I want to share this post from Chris Lehmann because he identifies one of the legacies of NCLB better than I could.
". . . Today, under NCLB, we have created the myth of the lazy teacher who, if only there was something to hold them accountable for the way they teach. The myth of that lazy teacher who could get students to achieve if only they worked harder is just that -- a myth. Are there bad, lazy teachers? Of course, but they are the vast, vast minority. Most teachers went into the profession because they wanted to make a difference. But our system is broken, and if you put good people in bad systems, the system will win more often than not. And as a result, we have lost the ability to negotiate the terms of our own profession."
It saddens me to know that this is what some people think of our teachers and that the only thing that we need to be better is more effort, time, and commitment. They simply do not understand that the shifts we are asking teachers to make will not be accomplished through more of the same. It requires opportunities to understand why we need to make changes in what students need to know and be able to do for post high school success. We must also find ways to support teachers in learning and observing new instructional strategies, in practicing them in classroom settings, and being provided with feedback and support over time. When we can do this, we can then begin to hold ourselves accountable for all students meeting standard.
Later in the post he makes this statement.
"It's not enough for educators to be against NCLB, we've got to be for something else."
He is talking about the need for a vision, a picture of a better place to be that truly does provide opportunities for success for all students and staff. A place where we can be proud of our efforts and where the community and greater society acknowledge teachers for the important work that they do. For us, that vision is captured in our Classroom 10. I believe that our journey has captured the essence of Lehman's post and will bring us to this better place.
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Of course I agree with you and Chris Lehmann 100%. We all (at least ought to) know that in general teachers work really hard for their students. As to NCLB, it is folly to think that we can expect a different outcome from out education system without changing an input to that system.
You mention in your comments that the vision Chris Lehmann talks about for us is held within Classroom 10. I'm not certain that is so. Classroom 10, I believe, focuses entirely on the classroom. You and Chris appear to be talking more about the systems that surround classrooms. We are working on changing those surounding systems, those inputs. But do we have a tool that helps make our vision for those surounding systems concrete? I don't believe we do. When it comes to the way we want teachers to work together at improving student learning where could I find something that shows me what we value that isn't buried in some larger docuement? If I asked 100 teachers in the district what they believe Tahoma's vision is in the area of how building professional learning communities how many different answers would I get?
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