A component of Iowa Governor Terry Branstad's education plan is the development of a five tier professional classification system. You can page through the report developed by the Task Force on Teacher Leadership and Compensation here. While there are a wide array of opinions regarding the plan and its details, one element is intriguing- especially to an aspiring school administrator. The concept of the teacher leader and a tiered system of increasing responsibility may be the ticket to alleviating some of the time constraints and clustered schedules hoisted upon school administrators. While the focal point of the report and the recommendations emphasizes funding and teacher pay, a rather sticky issue to say the least, this teacher leader concept shines nicely, especially when considering the use of retired educators to add value and best practice knowledge to the discussion.
Within the scope of improving the craft of our profession, there is an additional focus on recruiting and retaining excellent teachers. The system we have now is not perfect. A new teacher's success tends to be based on a couple of walk-throughs and less than a handful of formal observations. This is not the case in all districts- some have quality mentoring and induction programs. However, in my experience and discussion with teaching pals, I find the former to be true in many places. Through implementing teacher leaders in buildings and districts, we have the opportunity to have many eyes and ears in the classroom to help nurture and encourage new and practicing educators in doing what is best for kids.
As it stands now, many teachers who desire a leadership position must leave the classroom to serve as an instructional coach, a facilitator, or an administrator...leaving them away from the majority of kids throughout the day. Often, the best teachers leave the classroom to take on those positions because their knowledge and methods are appreciated and should be on display as an instructional leader. The proposed tiered system allows for teachers to find a pathway that is suited for their individual interests and career goals without needing to leave the classroom fully.
Some questions still remain. What qualifications make me a good fit for which pathway? Who decides where I am placed? How will the State fund this initiative without reducing local control? How can we empower career teachers to be leaders in their own way regardless of title or designation? Will this help kids learn and succeed in a changing world.
The last question is the most important. How will what is changed- teacher pay, classification, licensure, whatever... how will it guarantee that our students are positioned for success beyond our schoolyard or Wi-Fi signal?
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Persuasion, Media, the Election, and 8th Graders.
Whether or not you believe that this election is critical for our country, it should not be ignored that this election season presents a plethora of opportunities to engage students in thinking critically about how this whole democracy thing works.
In my 8th grade Language Arts course, my students are in the process of analyzing the influence of media in our society. Luckily, this intersects marvelously with the campaign season and we have been provided a number of commercials to discuss and analyze. What has caught me off guard is how interested my students are in the election and the issues surrounding it. Some are quite informed on the topics, likely from listening to what their parents say, but informed and opinionated nonetheless. This is the cool part about teaching...you get to see students construct their own beliefs and you have the challenge of facilitating a supportive environment in which students can politely discuss important issues with passion.
This analysis of media and persuasion has led us to a fun project wherein we are writing a persuasive letter to a political candidate. I am pushing them to research and load their persuasive toolboxes with facts, statistics, expert opinions, and examples of how and why this issue is important and what the candidate can do to address the topic. These students are even analyzing where the candidates stand on the issue and imaging what that would mean if said candidate won the election.
In a time where we talk about rigor and relevance in the classroom, I find no better way to achieve both than to put the students in the moment and challenge them to not only explain why their issue is important but defend it and create a scenario that examines the possibilities of what could happen if the issue is ignored. Talk about higher order thinking! We are using technology to research and collaborate and my hope is that these students will grow not only as persuasive writers but as citizens through examining a key topic in our country and finding solutions to solve the issue.
Learning Targets:
-I will be able to identify and use the eight persuasive techniques.
-I will be able to classify ads and PSA's by the techniques.
-I will be able to create an argument for an issue that is important to our community, state, or country.
Essential Questions:
-How are we influenced by media?
-How are we able to influence others?
Want more info? Let me know...email
In my 8th grade Language Arts course, my students are in the process of analyzing the influence of media in our society. Luckily, this intersects marvelously with the campaign season and we have been provided a number of commercials to discuss and analyze. What has caught me off guard is how interested my students are in the election and the issues surrounding it. Some are quite informed on the topics, likely from listening to what their parents say, but informed and opinionated nonetheless. This is the cool part about teaching...you get to see students construct their own beliefs and you have the challenge of facilitating a supportive environment in which students can politely discuss important issues with passion.
This analysis of media and persuasion has led us to a fun project wherein we are writing a persuasive letter to a political candidate. I am pushing them to research and load their persuasive toolboxes with facts, statistics, expert opinions, and examples of how and why this issue is important and what the candidate can do to address the topic. These students are even analyzing where the candidates stand on the issue and imaging what that would mean if said candidate won the election.
In a time where we talk about rigor and relevance in the classroom, I find no better way to achieve both than to put the students in the moment and challenge them to not only explain why their issue is important but defend it and create a scenario that examines the possibilities of what could happen if the issue is ignored. Talk about higher order thinking! We are using technology to research and collaborate and my hope is that these students will grow not only as persuasive writers but as citizens through examining a key topic in our country and finding solutions to solve the issue.
Learning Targets:
-I will be able to identify and use the eight persuasive techniques.
-I will be able to classify ads and PSA's by the techniques.
-I will be able to create an argument for an issue that is important to our community, state, or country.
Essential Questions:
-How are we influenced by media?
-How are we able to influence others?
Want more info? Let me know...email
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