Innovation in Education?

I have tried to distance myself from local education reporting. While on the one hand I am drawn to it, I also feel a strong reaction to those not clearly articulating the day to day interactions of teachers and students in the classroom. Everyone has a solution to a problem they feel a part of. Today I read the editorial Innovate Washington State's K-12. First off, a few things...

1) My wife is Nationally Board Certified, and I plan to go through the process. I believe it to be highly rigorous, and an intense process where you demonstrate your effectiveness as a teacher.
2) I fully believe I work in a relatively innovative district... it is a rigorous evaluation process, standards based, lots of technology, and high academic achievement.
3) I know I am not the best I can be... Gladwell's 10,000 hours rule applies. I'm getting better everyday, and am constantly improving. But I don't think I am great, and definitely not the greatest of those in my building... experience does matter (although not necessarily linearly).

I took a significant amount of umbrage with some of the editorial. I fired of the following email, largely because the editorial lacked the innovation I felt like it would have brought. That doesn't even mention some of the the lack of harmony in the message. Alas.

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Hi Robin,

I read your editorial in the Seattle Times today and was struck by a number of things. First, I should tell you that I am a third year teacher in the Lake Washington School District. I'm one of the "junior teachers" you mention in your editorial. I couldn't help but wonder about about my future pursuit of National Board Certification. On one hand you state that "there is no credible evidence that they help boost student achievement" when talking about Nationally Board Certified teachers. This is after arguing that students need to be around high-quality teachers because it "is the key ingredient to student success." Doesn't this seem incongruous? Is going through a rigorous process to reflect on teaching practice that is reviewed nationally not proof of being high-quality? If you are stating that the stipend doesn't help students then you point is unclear, and needs further support.

I was also struck by how short-sighted reducing teacher professional development days seems. You should know that teachers often feel unappreciated, underpaid, and isolated from their peers. Reducing two days where teachers can come together as a community to collaborate would further isolate teachers. As one of the junior teachers, I appreciate the opportunity to learn from my senior counterparts and feel like I am a part of a community. That doesn't even mention the opportunity to further my own practice (shouldn't a teacher be a learner also, just as a principal should be a teacher-leader?). Beyond that, please further illuminate what less costly ways we could use to further our practice. Simply offering a cut isn't innovative.

I am all for education reform. Our system has a myriad of flaws. I'm also aware of the economic situation of our state, and the lack of effective revenue streams to fund education (and other state services). But if you want to offer solutions, please offer those that have a sense of what it is like to be in the classroom. Offer solutions that have a sense of the people often best meeting the needs of our kids.

Respectfully,

Pete Hanson
5th Grade Teacher 

Video Killed the Radio Star

I got a chance to watch/listen to some of my wife's national boards for teaching videos yesterday. As part of the super rigorous process you videotape a few lessons that you taught. They are 5+ minutes in length and show different parts of your teaching- some of your instruction, some student response. She taped way more than she ended up using, largely because you need to make sure what you have fits the criteria for the particular entry you are writing for. That got me thinking about videotaping my in classroom. I haven't done any taping this year in my classroom. I taped 2-3 times last year as part of the New Teacher Support Program. It was really helpful to see what I was doing and exactly how I was doing it. How was I selecting kids? Was I selecting some kids more than others? Where was I standing? How did that impact student behavior? What level of questioning was I using? Was it aimed at my objective, or was it confusing and misdirected? I'm considering taping 1 lesson a week to see get an idea of what I am doing. It will also get me more comfortable with the videotaping process in advance of my own run through National Boards... in 2 years.