This week’s teacher strike in Chicago is one that everyone in education is closely watching; it is about much more than money. Besides the city’s demand to lengthen the workday and school year, the trickiest issue is the city, following the federal lead, wanting to include student performance as a part of a teacher’s evaluation. The theory is that if a teacher’s students do poorly, then the teacher is doing poorly. Is it fair to make this direct correlation? The Chicago teachers say no and claim that those external variables that affect student performance (absenteeism, poor social conditions at home, learning English as a second language) are all beyond a teacher’s control and hence, make the playing field uneven. The reason that I write that this is tricky is because the teachers in a sense, are in a box on this one. On the one hand, conceding to include student performance on their evaluations may lead to teachers losing their jobs. But on the other hand, refusing to include this provision bolsters the case of those who cry that public education is not accountable or willing to improve, and this is why public money needs to be made available for school vouchers or such. So where do I stand on this?
First of all, I feel that it is incumbent on all of us to improve. As recipients of public money we all bear an enormous responsibility to constantly get better. Whenever an individual does not embrace improvement, he or she risks falling into a state of complacency that can lead to a state of entitlement. The good news is I don’t believe our KPBSD teachers are afraid of the accountability expectation. But I also know that this accountability is as much a district responsibility as it is a teacher’s. If the district does its part by providing a clear curriculum (that includes assessments) to ensure instruction is on target, and offers professional development to promote effective instruction, then the teacher’s and student’s performance will improve. My hope is that we can bring forward a teacher accountability model that includes multiple measurement points of student performance that are a seamless part of our curriculum. I feel that refusing to include student performance as a part of the teacher evaluation process is a mistake. But then, so is depending on a standardized test for this purpose.
Moving beyond the status quo
Earlier this week I spoke to our principals about the need for them to think in terms of being transformational leaders. I shared that the more predictable and safer leadership style is transactional. Briefly, a principal who has a transactional leadership style will maintain the status quo through give and take relationships. Unfortunately, transformational leadership in schools is extremely difficult to do. It requires a relaxing of the traditional levels of self-interest that guide us so that the staff can embrace the greater needs of the school as a whole. This is of course easier said than done. Later in the week however, I encountered two examples of students working in a way that is a part of a transformative culture.
The first was at Nikiski North Star where some of the primary teachers have recognized the limitations of traditional instruction with their young male students and in response, incorporated movement into their lessons. The floors of some of the classrooms are covered with cards that serve as learning stations. Students move during the lesson, as though rotating in a volleyball game, for short snippets of instruction or work. The second was Saturday morning at the Challenger Center where I visited the Regional Qualifier for the First Lego League Robotics tournament. The event showcased teams of students’ innovative technical designs to make life easier for seniors. We often read that our economy needs graduates with the skills to be problem solvers. This event was evidence that a portion of our students are being prepared in this way. Unfortunately, it is done as an after school club. As we look for ways to transform things beyond the status quo, we need to embrace the creative teachers in Nikiski and look for ways to make problem solving a standard part of our curriculum.