Story downplays importance of teachers
Sunday’s front-page piece on racial tensions at Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts, with its attendant themes on lawsuits, hirings and firings, etc., potentially evokes many different responses, but as a 45-year veteran classroom teacher I choose to emphasize one: the implicit bias in the article that administrative work is more important than teaching and that a former administrator’s return to the classroom is a demotion.
My personal bias is, without apology, on display. Allow me to explain briefly why I believe the implicit bias here so undermines school success.
What are the hallmarks of successful schools? Certainly educational leadership in the administrator’s role is one element. But just as important is a spirit of collegiality among a stable faculty. By that, I mean teachers dedicated to a shared mission. I mean teachers who know and respect one another and who have worked together for years, if not decades. I mean teachers who are constantly seeking to refine their craft and who are lifelong learners. And of course, I mean teachers who know and care about their students.
There are other factors, of course, in school success. But if the above elements are absent, if there is constant turnover within the faculty compounded by a revolving door among those doing the administrative work, the school almost certainly will be a failing school. The annual shuffle among teachers and administrators in many of the public schools will ensure their mediocrity.