbate or blunt the effect of the bad teacher? Would you have “made it” if the bad teacher was a good teacher? What do you think the percentage of bad teachers is right now? Where are they? What do they look like? What’s the difference between what you think is a bad teacher and what the school system says is a bad teacher? Do the characteristics of a bad teacher make them bad employees in other organizations? Why or why not? Are good teachers made or born?
Once you’re absolutely sure about those questions, let me ask a few more:
Should education be an immediate reflection of a democratic society or one formed based on markets? Should we inherit ideas from other industries like medicine, law, or technology? If not, why not? If so, why and which? Which non-educators would you trust with making educational decisions? Why? Are any of the systems from any other industry we look at more or less transparent than our current education system in America? How much influence should powerful leaders from other industries have on our education system? To you, and only you, are the leaders of other industries perfect leaders for education because of their affluence, intellect, or bold ideas that might give every child in America a true chance to succeed here?
If you’re a teacher, here’s a few more:
Can you point to a few teachers who you think are good in your school, including yourself? Would you be OK with these teachers teaching your child or other people’s children? How often do you speak to your colleagues about the few (if applicable) teachers who you consider to be bad teachers? What is your consensus on that? Has there been disagreement? Why or why not? Have you looked at the new teacher evaluation systems and tried to figure out the flaws in those systems based on the teachers you considered bad? Do you get mad that administrators don’t just do their job, file all the paperwork necessary, and hire someone better in place of those bad teachers? If you’re in a union, do you blame your union for the “bad” teachers staying around?
Are you a bad teacher?
Leo Casey made it a point a few months ago at the Albert Shanker Institute to mention that I ask harder questions of myself than I ask of others. Suffice it to say, that’s why I looked at the TIME cover on Thursday with a bit of disdain. For once, I’d love for the “pay the good teachers more, fire the bad ones” meme to go away as if both were equal. I’d love for some of the slander and misinformation about our profession put out by major news outlets to not coincide with the dissolution and consolidation of the fourth estate, because teachers deserve better journalism than “Sal Khan can do better than you.” I’d love for the term “college and career-ready” to come with a disclaimer about the expense of trying to go to college and the vice grip of rising inequity in job salaries once our children get into the workforce. I’d also love a full stop on Bill Gates having an idea and having an outsized influence on everything and everyone before we even ask a few of us as educators.
Once that conversation’s done, I’d love to see another conversation about teachers doing the best job possible given circumstances and perhaps still not being good enough for every single child in the classroom, how vexed we get feeling like they have to answer to 21st century masters (technology, for example) via 20th century rules (rote memorization, exorbitant testing), how perhaps some of our colleagues don’t actually care about the students in front of them, how so many of us come from different schools of thought on how to educate kids so the idea of “bad teacher” might also depend on personal annoyances with others, how we might not even be able to trust each other until we come together around the idea of pedagogy, and how much more complicated it is to try and judge than trying to slam an apple with a gavel.
Enter nuance. But it’s hard to differentiate between those who want solutions and those who want to be left alone. It looks like outrage all the same, even when it’s not.
per http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/10/25/a-time-magazine-cover-enrages-teachers-again/ – the article concludes that the controversy still brings ’em more hits on their site, etc. I guess it doesn’t matter to ’em that my visit has branded them in my mind as utter corporate pawns, devoid of journalism.
Microcultures of education are just one of the things that make slogans like “it’s impossible to fire bad teachers” wrong and absurd, but unfortunately powerful tools in the hands of the money and power manipulators that have a profound impact on whether we can do our jobs … to be “good” or “bad” teachers… I’m pretty sure that’s not what’s on the manipulators’ minds; whether their pocketbooks and powersatchels are enhanced is what matters.
Nuance is a concept out society needs to ponder more, in terms of this subject and in terms of how we live and raise our children.
Another good post. Thank you Jose.
Our society, rather
I am too far removed from this realm to tell you what I think makes for a bad teacher. There are a few teachers that I remember for having impact and others I do not remember presumably for lack of impact. For me it is hard to tell who is a good or bad teacher but if I was a parent I would openly question these teachers about where they send their kids to school to be educated. In my mind if the school nor the district is good enough for a teacher’s progeny then I would simply make the conclusion that it isn’t good enough for my children either.
Clarifications. I love the question you have produced. However I feel there is some misinformation. Examples gates decision making w/ out teacher voice is not true. I myself am a part of gates teacher advisory committee . Not only do I discuss with various project managers their potential ideas but I also connect with other teachers across the world to create solutions of our own.
I do believe there are some “bad” teachers , just like there are some bad police men etc. however I believe the problem is very complex and multifaceted and there is no one entity or viewpoint that could solve it entirely. So what do we do?(1) Teachers clean up their house from the inside while we protect it on the outside. (2) applaud the successes of others who attempt to solve the problem ( even if it’s only part of it) .(3) be bold enough to model solutions on our spheres whether that’s as a parent, teacher, politician etc. kids first!
I acknowledge the fact that my comment is solely from my perspective ……but isn’t everyone’s? Question?
Author
I would probably say that, yes, that is from your perspective, Jaraux. As is everyone’s :-).
Unfortunately, even if groups like the Gates Teacher Advisory Group, or any well-meaning group that’s been funded by Gates (yes, CTQ included) tries to give folks advice, Gates seems to placate us in speeches, but then runs out and does something else unless protests break out en masse.
As far as your second graph, I agree. Solutions are critical, and that’s why it’s important to differentiate between those who are looking for solutions while finding this cover problematic and those who just want to be left alone, which … isn’t quite what the future of our profession looks like. That’s where the nuance comes in. It’s not just about the outcome, but the root.
Thanks for your comment still, Jaraux. Lots to chew on here.
Can the tech leaders figure out how to get rid of bad policemen? Bad politicians?
Thanks Jose, Great post, I completely agree
Here’s what I believe. While I am no longer in the classroom, I am still an educator. Therefore, I have high regard for the teaching profession. Furthermore, it is not my intent to be disparaging, but rather suggest that when an educator finds it difficult to fulfill this vocation’s mission to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness, he or she should work with the district leaders to improve their practice or transition out of the classroom. I chose the latter because the fire in my passion was dying out due to the lack of support. Below is what I believe certifies or qualifies an individual to be an incompetent or bad teacher.
• Lack of enthusiasm, passion and certainly , knowledge of their assigned subject
• Lack of empathy and involvement in the community: It is not a mystery that education is knowledge and knowledge is power. Therefore, regardless of one’s socio-economic position: pigmentation, demographics, or how dysfunctional a home life might appear, every child deserves to be academically empowered!
• Blaming the children and saying, “they can’t learn”: Why would any certified-qualified teacher say that a child born with a brain can’t learn?
What happened to the educator’s brain that makes him or her unable to transmit pedagogical knowledge in a way that would excite a child’s brain into cooperation?
• As an educator, all too often, I heard teachers proclaiming the infamous mantra, “If they (students) don’t care, then I don’t care. I got mine (education & paycheck) and I don’t care if they don’t get theirs.” This type of negative speaking and thinking only cultivates an anti-learning environment that diminishes students’ intrinsic desire to excel and succeed.
• Poor classroom management
• Tracking academically and behaviorally
• Worksheets drill and overkill: busy work
• Refusing to use data to reassess to reteach when needed
• Inability to execute an effective lesson: modeling a concept
• Superficial stroking and grade inflation
• Inappropriate interaction: negative talk and sexual misconduct
• Etc.
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I agree with Robin Muldor’s post, and can definitely tick off some of those bullets to describe teachers I have had. I’m not a teacher, but I attended Chicago Public Schools, as did my four brothers. One of my siblings has attended CPS from 1980-2008. That’s a lot of time, a lot of reform, a lot of teachers. My parents could (and maybe should) write a book about how their involvement was dismissed by teachers, and school officials, because they asked deeper questions about the curriculum and instruction occurring in classrooms. I’m now a parent, and really scared for my child’s chances in a system that has changed little from my days in attendance.
Research shows that teachers with the least preparation, and fewest coursework in subject areas are concentrated in low income communities. In Chicago, in a professional capacity, I learned how this translated into poor classroom instruction with teachers skipping math and science lessons they didn’t understand. Science lab simply never happened. It was viewed as extra work, and teaching science from textbooks was the norm. But science coaches (former teachers themselves) found they had to plead with teachers not to show up to work without spending time to prepare a lesson outside school. Often, teachers would show up, attempt to teach a lesson without having even read through the lesson. Some teachers got the message, tried a little harder. Meanwhile, students and parents just have to deal.
Poor teacher performance is an issue. It’s not going way. It’d be great if teacher leaders would lead instead of pointing to other professions, or statistics about how this doesn’t represent the majority. Because for the students who happen to end up in class with those poor performers, and their parents, the effect is immediate, and not easily reversed. And if it’s a large district, the effect of poor performers is not insignificant.
The following is from “Inequality In Teaching And Schooling: Supporting High-Quality Teaching And Leadership In Low-Income Schools”, by Linda Darling-Hammond And Laura Post.
“Studies of underprepared teachers consistently find that they are less effective with students and that they have difficulty with curriculum development, classroom management, student motivation, and teaching strategies. With little knowledge about how children grow, learn, and develop, or about what to do to support their learning, these teachers are less likely to understand student learning styles and differences, to anticipate students’ knowledge and potential difficulties, and to plan
and redirect instruction to meet students’ needs. They are also less likely to see it as their job to do so, often blaming the students if their teaching is not successful.”
“Teachers who are well-prepared are better able to use teaching strategies that respond to students’ needs and learning styles and that encourage higher-order learning. Since the novel tasks required for problem-solving are more difficult to manage than the routine tasks associated with rote learning, lack of knowledge about how to manage an active, inquiry-oriented classroom can lead teachers to turn to passive tactics that “dumb down” the curriculum, busying students with workbooks and end-of-chapter fill-in-the-blank tests rather than complex tasks like lab work, research projects, and experiments that require more skill to orchestrate.”
I loving engaging and stimulating discourse! ShaniB, your point was well articulated.
The point that is being missed is standardized testing should not be one way. People are always gunning for teachers. People talking about all of these new ways they want teachers to teach but where is the new way in testing. People want to criticize the old way teachers taught, such as notes and memorizing. The idea of labs, research projects are good ways to help stimulate the mind to think. But if the standardized tests are all the same way everything else is a waste. Why do standardized tests have to be paper or computer tests. Why can’t they be project based tests. Where students create or expand upon something and then defend it. People are demanding teachers to change, why don’t people demand standardized testing to change.
Good points, Nicole. However, It appears that the union is weak. A lot of times teachers deal with high frequency academic turnovers in programs adopted by the system. Before the teachers can master them, the programs have evolved into something they may not have authority in. In this decision making process,where is the voice of the union ? I agree , testing should also be performance based… Standardized does not entail all inclusive. I really would like to wrap my head around a 21st Century curriculum… Is there one that exist?
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I am tired of people harassing teachers. My daughter never had an African American teacher and neither did I. We never even had one in our schools. Most of my friends attended urban public schools and they are constantly bragging about having black teachers in their schools. The new movement in American education is to eliminate unions, older teachers, pensions and African American teachers. Education is the last career that blacks could find professional jobs. Now blacks are being replaced by young white teachers whose goal is to stay long enough to pay off their student loans. This new devil driven concept of Bad Teacher is just being used to bully teachers, allow principals to try to terminate teachers they don’t like, force older teachers to retire, and bust unions. All of this stuff is so sad especially coming from a country that complains about human rights violations in other countries, goes to war with other countries about human rights violations. Yet this country is violating people’s human rights to have unions, work and maintain jobs as a black or older and unionized teacher.
Questions needing to be considered by all politicians , edu-crats, and teachers are asked here.
Proud to have met you in Chapel Hill at CTQ this summer.
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I have a recent example of what can make a teacher appear to bad for the education profession.
While attending the educators’ professional development for visual storytelling at WHYY, Greater Philadelphia location, the group comprised of teachers with various teaching backgrounds.
There was one high school teacher who stood out because she struggled with the most basics computer functions e.g. turning on the system, using the mouse, navigating the cursor, and locating the toolbar.
No one judged but empathized becuase i’m sure we all understood that learning is wonderful no matter what level the learner brings to the table.
Her lack of understanding was then seized by the facilatator and the room of teachers alike , we each saw her needs as teachable moments.
Yet, during our breakout sessions to brainstorm, plan, reflect and to give feedback as to how we would take what we had learned and implement it into our respective curriculums, she began to talk about how her students ” couldn’t learn” .
Now here comes judgment… had this teacher been tested on the basic computer functions, she would have scored below basics. Unfortunately, this type of mentality contributes to the current poor state of public education.
I’ll be most elated when educators understand that we don’t teach what students already know, that’s called reviewing but that we should take proud in what students don’t know, and then seize the teachable moments.
All thoughtful and though-provoking. I think you hit the nail on the head with “how we might not even be able to trust each other until we come together around the idea of pedagogy,” When the group has cohesion, of vision for the students, for the families, for the community, then bad teachers are hard to find…building that trust among colleagues is the difficult part
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