It’s Time to Take a Seat at the Table
Pick up a newspaper or magazine. Peruse the internet or your daily dose of tweets. It won’t take long to hear the complaints as the bill of particulars lodged against our public education system grows longer with each passing day. Whether the issue is funding, tenure, assessments, choice, or unions, it seems no one is pleased these days. And, yet, everyone is an expert. No doubt because they once attended a school somewhere.
As the debate rages on about how to close the achievement gap and provide a quality education for all children, there is no shortage of viewpoints and philosophies. There is little consensus about most issues except, maybe, the relatively small role that teachers play in education policy. It is more than a bit ironic that the very professionals who teach students are often the last voices heard in policy discussions. I’m not talking about folks who used to be teachers or once studied teaching or represent teachers or know a teacher. I’m talking about the folks who are currently entering the classroom, teaching a full day or more, and then getting up and doing it again the next day. Rarely are we asked by the national policy makers on either side of the issue: “How does this policy affect your ability to instruct your students?” or “What is the best model to gauge the growth and learning of your students?” or “What data should be used to hold you and other teachers accountable?”
However, now there is an opportunity for teachers to get involved, and the result just might be a seat at the table for teachers.
As the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) goes through the reauthorization process, there are
As the debate rages on about how to close the achievement gap and provide a quality education for all children, there is no shortage of viewpoints and philosophies. There is little consensus about most issues except, maybe, the relatively small role that teachers play in education policy. It is more than a bit ironic that the very professionals who teach students are often the last voices heard in policy discussions. I’m not talking about folks who used to be teachers or once studied teaching or represent teachers or know a teacher. I’m talking about the folks who are currently entering the classroom, teaching a full day or more, and then getting up and doing it again the next day. Rarely are we asked by the national policy makers on either side of the issue: “How does this policy affect your ability to instruct your students?” or “What is the best model to gauge the growth and learning of your students?” or “What data should be used to hold you and other teachers accountable?”
However, now there is an opportunity for teachers to get involved, and the result just might be a seat at the table for teachers.
As the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) goes through the reauthorization process, there are
