Teaching is a profession at a crossroads. It is a very old profession, even if when it
originated, people weren’t being paid. Humans have been teaching each other since we
began to walk upright; however, it originally was as a means to survive. As we have
advanced as a civilization and as a species, we have refined the process of teaching.
Slowly, we have grown and developed teachers, starting with shamans and mystics, to
philosophers, to high society teachers, to the current iteration, teaching all students who
come before us. However, this newest iteration is the one that is causing the most
problems.
Teachers as they are today are woefully unprepared. Even the most seasoned teachers
must grapple with issues that they have not been trained for. In order for them to be
effective and stay current, they must keep their training current. Most school districts
still rely on face-to-face professional development, and, sadly, this can be woefully
ineffective. You are asking teachers, who are already stretched thin and tired, to sit for
four to eight hours on their precious off time to listen to someone preach to them about a
topic. Professional development, much like teaching itself, must embrace technology,
allowing teachers to keep their skills current and cutting edge on their own time at their
own pace.
However, not all skills and topics need to accessed via technology. Typically, just
policies, procedures, and other basic information needs to be put on technology because
this is the information that changes regularly. Teachers need to have professional
development training, as it helps keep their skills intact, but it needs to be effective.
Teachers face other problems, most notably in the form of assessment. Most assessments
are biased towards individuals who are able to understand the material and do not
accurately reflect the students knowledge base, never mind those students who have test
anxiety, difficulty reading, or other learning disabilities. The testing must encompass a
broader aspect, helping to show whether the students understood the material. This
means that teachers must regularly review their testing materials and ensure that they are
effectively addressing the material and being sure that they assessment is testing to see if
the students are actually learning the material.
This is where Common Core can be quite effective. Quite simply, it puts forth
benchmarks that students must achieve, but it says little to nothing about how those
benchmarks needs to be addressed. It simply lays out broad standards indicating a
mastery of content, but it doesn’t say “Student must be able to correctly identify
grammatical rules”. It says “student will demonstrate command of the conventions of
standard grade-appropriate English grammar and usage in context when writing or
speaking.” This allows teachers significant latitude when assessing their students.
With all that teachers have to go through and all that is being placed on their shoulders,
it's a wonder that more schools don't simply close their doors, as too many teachers can’t
hack it. However, this clearly isn’t the case; however, we are seeing some signs of
school decay. It’s very important for administrators and school officials to notice the
signs of decay within their schools and correct it quickly and effectively. Schools in
decay typically have a wide range of symptoms, much like someone with a disease.
These can be things like undifferentiated assistance, alignment problems, loss of focus, or
increased class size. Each problem, much like in a sick patient, has it’s own unique set of
symptoms and can be quickly and easily addressed, if someone careful is watching.
We’ve seen that if principals and others are watching for problems, they can be corrected
and the school, and to some degree the teachers, saved and made to prosper.