Sunday 02/12 for Franzak, Newell, Skerrett, and Scherff and Hahs-Vaughn

The key term for me that tied these readings together was, well, “together.” There is an isolation in teaching that seems rather depressing. It’s almost enough to keep a person who thrives on interaction out of teaching all together. Whether it is reinforcing a phantom policy as Franxak notes happened with Romeo and Juliet and The Odyssey (they’re in the blue literature anthology sold as a freshman text, that’s why they’re taught to so many 9th graders across the country) or Newell’s urging for horizontal teacher development, I kept finding that success in terms of morale and longevity as well as senses of purpose, progress, and agency teachers needed colleagues. One cannot think it possible for every teacher to come to their position with the same set of experiences, interests, or vision, but not working together for the community within the school seems like a waste. I know that I was not too keen on spending time with other teachers when I felt forced to do so. As a teacher, my sense of agency coupled with my sense of having to get the day to day done in my classroom always put a sour taste in my mouth during staff meetings and inservices. Some long-standing teachers worked so hard at upholding union rights that I got a feeling that it was always the teachers versus the administration. In many of those moments, the collective seemed to be solely interested in getting back to class, climbing their vertical ladder of experience, and disregarding any inscribed or oral policy being directed or encouraged.

Scherff and Hahs-Vaughn’s findings of English Language Arts teachers is spot on with my experience and describing the type of English Language Arts teacher with whom I worked. The expectations that teachers bring to their professions can be irreversibly shaken by the realities (this might be a function of moving into your mid twenties in general); I will definitely be sharing this piece with the Student Teachers I am working with this semester. The findings ring true. It is easy to want to leave teaching. A good preparation program can do wonders. New teachers need support; they do not need to be made to support the system that is already in place. With expertise comes “easy” or “cushy” assignments, fewer preps, and more say in department decisions. Is that written down anywhere? Is that just the way it’s always been? Just as students need encouragers, new teachers need a system that helps them become the best teacher, not one that beats the love of Willa Cather out of them. Skerrett’s piece emphasized the importance of agency for teachers to be able to develop and teach an anti-racist curriculum, and although she imparts that teacher education programs and personal histories are influential as driving forces, I see that being able to work together, encouraging one another, sharing resources, and challenging one another is what is ultimately important in developing and maintaining a vision for education, something Jim Hoffman pointed out in class last semester which is far more important than a love for kids or good books.