Keeping the “Professionalism” in the Profession
A quick scan of my blog reveals I've discussed the word "accountability" often. LIke the word rigor, it's a word I despise when it comes to education and yet is the word governments and schools and districts use to market themselves as doing what's in the best interest of students. I've sat in on many discussions with well meaning, caring people who have adopted this ideology of measuring and "holding people accountable" for the work they do. While, that idea seems not only plausible and even essential for our time, it inevitably assumes that someone's doing something wrong. You can massage the message as much as you like but that word makes people feel less motivated to do good work for good work's sake and do it because they're being told to or else. What a lousy work environment. If we wonder sometimes why kids don't like school very much maybe it's because their teacher's don't like it and maybe it has something to do with the notion of accountability.
We've been hearing a great deal about the work in Finland schools of late and for good reason. Of the many things they're doing right, one is that they never once use the term "accountability".
We've been hearing a great deal about the work in Finland schools of late and for good reason. Of the many things they're doing right, one is that they never once use the term "accountability".
"…there is no word for "accountability" in Finnish. When asked to explain the concept to a group of colleagues in Finland, Sahlberg said, "Accountability is what's left when you take out responsibility."The word doesn't exist in their language. There are bad teachers in our schools. But not very many. What I see