Developing proficiency in urban public school classroom teaching requires individuals to engage a journey, like no other in the teaching profession. As all doctors and medical practices are not the same, all teachers and the practice of teaching are not the same. If we are to find solutions for our greatest educational challenges across our nation, it is time to go public with educators' conversations. We need to hear from teachers about teaching. This blog is to give voice to those who have embarked on the journey of "professional educator."
It's important to give voice to those who are contentedly teaching and those who left teaching earlier than they expected, novices, "journey men and women," and master teachers. It is important also that teachers actively seek perspective from related service providers - administrators, content area specialists and supervisors, coaches, social workers, therapists, school psychologists, specialists, paraprofessionals, parent liaisons, safety officers, support personnel. Certainly, it is imperative that teachers seek to engage parents in dialogue that not only clarifies family circumstances and perspectives, but clearly educates to bring about their strategic support of student productivity.
It is time to become explicit about what teachers know about children and adolescents in various contexts and circumstances (preK-grade 12), stages of development, learning motivation and special needs, environmental differences in discourse-print, social trends and acculturation. It is time to consciously and painstakingly examine and explore the conditions, terminology, systems, and dynamics present now in the on-going evolution of public education. We must identify where we've journeyed from to better understand the context of "now." In this process we must keep our eyes on the goal ... vision where we head and consider the best practices for getting there. If we intend to change course, we must listen to each other, helping each give voice to our experiences and interpretations of experiences.
Along this journey, we do best at the outset to define our terms and pinpoint our context ... clearly, carefully. If the general public (including commercial and government offices) are to obtain a more educated, conceptually refined, and differentiated view of what teachers know, do, and know how to do, then we must practice articulating knowledge and processes more explicitly among ourselves. Please use this site to further your journey, our journey, from vague and covert to refined and articulate.
No comments:
Post a Comment