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| Title | Teacher, Improve Thyself A Call for Self-Reliant, Reflective Practitioners |
| Category | PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT |
| No one knows the classroom like teachers do. Yet when it comes to knowing what it takes for teachers to improve themselves, armies of experts stand ready with advice. Members of study commissions, professors, researchers, staff developers, state department personnel, superintendents, and even politicians—all outside the classroom—presume to know what teachers need most. But given a chance, teachers can do for themselves what the experts never seem quite able to do–develop a greater self-reliance in improving their teaching performance. Self-reliance, a concept as old as teaching itself, is an important key to teachers' continual professional growth. A Reflective, Collegial, Life-based Model Three elements of self-reliance surround teachers; all teachers need is to bring these elements into a working pattern. The elements are collegiality, reflection, and life experience. Collegiality occurs each time teachers talk together, observe one another, or extend help in any form. Reflection takes place whenever a teacher thinks about professional priorities or tries to solve a teaching problem. Life experience continuously scripts lessons that can be carried forward into classroom use. How does this reflective, collegial, life-based model take shape? It emerges when teachers are given the time and resources to explore instruction independently, and when teachers have opportunities to learn from the experiences of their peers. Self-reliance becomes customary for teachers who investigate questions of individual relevance and for those who share the results of their explorations and investigations with other teachers. Collegiality Frequent communication with other teachers promotes self-confidence and self-reliance. Informal but regular teacher talk sessions inform and encourage teachers to become reflective about their practice. Asking teachers for a single sentence response to a "problem of the week" (posted in a common area, such as the lounge) can generate interesting discussion, new ideas, and camaraderie. When teachers sense a feeling of community with other teachers, self-reliance grows. Teachers also benefit from studying of self-selected topics. Sharing their newfound expertise with interested colleagues expands the benefits of study. When teachers specialize in topics of personal interest, they boost their own classroom performance, promote personal strengths, and build a foundation for helping other teachers. Teacher book clubs that focus on professional reading also foster self-reliance. As teachers read writers of their own choice and discuss topics of interest with one another, new insights for classroom possibilities emerge. Reflection Teachers beginning the quest for self-reliance must make time for regular reflection–at the end of the day, early every morning, or during a set time each week. Reflection time enables teachers to focus on their critical actions, feelings, and guiding ideals. As a part of the reflective process, teachers can maintain informal journals that include brief notes, sentences, or phrases describing events and feelings from the classroom. Discussing journal contents with a colleague maximizes the impact of reflection. Teachers also benefit when they think about what they most enjoy in teaching. Some teachers, for example, value the service aspect of teaching–helping students who have few resources beyond the school. Other teachers see their work as an opportunity for creativity, such as through drama and storytelling. When teachers are in touch with those aspects of teaching that most motivate and energize them, and when they are connected with other teachers who have the same interests and motivations, they are positioned to make a personal and significant statement through their teaching. Teachers nurture their self-reliance when their teaching becomes personal. Life Experience Much of the self-reliance teachers need to thrive in the classroom comes from activities and experiences they have outside school. School leaders affirm classroom life when they acknowledge teachers' personal lives. The activities teachers engage in outside the classroom offer unique lessons about learning and the pursuit of knowledge. Perhaps no lessons are more important than those that help teachers develop the skills of endurance and those that help create within teachers an adventurous attitude in the face of adversity and change. Also helpful are experiences that enhance a teacher's sense of compassion and humanity. For example, being involved in a major household renovation might help a teacher to take a fresh look at how motivation to complete a task guides learning and directs us to seek assistance. Likewise, learning about gardening through association with other gardeners can help a teacher better appreciate the value of social support in learning. Becoming Autonomous, Becoming Successful It is all too easy to forget how much teachers can do much for themselves. The concepts of empowerment and site-based management should remind us to rely on teachers' expertise in effecting reform. But sometimes in actual practice, these ideas sometimes become so institutionalized and bureaucratic that they deny the message they deliver. Simple, understated acts often work magic. When teachers engage in an ongoing process of thinking about teaching, of pursuing one's passions in the classroom and in life, and of finding a peer community within the profession, they improve their practice. These acts of self-reliance generate energy and hope; it is through their practice that teachers become strong, autonomous, and ultimately successful. Carolyn Bunting is a former teacher, teacher educator, and public school administrator. She is now a writer and consultant. Her address is 214 Morreene Road, Durham, NC 27705. Copyright © 1999 by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Vol. 2, Number 9, August 1999 | |
| Date Posted: 03/12/99 03:27:22 PM |
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