How empowered are teachers? Do teachers have the power to utilize instructional strategies in their classroom that they believe would benifit students?
I do think teachers are empowered to utilize instructional strategies in their classrooms. The issue is whether or not the resources are available to do so. I integrate technology as much as I can with what is available. I am as creative as I can be with the resources that I have. We are encouraged to be innovative.
I feel that for the most part teachers are usually blamed instead of being empowered, especially in urban middle and high schools where student behavior and performance are really low. Teachers are under so much pressure and sometimes the administration relegates to the teachers some of the pressures it receives from higher echelons of hierachy.
Personally, I don't feel empowered. I feel as if I can't experiment with new strategies because if the results don't come out a certain way then I will be to blame. You feel pressure to stick with what you know works just so that the standardized test shows that you are a competent teacher.
US public school teachers are the most disempowered professionals in US society. The non-teaching responsibilities, jam packed pacing guides, standardized tests and now race to the top accountability measures restrict teachers from using problem based and student centered discovery teaching in their classroom. We talk about changing today's classrooms to reflect the changes in 21st century but our education system does not give teachers the freedom to bring these changes in their classrooms.
The answer depends on the school. I was fortunate enough to have an administrator who was 'hands-off' & allowed teacher autonomy in the classroom. I was able to use my choice of strategies with students. Some administrators are more involved in the day-to-day instruction and don't allow much 'wiggle room.' Empowerment can also be limited by availability of resources, however. I will say that I felt very limited with my technological resources so I have not been able to use technology as much as is recommended.
I worked for an administrator in the past that also used the hands-off/bottom-up leadership style and the results on the standard exams were mostly positive in nature and those who didn't meet the goals that were created by the principal and teacher had to met and discuss how they will improve or they were not allowed to return. This administrator really create an environment that allow teachers to be empowered and do whatever it took in his or her classroom as long as it was legal and ethical and he held you accountable for the results of your plan for success.
In our society I believe we may have a 50/50 split between teachers who feel empowered to teach, because their students are highly motivated to learn and the parental support is also conducive to learning and growing. However, in some of our challenging areas the teachers may not be as empower about the profession, because of the outside factors that want allow them to be creative and passionate about teaching. These factors are low morale from students and parents, administrative disconnect (the gap between what occurs in the classroom and what admins want to see are not aligned) etc...
Do teachers have the power to utilize instructional strategies in their classroom that they believe would benefit students?
I believe the majority of the educators in today's society have the power to utilize instructional strategies in their classroom that they believe in and the students benefit. This really occurs in the schools where the building level administrator(s) practices the bottom-up leadership style.
At Mays, we have certain parameters we must abide in terms of creating a standards based classroom, including a certain number of differentiated lessons, and testing on strict 5 week schedule. Beyond that, I feel like I am free to use any instructional strategies I would like. The admin. at Mays supports innovation and creativity in the classroom and anything that produces measurable improvement in student achievement is praised. Having said that, I really haven't tried anything very unconventional so I don't know what kind of reaction I would get. In terms of PBL, I think the admin would support me even if parents or students complained about the method.
I believe that teachers have a good amount of freedom in their classrooms, but that this does not necessarily translate into feelings of empowerment. To be truly empowered to employ unorthodox, but beneficial, strategies in the classroom, teachers must feel as if all barriers to the employment of such strategies are being removed. This, I feel, is not the case. Administrators and government officials are constantly pushing teachers to differentiate, use technology, use problem based lessons and otherwise create non-traditional lessons. But they do not remove the barriers that make these lessons difficult to implement such as large class size, minimal planning time free of meetings or other requirements and inefficient disciplinary procedures. Until these, and other, barriers are removed, teachers may be free to employ interesting and helpful non-traditional lessons, but they will not feel "empowered" to do so.
We are not empowered fully. We often do not have the technology needed to fully implement the newer instructional strategies. We continue to receive training to be prepared to implement instructional strategies but things become stagnated at that point. It's difficult to watch how enthused we all are in the beginning and watch it turn to dismay as we attempt to implement without the necessary instructional tools. I personally no longer feel empowered even though I try to make it work without it. The drawback is that I my progress is monitored by the county and the state without proper tools and training. It's very frustrating for teachers like me who go the extra mile.
In my personal view I think teachers are not empowered to the highest level and I still believe that education should be teacher centered and at same time scafolding students needs.But I have a feeling that we are teaching students according to the admin/education dept plan and time schedule , in this situation most of the teachers may lose the passsion and enthusiasm , cos their ideas and plans were controlled by some other person . And I feel that there is no liberty and freedom give to teacher to explore all the ideas that he or she wants to share with his or her students.
In general I feel that teachers are not empowered the way it should be. If this qustion is only pertaining to the usage of instructional strategies, I do believe the answer is yes.We are always encouraged and asked to use various instructional strategies. The number of workshops every year offered by the counties is a direct indication of the same concern.
Teachers are empowered greatly because they have the uncontrollable environment inside their classroom once the late bell rings to influence students more than anyone else.
The transition to PBL teaching is not easy. There are many factors that may come into play. The novice PBL instructors are going to encounter difficulties with its planning, implementation and assessment due to their lack of experience in it. They may also face frustrations, as regards to its implementation because of the amount of time a PBL lesson may demand. In addition to it, teachers may find it difficult to motivate and change the mind set of students to become active learners. Students may not like to take responsibility of their own learning. Above all teachers may need administrative support to implement PBL in their classes.
I believe that teachers are empowered to teach their students when there are clear guidelines as to what needs to be taught. However, eduction in the state of Georgia especially has been a sort of roll coaster ride. Through the many workshops and professional development courses that teachers have been a part of in recent years, they have a vast number of resources that supports them to be truly empowered.
Now concerning the idea of teachers having the power to utilize instructional strategies in their classroom that they believe would benefit students, I feel that teachers do not have the technolgy equipment and resources in order to utilize many of the instructional strategies that would truly benefit our student with the understanding ot the standards that are taught. Budget seems to tie constraints and limitations to allow teachers access of the technology that is needed to implement many of the instructional strategies. For instance, in order to effectively use Geometry Sketchpad in instruction, there needs to be a computer lab classroom designated for the Geometry classes. Many of our schools have to designate the computer labs to the business courses instead.
Not at all. There are little or inadequate consequences for inappropriate, disrespectful student behavior toward peers, faculty, and staff. Oftentimes you are not given suggestions on how to improve your craft but specific orders on how to engage students on the most basic levels and blamed if the administrator's strategy fails. Our input is not sought after and oftentimes ignored in the formation of school policy and procedure from discipline and attendance to scheduling and academics. Yet we are on the frontline and are hence the face of education. Therefore we take the blame for poor strategy, poorly funded strategy, and poorly implemented strategy. Teachers are the perfect scapegoats one can say: It's not the strategy its the implementation.
In response to Zuletka's comment, I totally agree with everything she said. I want to add that the "no child left behind" movement has given students the right to disrespect teachers, disrespect other students, disrespect policy and procedures, disrespect administration, and most importantly....disrespect our educational system. How can you teach in a system like this and why are excellent teachers leaving the profession or losing their motivation to be creative? Too many why,why,why...and not enough accountability directed towards students who are disrupting the system........
I do think teachers are empowered to utilize instructional strategies in their classrooms. The issue is whether or not the resources are available to do so. I integrate technology as much as I can with what is available. I am as creative as I can be with the resources that I have. We are encouraged to be innovative.
ReplyDeleteI feel that for the most part teachers are usually blamed instead of being empowered, especially in urban middle and high schools where student behavior and performance are really low. Teachers are under so much pressure and sometimes the administration relegates to the teachers some of the pressures it receives from higher echelons of hierachy.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I don't feel empowered. I feel as if I can't experiment with new strategies because if the results don't come out a certain way then I will be to blame. You feel pressure to stick with what you know works just so that the standardized test shows that you are a competent teacher.
ReplyDeleteUS public school teachers are the most disempowered professionals in US society. The non-teaching responsibilities, jam packed pacing guides, standardized tests and now race to the top accountability measures restrict teachers from using problem based and student centered discovery teaching in their classroom. We talk about changing today's classrooms to reflect the changes in 21st century but our education system does not give teachers the freedom to bring these changes in their classrooms.
ReplyDeleteThe answer depends on the school. I was fortunate enough to have an administrator who was 'hands-off' & allowed teacher autonomy in the classroom. I was able to use my choice of strategies with students. Some administrators are more involved in the day-to-day instruction and don't allow much 'wiggle room.' Empowerment can also be limited by availability of resources, however. I will say that I felt very limited with my technological resources so I have not been able to use technology as much as is recommended.
ReplyDeleteAlison,
DeleteI worked for an administrator in the past that also used the hands-off/bottom-up leadership style and the results on the standard exams were mostly positive in nature and those who didn't meet the goals that were created by the principal and teacher had to met and discuss how they will improve or they were not allowed to return. This administrator really create an environment that allow teachers to be empowered and do whatever it took in his or her classroom as long as it was legal and ethical and he held you accountable for the results of your plan for success.
Hallingquest
How empowered are teachers?
ReplyDeleteIn our society I believe we may have a 50/50 split between teachers who feel empowered to teach, because their students are highly motivated to learn and the parental support is also conducive to learning and growing. However, in some of our challenging areas the teachers may not be as empower about the profession, because of the outside factors that want allow them to be creative and passionate about teaching. These factors are low morale from students and parents, administrative disconnect (the gap between what occurs in the classroom and what admins want to see are not aligned) etc...
Do teachers have the power to utilize instructional strategies in their classroom that they believe would benefit students?
I believe the majority of the educators in today's society have the power to utilize instructional strategies in their classroom that they believe in and the students benefit. This really occurs in the schools where the building level administrator(s) practices the bottom-up leadership style.
At Mays, we have certain parameters we must abide in terms of creating a standards based classroom, including a certain number of differentiated lessons, and testing on strict 5 week schedule. Beyond that, I feel like I am free to use any instructional strategies I would like. The admin. at Mays supports innovation and creativity in the classroom and anything that produces measurable improvement in student achievement is praised. Having said that, I really haven't tried anything very unconventional so I don't know what kind of reaction I would get. In terms of PBL, I think the admin would support me even if parents or students complained about the method.
ReplyDeleteI believe that teachers have a good amount of freedom in their classrooms, but that this does not necessarily translate into feelings of empowerment. To be truly empowered to employ unorthodox, but beneficial, strategies in the classroom, teachers must feel as if all barriers to the employment of such strategies are being removed. This, I feel, is not the case. Administrators and government officials are constantly pushing teachers to differentiate, use technology, use problem based lessons and otherwise create non-traditional lessons. But they do not remove the barriers that make these lessons difficult to implement such as large class size, minimal planning time free of meetings or other requirements and inefficient disciplinary procedures. Until these, and other, barriers are removed, teachers may be free to employ interesting and helpful non-traditional lessons, but they will not feel "empowered" to do so.
ReplyDeleteWe are not empowered fully. We often do not have the technology needed to fully implement the newer instructional strategies. We continue to receive training to be prepared to implement instructional strategies but things become stagnated at that point. It's difficult to watch how enthused we all are in the beginning and watch it turn to dismay as we attempt to implement without the necessary instructional tools. I personally no longer feel empowered even though I try to make it work without it. The drawback is that I my progress is monitored by the county and the state without proper tools and training. It's very frustrating for teachers like me who go the extra mile.
ReplyDeleteIn my personal view I think teachers are not empowered to the highest level and I still believe that education should be teacher centered and at same time scafolding students needs.But I have a feeling that we are teaching students according to the admin/education dept plan and time schedule , in this situation most of the teachers may lose the passsion and enthusiasm , cos their ideas and plans were controlled by some other person . And I feel that there is no liberty and freedom give to teacher to explore all the ideas that he or she wants to share with his or her students.
ReplyDeleteIn general I feel that teachers are not empowered the way it should be. If this qustion is only pertaining to the usage of instructional strategies, I do believe the answer is yes.We are always encouraged and asked to use various instructional strategies. The number of workshops every year offered by the counties is a direct indication of the same concern.
ReplyDeleteTeachers are empowered greatly because they have the uncontrollable environment inside their classroom once the late bell rings to influence students more than anyone else.
ReplyDeleteThe transition to PBL teaching is not easy. There are many factors that may come into play. The novice PBL instructors are going to encounter difficulties with its planning, implementation and assessment due to their lack of experience in it. They may also face frustrations, as regards to its implementation because of the amount of time a PBL lesson may demand. In addition to it, teachers may find it difficult to motivate and change the mind set of students to become active learners. Students may not like to take responsibility of their own learning. Above all teachers may need administrative support to implement PBL in their classes.
ReplyDeleteI believe that teachers are empowered to teach their students when there are clear guidelines as to what needs to be taught. However, eduction in the state of Georgia especially has been a sort of roll coaster ride. Through the many workshops and professional development courses that teachers have been a part of in recent years, they have a vast number of resources that supports them to be truly empowered.
ReplyDeleteNow concerning the idea of teachers having the power to utilize instructional strategies in their classroom that they believe would benefit students, I feel that teachers do not have the technolgy equipment and resources in order to utilize many of the instructional strategies that would truly benefit our student with the understanding ot the standards that are taught. Budget seems to tie constraints and limitations to allow teachers access of the technology that is needed to implement many of the instructional strategies. For instance, in order to effectively use Geometry Sketchpad in instruction, there needs to be a computer lab classroom designated for the Geometry classes. Many of our schools have to designate the computer labs to the business courses instead.
Not at all. There are little or inadequate consequences for inappropriate, disrespectful student behavior toward peers, faculty, and staff. Oftentimes you are not given suggestions on how to improve your craft but specific orders on how to engage students on the most basic levels and blamed if the administrator's strategy fails. Our input is not sought after and oftentimes ignored in the formation of school policy and procedure from discipline and attendance to scheduling and academics. Yet we are on the frontline and are hence the face of education. Therefore we take the blame for poor strategy, poorly funded strategy, and poorly implemented strategy. Teachers are the perfect scapegoats one can say: It's not the strategy its the implementation.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Zuletka's comment, I totally agree with everything she said. I want to add that the "no child left behind" movement has given students the right to disrespect teachers, disrespect other students, disrespect policy and procedures, disrespect administration, and most importantly....disrespect our educational system. How can you teach in a system like this and why are excellent teachers leaving the profession or losing their motivation to be creative? Too many why,why,why...and not enough accountability directed towards students who are disrupting the system........
Delete