Tag Archives: school

If Teachers Are Not An Advocate For Teaching, Then Who Will?

16 Friday Feb 2024

Posted by in Advocate, Educational Leadership, Idealist, Leader, Leadership, Passion, Servant, Teacher Appreciation, Teachers

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

The other night, I was having a conversation with a future educator, and she was so excited about becoming a teacher. Now, she is a product of a family of educators, but deciding to be a teacher doesn’t always happen with educator’s children.

With that being said, she went on and on about how cool being a teacher was. As I sat there listening, I began to wonder why education does not have more people who are advocates for our profession. The advocacy should come from us, who are veterans, but to listen to a future teacher excited about it is refreshing.

download

It goes without saying teachers are the cornerstone of the educational system. Yet, how many people do you actually hear advocating for it? It’s a question worth pondering, considering as teachers, we have a hand in shaping society’s future and every profession.

Yet, we only hear stifled voices. Why? Maybe it’s the nature of the profession. Teaching is hard. It’s time-consuming and demanding of your time and your talents. Many teachers take school home with them. If not home, then any other place they frequent. Often, they spend more time with children other than their own. What little time we have for ourselves must be devoted to family and immediate responsibilities.

Now that we have that out of the way let’s talk about how education has historically been undervalued and under appreciated. It really rubs me the wrong way when I hear people say, “Those who can’t, teach.” Educators provide an impact on and in student’s lives that might not happen in any other place. Yet we offer and do it at a level of value of compensation that is laughable compared to other professions. Throw in insufficient resources and the lack of professional autonomy, and you have the best “want ad” ever for a future teacher. Who wants to advocate for a profession that seems like an uphill battle against a system that has had the same issues over the years?

And then there is the decision making process… It’s hard to advocate when non-educators and school leadership often make decisions regarding educational policies that negatively affect their schools. Often, teachers’ voices are marginalized, creating a challenge for influential change for the right educational decisions.

But, let not our hearts be dismayed… despite these challenges and many more, it’s essential for educators to recognize the importance of and the power of advocacy. One voice here, one voice there, voices can become united. United for a profession that instills character, accountability, and responsibility. United for a profession that teaches the unknown to minds that are curious and want to be successful. The voices we hear are from those who are passionate about our vocation. Passionate for being a voice for students who cannot speak for themselves. Passionate for understanding the diverse needs of learners and the success of well-being. Passionate for wanting to be a teacher because they want to be one.

The other night, as our conversation ended, I felt that, just maybe, education does have a chance. If future teachers are idealists, ready to have a servant-leadership mindset, and prepared to debunk the notions and the nay-sayers that teaching is not a lesser profession, education is in good hands and worth promoting as such.

It starts with a “want to teach” mentality. Maybe, “Those who CAN, teach!” What say you? How are you promoting the teaching profession? 

Let’s go fight the good fight of leadership. Someone has to…

Go be a great educator and leader today… Our future needs it…

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…

©2024 J Clay Norton

Want more Leadership Thoughts? Follow me on… Twitter @thebookchamber or follow the blog directly.

Want to share this leadership thought with others? Click on one of the social media sharing buttons below and help spread the good…

Is Education Failing Our Students Upward? and When Is Enough, Enough?

09 Friday Feb 2024

Posted by in Accountability, Christian Worldview, Education, Educational Leadership, Feedback, Grading, Leader, Leadership, Motivation

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , ,

I have often said that one of the main problems in education is that there are non-educators making educational decisions. We see that constantly with the legislative bureaucracy that plagues our schools at every level daily. But… what happens when you have educators making non-educational decisions? Yep, I think that is a thing that is happening more often than we realize. 

1691601895042

Take this, for example… “Citing a wrongheaded “GPA fixation,” Western Oregon University leaders have announced plans to abolish D- and F grades for students. They will replace them with “no credit” in an effort to support student success and encourage struggling undergrads to continue their education despite obstacles, they said.” You can read the entire article here: Oregon university will no longer give D- and F grades

Another article also states, “This is how our educational establishment is choosing to fail our kids upward. And there will be consequences for all of us.” Read the article here: No more ‘D’ or ‘F’ grades? Grade inflation is masking a looming crisis of ignorance

Now, I can hear people saying this is a good thing… Those reasons might be that it reduces the stigma of failing, reduces the stress of having to actually study and do work, eliminates test anxiety, or gives a student an opportunity for improvement if they have a setback. 

Here’s the flip side… I believe this is also happening at the basic school levels of K-12. Maybe not at the extremeness of the college level, but… At what point does lowering standards ever help? Here are a few questions and reasons I do not think this direction is good for education at any level…

Where’s the accountability? Without the “threat” of receiving failing grades, some students may become complacent (see last week’s blog post) and less motivated to put forth their best effort. Almost a “no harm, no foul” mentality. I believe this leads to a decline in academic performance over the long haul.

How will longitudinal performance be assessed? School is a journey. How will future employers, graduate schools, and other institutions that require criteria evaluating students’ academic performance rate the students? This could impact students’ future opportunities, and then who is to blame? It’s going to happen when they get into the “real world,” anyway, where competition exists.

What about feedback? Grades, in general, serve as valuable feedback for students. They gauge understanding of the material and identify areas for improvement. But here is what I find funny… a student is going to get a “no credit” if they don’t get a C or better, which translates to failing. Now, there is “feedback” for you. It’s not like they don’t know.

Grade inflation? Will a GPA even be a thing anymore? This eventually will have serious implications. If failing grades are replaced with a neutral “no credit” designation, how will we ever know who really can do the work?

Limited External Comparisons? What happens when only a few schools do this, and others do not? What will be the standard? How will academic achievements be compared? Here is where the idea of “real world” competition comes back.

Reduced Motivation and Potential for Misinterpretation? At any level of education, it takes little time to find out who is and is not motivated. Where is the motivation to excel? What does “no credit” imply? Will it accurately reflect the reasons for a student’s lack of achievement in a particular course? We will never know. How will it ever distinguish between a lack of effort, comprehension, or extenuating circumstances?

As educational leaders, we have a role to play in modeling a Christian worldview mindset for all. Here are a few Scripture thoughts that come to mind…

Stewardship of Talents: We are encouraged as individuals to be stewards of our talents and abilities. This would include diligent study and application in academic settings (Matthew 25:14-30).

Diligence and Hard Work: There is an emphasizes on the value of diligence and hard work in all aspects of our lives, including education (Proverbs 12:24).

Seeking Wisdom and Knowledge: Pursuing wisdom and knowledge is a recurring theme for the Christian life. We are encouraged to seek understanding and apply ourselves to learning (Proverbs 18:15).

Perseverance and Endurance: Perseverance and endurance are qualities that are encouraged, especially in the face of challenges or setbacks (James 1:12).

Educating our future is too valuable to mess up. The things that matter, you do not leave to chance. That is what we are doing, and once that ball starts rolling, stopping it will seem almost impossible. As educational leaders, we are the ones who should be looking out for students to help set them up for success with accountability and the responsibility. Anything less, tarnishes our role as educators. In the end, we are the ones accountable.

Let’s go fight the good fight of leadership. Someone has to…

Go be a great educator and leader today… Our future needs it…

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…

©2024 J Clay Norton

Want more Leadership Thoughts? Follow me on… Twitter @thebookchamber or follow the blog directly.

Want to share this leadership thought with others? Click on one of the social media sharing buttons below and help spread the good…

The Achievement Gap – Why does it start with a zip code, continues with testing and puts students to sleep…?

26 Friday Jan 2024

Posted by in Achievement Gap, Fair and Equitable Education, Leader, Leadership, Students, Teachers, Value

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

I’ll start this week’s blog with a quote. In his TedTalk, the late Ken Robinson said this with regard to educating students, “We shouldn’t be putting them to sleep; we should be waking them up to what they have inside of themselves!”

download (6)

For those who read my blogs, you have often heard me say that I believe education is one of the last facets of good that we can help right society. However…

While education is often characterized as a cornerstone of progress and helps shape the future, there are significant challenges in meeting the needs of students in the United States. The scope starts with disparities of inadequate funding and spans to outdated teaching methodologies. Look no further than our own educational region or state.

Until education can become fair and equitable, a local achievement gap will continue to exist. Our educational funds “seem” to be unequally distributed among schools. We can see that just in differrent school districts and counties across our own state. The achievement and funding gap between affluent and low-income populations is an issue many have questions about but never seem to have answers to. Think of it this way… Why should the zip code of where a person is born be a contributor of the impact of the education they will receive?

I also have often said that until education gets back to educating the whole child, we will continue to, as Ken Robinson said, “… putting them to sleep.” Is it too much testing? Testing has its merits, but at some point, I believe it becomes a hindrance. If testing is not high on Bloom’s Taxonomy, then all it does is create a narrow focus on memorization rather than “… waking them up to what they have inside of themselves!” But I need to digress here…

Let’s go big and talk quickly about the global achievement gap that exists. Yes, there is one, and it seems that many have their heads in the sand on this topic as well… our national K-12 education system is perceived to be failing. Other countries that have witnessed significant achievement gains prioritize equity and invest in education to bridge educational divides with their teachers and students.

Now, there have been recent strides, but I believe it’s more about how we teach instead of what we teach. If we do not have teachers who are motivated to teach, how will we ever get students motivated to learn? Until we begin to value a student for being a student, instead of a label based on their test scores, we will limit our ability to teach them and limit their ability to be valued. An opportunity to cultivate their learning experiences is what we should be striving for.

Yes, we have achievement gaps here and there, far and wide. We need education to be what it is intended for; to educate. Let’s help students learn, give them a reason to learn, “… waking them up to what they have inside of themselves!”

Let’s go fight the good fight of leadership. Someone has to…

Go be a great educator and leader today… Our future needs it…

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…

©2024 J Clay Norton

Want more Leadership Thoughts? Follow me on… Twitter @thebookchamber or follow the blog directly.

Want to share this leadership thought with others? Click on one of the social media sharing buttons below and help spread the good…