In schools these professional communities are comprised of teachers who come together to learn from each other about their teaching experiences such as what do they want students to learn, did they learn it, and if not, what are teachers doing about it. Well this may seem like a very simple process but it really is a huge change from what teachers have done in the past. They just decided what they want their students to learn and in the privacy of their classroom they teach how they wanted to teach without any bother from other educators and teachers.
Well times of changed. The classroom is a fishbowl and the teacher and students are seemingly under a significant amount of surveillance 24/7. The pressures to make sure students learn are increasingly difficult to bear so the idea of teachers coming together to help each other help their students is pretty much a novel idea.
Well, here I am focusing on the inequities in education and struggling with several ideas. One in particular where I know that even with the professional learning communities working in schools, something is still wrong. How do I know this? Well, more and more of our students of color are still dropping out or going to alternative programs or are graduating by the skin of their teeth through the packet program (buy a packet complete it and earn a quarter credit towards graduation)
In my struggle to understand why this is happening, I still hear many teachers say that it is the fault of the students because they are lazy or don't care. Their mama's don't care because they never come in to the schools and so the list continues. But seldom if ever do I hear that teachers are at fault. Teachers always believe that the strategies they selected is perfect for learning and that if most of their students are learning then why can't these other students learn too. Of course "these other" students makes you wonder if they even know who theses students are too.
But my chair turned to an article about tempered radicals. It was significant to me because I for once could see that my struggles of being a professional in schools and having multiple identities where important. This term "tempered radicals" is about individuals who are in the inside of organizations who know how to apply and use the language of the system as a professional but is also an outsider who is aware of external tensions that are operating in the margins. This marginalization is important because it keeps this tempered radical sharp to support small changes that would positively impact the organization to increase opportunities of achievement for individuals who may have been marginalized or not understood.
If ever there was a need for this article it is now. I have come to appreciate the importance of being on the inside of an organization. My struggle which I expressed with my chair wasn't that I wasn't happy with school reform only that there were some parts that we should not assume will serve each student, particular students of color. There are hidden value systems and beliefs that are written in a neutral language. It is the language that we assume supports all students when in reality the language dismisses even misses many students who are on the margin of education and never make a connection. The are held hostage. And although we expect our teachers to make this connection the dilemma is whether or not the teacher has the capacity to use new tools such as building relationships, knowing their students, looking for student teacher connections to partner in learning. Administrators should be at the forefront of this challenge, but who will help the administrators in this role? I believe there is limited capacity on their part which is a dilemma all by itself. It is here in this crossover that I believe I should work to make a difference to support our teachers. This will indirectly be a support for students in the margins of learning.
No comments:
Post a Comment