Last week, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute was lucky to co-host "Re-Imagining Teaching: Five Structures to Transform the Profession" with the National Network of State Teachers of the Year (NNSTOY). There was a great conversation (both in house and on Twitter), with one key takeaway standing apart from the others: The education-policy world needs to listen more to teachers.
NNSTOY executive director Katherine Basset and Fordham executive vice president Michael Petrilli kicked off the event:
There's a huge gap between the policy world and the practitioner world, says @MichaelPetrilli at #transformtheprofession
— Fordham Institute (@educationgadfly) October 4, 2013
Discussing new ways to think about the #roles of teachers in #edu and #schools at @educationgadfly #transformtheprofession
— Francesca Ernst (@FrancescaErnst) October 4, 2013
"Nothing new. These structures exist in industry. But why don't they exist in teaching" - Catherine Basset, @NNSTOY #transformtheprofession
— Francesca Ernst (@FrancescaErnst) October 4, 2013
The panel then turned to an extraordinary panel of teachers—all of whom are themselves in “hybrid roles,” mixing teaching and policy.
State teachers of year from NNSTOY at Fordham event all have HYBRID ROLES-- part teaching, part other leadership. #transformtheprofession
— Dan Brown (@DanBrownTeacher) October 4, 2013
We certainly didn't forget Common Core:
Teachers see benefits of #CommonCore, says @PoulosChris at #transformtheprofession
— Fordham Institute (@educationgadfly) October 4, 2013
"With #commoncore implementation, having teachers directly involved with implementation is valuable" -@PoulosChris #transformtheprofession
— Ashley Inman (@ashleyemilia) October 4, 2013
Winning over teachers will go a long long way to making #CCSS implementation successful #transformtheprofession
— John Horton (@EdReformJho) October 4, 2013
But Common Core isn’t the only policy issue important to teachers.
"We have a teacher drop out problem." says @Redhdteacher as she spouts off facts to prove it. #transformtheprofession
— Wendy Uptain (@misswuptain) October 4, 2013
We loose 56% or new teachers in the first 5 years (NCTAF). Why we need to #transformtheprofession
— Education Evolving (@EdEvolving) October 4, 2013
.@Redhdteacher "we need opportunities for advancement in the profession besides administration" #transformtheprofession
— Kaitlin Pennington (@KPennington23) October 4, 2013
Josh Parker, Maryland's 2012 teacher of the year, won over the audience with straightforward and insightful points.
"What is missing from education is teaching." Josh Parker #transformtheprofession
— DeShaunda Warner (@edtechnophile) October 4, 2013
.@MDTOY2012: change the idea that administrators aren't teachers. They should be your best teachers. #transformtheprofession
— Kaitlin Pennington (@KPennington23) October 4, 2013
Yes yes yes “@TeachPlusDC: Children need to be the center of our conversations, our love for kids - says @MDTOY2012 #transformtheprofession”
— Alice Johnson Cain (@ALICEJCAIN) October 4, 2013
Josh Parker is inspiring. #transformtheprofession
— Saving Creativity (@Save_Creativity) October 4, 2013
The policy discussants outlined the issues surrounding the gap between teachers and policies.
@CCSSO knows we can't meet the new standards without #transformtheprofession of teaching -Chris Minnich, Exec Dir, CCSSO
— Education Evolving (@EdEvolving) October 4, 2013
"For common sense ideas, like having teachers in leader rolls... what's getting in the way?" -@MichaelPetrilli #transformtheprofession
— Ashley Inman (@ashleyemilia) October 4, 2013
We need a toolkit for ways to #transformtheprofession so we can share best practices says @MichaelPetrilli @NNSTOY
— Sheri Wallach (@TeachPlusDC) October 4, 2013
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Fordham event without Mike's words of wisdom:
.@MichaelPetrilli: Never engage in a Twitter debate with a cucumber. Or mistake it for a pepper. #word #transformtheprofession
— Pamela Tatz (@wishenough) October 4, 2013
If you missed the event, be sure to check out the video recording of the event—and follow the rest of the conversation at #transformtheprofession.
