As students across the nation head back to school, their teachers have a bigger than usual lift ahead. They bear the brunt of many recent education reforms: from new standards and assessments to changes in teacher evaluation. Yesterday, we listened to none other than AFT’s Randi Weingarten and AEI’s Rick Hess discuss “When Reform Touches Teachers.” It’s an issue that we, as an organization focused on what gets taught, consider often.
Not shocking to find that Weingarten, a union leader, and Hess, a right-leaning education thinker, find little common ground on the macro issues, such as the role of unions like the AFT. But encouraging to hear them agree on one important issue: Both Weingarten and Hess believe teachers must be deeply involved in decisions about teaching and pedagogy.
As Weingarten puts it: “What are the tools and conditions teachers need to do their jobs?”
With this in mind, we recently surveyed teachers across the country to learn how policies have impacted their classrooms. We asked teachers on the front lines of reform to provide detailed reporting on what they see happening in their classrooms and schools. How are they spending class time? How does state testing affect what they do? Which subjects get more attention and which get less?
The answers augment what was previously only anecdotal evidence: Teachers—for both better and worse—are experiencing a policy-driven shift in how and what they teach.
Look for a full report on our findings, coming this Fall.
Stephanie Porowski
The current issue of Harper’s has a great piece that touches on the disrespect that reformers have for teachers’ craft-lore –”Getting Schooled: The Re-Education of an American Teacher” by Garret Keizer.