Teachers and Coaches: An NBA Analogy
Controversy erupted recently in the world of educational reform when a school decided to fire all of its teachers due to the low academic performance of their students. The Central Falls High School firings laid direct blame on the teachers for perpetrating a culture of underachievement. Many nouveaux ed-reformers applauded this action, calling it bold and brave, with even the President stating “if a school continues to fail its students year after year after year, if it doesn’t show any sign of improvement, then there’s got to be a sense of accountability…and that’s what happened in Rhode Island.” In other words, I approve and support this action.
Firing entire faculties may or may not be a step forward in improving educational communities. But it does bring a key issue to mind: to what extent are teachers responsible for their students’ accomplishments? If teachers refuse to accept 100% of the responsibility, is it because they are against our nation’s capitalistic values of work and competition, and want lifetime employment without ever bearing the blame for the faulty products they are alleged to produce? This avenue of thought led me to think about other professions and situations where leaders or mentors were