On Shutting Teachers Up
Nothing but net for Nancy Flanagan the other day in her post over at Teacher in a Strange Landentitled, "Shutting Teachers Up."
She writes, "When practitioners aren't allowed to openly share their critical perspectives, they lose the ability to speak their own truths and use first-hand experience as a lever for change."
And, "Any number of thoughtful, intelligent, provocative voices in education operate behind pseudonyms, to give them the cover they need. But there's something about writing under your own authentic identity, having to own what you write and defend your words from criticism, that's quintessentially democratic, and a mark of honest journalism."
And, "Technology has led us to the point where anyone can publish and anyone can opine. Money makes it possible for the profiteers to have the loudest voices at the same time as public employees are worried about losing their modest jobs. It's no way to pursue bona fide excellence in public education. If that was ever our genuine aim..."
You know, when I started in this profession I had this attribute I thought was ambition. I later named it idealism. Now think of as naivety.
I was going to step into a school, infect others with my powerfully positive attitude, and change some lives. I was going to report what I saw in schools, and enrage others about the inequities that existed there.
I initially began blogging under a pseudonym, "The Reflective Educator." I wasn't particularly carefuAn Urban Teacher's Education: On Shutting Teachers Up:
She writes, "When practitioners aren't allowed to openly share their critical perspectives, they lose the ability to speak their own truths and use first-hand experience as a lever for change."
And, "Any number of thoughtful, intelligent, provocative voices in education operate behind pseudonyms, to give them the cover they need. But there's something about writing under your own authentic identity, having to own what you write and defend your words from criticism, that's quintessentially democratic, and a mark of honest journalism."
And, "Technology has led us to the point where anyone can publish and anyone can opine. Money makes it possible for the profiteers to have the loudest voices at the same time as public employees are worried about losing their modest jobs. It's no way to pursue bona fide excellence in public education. If that was ever our genuine aim..."
You know, when I started in this profession I had this attribute I thought was ambition. I later named it idealism. Now think of as naivety.
I was going to step into a school, infect others with my powerfully positive attitude, and change some lives. I was going to report what I saw in schools, and enrage others about the inequities that existed there.
I initially began blogging under a pseudonym, "The Reflective Educator." I wasn't particularly carefuAn Urban Teacher's Education: On Shutting Teachers Up: