NCTE Webinar March

NCTE Webinar March 27, 2012 Steve Zemelman, Director, Illinois Writing Project Harry Ross, Associate Professor, Department of Secondary Education National College of Education, National Louis University Meet Our Presenters Steve Zemelman  Director of Illinois Writing Project  Co- author of Best Practice and 13 Steps to Teach Empowerment Meet Our Presenters Harry Ross  A professor in the Secondary Education Department at National Louis University  Works with teachers in Chicago high schools  Co-author of 13 Steps to Teacher Empowerment The Situation: Teachers Need to Speak Out – but Wisely Widespread budget cuts and union-busting Unsupported administrative mandates Policies by politicians and bureaucrats who don’t understand teachers’ work Teacher job satisfaction has decreased by 15% since 2009 and is the worst in 20 years http://www.metlife.com/assets/cao/contributions/foun dation/american-teacher/MetLife-Teacher-Survey2011.pdf The Situation: Teachers Need to Speak Out – but Wisely  We can’t sit back passively while our hard work is getting bashed  Reponses need to be carefully crafted and echoed by many voices  Susan Komen emails as an example of what’s possible: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/04/health/policy/komenbreast-cancer-group-reverses-decision-that-cut-offplanned-parenthood.html?pagewanted=all The Situation: Teachers Need to Speak Out – but Wisely  Knowing more about skills and strategies makes it easier to speak - and not lose our jobs in the process  Levels of advocacy teachers can engage in:  Promote change in your own building  Build understanding of your work among leaders in your district  Inform parents and community members about what it takes to achieve deep learning in classrooms  Influence state and national policies Agenda for this Session A few stories to illustrate the sorts of teacher efforts we’re talking about Your thoughts on the educational issues in your school and community and how teachers address them (or not) Concepts for re-thinking our roles, influencing policies in our schools, and effectively using our influence 4 key strategies for using our voices wisely Overall Perspective We are not telling you what issues to address or what stands to take Those will be your decisions We’ll focus on the thinking, attitudes, and strategies that can help you to speak up and make change happen That’s what has been a missing link for so many teachers Learning from Leadership: Investigating the Links to Improved Student Learning, by Karen Seashore Louis, et al., University of MN (2010) Some conclusions from the study:  When principals and teachers share leadership, student achievement is higher  When teachers feel attached to a professional community, they use instructional practices linked to improved student learning  Higher-performing schools provide more opportunities for influence by teacher teams, parents, and students What happens when the school improvement process is top-down, without significant teacher collaboration? See Charles Payne’s So Much Reform, So Little Change: The Persistence of Failure in Urban Schools (Harvard, 2008) Some Teacher Stories A high school teacher collaborated with a fellow teacher to teach a previously out-of-control class An art teacher figured out how to win permission to have students paint murals in the hallways A teacher uses Facebook and Twitter to fight back against ignorant comments about teaching Build Bridges (Especially with fellow teachers who see things differently than you do) How it helps: builds a basis of trust and understanding so that more of the faculty can work together; relieves stressful situations; strengthens connections even with fellow professionals you think you already know well  Use short (half-hour) one-on-one meetings to get to know each other’s background and values  Don’t try to press an agenda Rather, learn about the person and share your own background as well  Look for shared interests, focus on kids’ learning, and keep the conversation constructive, but don’t be afraid to ask hard questions.   Big meetings aren’t usually the best place to tackle sensitive topics It’s better to take these up one-on-one – though that’s a different situation from the more introductory discussions Talk to “the Man”/ “Woman” (the Principal, that is) How it helps: enables you to understand the principal’s thinking and to share your own; builds trust and the relationship so if needs or issues arise, you have a basis for approaching him or her  Start a practice of regular brief check-ins Ask questions to learn the principal’s interests    Do a bit of research to learn more about the principal’s background    Examine your own attitude toward authority, to reduce anxiety in approaching the principal    If making a request, couch it in terms of the principal’s and the school’s best interests  If an issue is sensitive, don’t put the principal on the defensive, or go negative Identify shared common interests Look Inside the Black Box (Studying your students and their learning) How it helps: adds to your understanding of your students; enables differentiation; provides information that can be shared and analyzed with fellow teachers; gives you fresh perspectives; provides data to justify your teaching strategies  Consider what kinds of information would help with your teaching  Check out existing research on your question  Plan a research strategy that is doable, and that will give you the sort of useful information that you need  Document the evidence and observations you gather, and save evidence such as student papers  Share results with other teachers Do so in a way that elicits their ideas and sparks discussion Speak up How it helps: It enables you to get your needs met instead of just complaining; avoids having all decisions made by others; helps to make the school more of a professional community  Evaluate the risk involved in speaking up Often it’s lower than you think  Be clear about what you are aiming to accomplish when you make a proposal or state an opinion  Talk with the principal first so he or she isn’t taken by surprise  Talk with other key teachers – to get their support or learn their concerns  Decide the best strategy to achieve your aim Will speaking out in a big meeting help, or is there a more effective venue?  If debate develops, stay focused on your goal Don’t get drawn into unproductive arguments Carol Jago’s feature articles on teaching Recent New York Times article – “Confessions of a Bad Teacher” http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/04/opinion/sunday/confessi ons-of-a-bad-teacher.html?pagewanted=all Comments on these strategies  You mentioned some issues earlier With the four strategies in mind, how might you work on these issues? Write in the space below: Listening to Your Stories Follow Up On the next screen are the four strategies we described If you’d like to follow up on one of these, write your name by one or more you’d like to continue to explore with other participants We’ll get a listserv going for your group It will be up to you to keep the conversation going, but we can pitch in some ideas and resources Build Bridges Look Inside the Black Box Talk to the Man/ Woman Speak Up Follow Up Next November in Las Vegas, we’ll conduct a featured session at the NCTE National Convention, on “Using Teacher Voice to Inform Public Policy.” Sonia Nieto will be the main speaker, and there will be discussion tables so teachers can actively learn and share their efforts to be heard We hope to see you there! Steve Zemelman Illinois Writing Project stv.zemelman@comcast.net Harry Ross National Louis University hross@nl.edu