I just finish watching the documentary, "Waiting for Superman." If
you have not seen it, you should make a point to watch it soon. One of its main
messages is that any student can learn if they are taught by a "good"
teacher. It made me think about how effective I am and how much more effective
I could be if I tweak a few things.
The film sheds light on the red tape that prevents us from moving forward in
our education system here in the United States and how we are behind in Reading
and Mathematics. There is a discussion about public schools versus charter
schools and what they call "dropout factories." The differences in
them all are teachers that are effective. My question is how can we become
effective within our own schools.
I would venture to say that it has a lot to do with our attitudes. Currently
and in the past, I have worked with many teachers that are frustrated with the
system or comfortable with the minimum. There are teachers that seem to
thrive on complaining from the time they enter the building until they leave
with some taking it beyond the school house and complaining in any forum they
can find. I wonder how so much complaining affects their ability to teach and
deal with their students. If they are always mad about something I am sure that
it is seeping into their classroom.
The film spoke on teachers’ tenure and how hard it is to fire someone who is
not producing. In my opinion, these are teachers that either have a lack of
training and accountability or those who have been teaching one way for so long
that they are out of touch with today's realities.
The "fixes" discussed did not focus on changing the paradigm of
teachers so we need to change it from within and ask ourselves some questions.
Why would you want to be mediocre? Why would you not want to give a child hope
to go beyond whatever his/her living conditions may be? Why wouldn't you want
to be part of the solution? Certainly complaining about and continuing to do
what you have always done is not working? Do you believe that one person can
bring about change for a community? Are you the one who can do it?
There are parents out there that know that they are not in a great environment
and want more for their children. We can be a bridge for those parents and
their children right where they are. We should purpose to partner with these
parents and teachers that have not given up and make a difference.
For those that would like to strive to go beyond the average teacher there
are steps that you can take. The National
Board for Professional Teaching Standards has a program where you can become a
nationally certified teacher. It helps teacher become more engaged and a
master at their craft. The process forces educators to evaluate and analyzes
the “what”, “why”, and “how” they teach in the classroom. It is designed to
make educators the best at what they do, building collaborative relationships, videotaping
lessons so that the teacher could analyzes what was effective and what was not,
as well as examining what could have been done differently to reach every
student. This isn’t the only way but the concepts used in the program causes
you to really think about what you are doing.
Whatever direction you take purpose to become a “Superman” for some child
who needs hope injected into their life. Be the catapult of success for someone
who may not see a need to read or do mathematics. Show them that they can make
options for themselves.
