Open Doors, Open Classrooms, Open Minds
A few days ago, United Federation of Teachers president Michael Mulgrew asked a collection of us, “How many of you teach with your doors open?” I presumed he meant metaphorically, so I raised my hand. During breakfast, he reiterated the push for teacher professionalism, and one of the keys to school success in his mind is opening our doors to the rest of our school.
I’m assuming he meant opening metaphorically, and I agree. Our current phrase of mind when it comes to education, however, makes me cautious. How do teachers keep their doors open when the people who visit don’t always give appropriate feedback? How do they open their doors when they seem to control less and less of what actually happens in it? How do they open their doors when they don’t always have a sense of trust, in administration, in colleagues, in the plethora of