I have experience as a parent of three children who often don’t “fit” easily in the system (one intense and “non-academic” gifted, one gifted/LD (learning disability), one autonomous gifted learner). I’ve always tried hard to work closely with my District, schools and my kids’ teachers to be supportive and partner in their learning experiences. I’m enormously grateful for our District, schools/administrators and teachers – and have had consistently positive experiences throughout the nine years my kids have been in the public school system so far. Really, we’ve got the BEST District – even if I might be a bit biased… 
But in my role as DPAC president over the last four years, I’ve also had many conversations with parents both in our District and around the Province – and parents have a variety of experiences, for a variety of reasons.
Through all of that, I’ve often heard parents “demanding” teacher evaluation or standardized testing, and it concerns me. I think I’ve built an appreciation for some of the deeper reasons for these demands:
- Parents want guarantees that their kids are going to be fine and will get the best learning experiences possible. Now, there’s no such guarantee possible, but it’s hard to let go of that desire for certainty.
- Parents see the inconsistencies in our school system first hand, all the time. We have pockets of excellence – amazing teachers and programs that happen IN SPITE of the system, through the sheer determination of individual teachers, who work evenings and weekends, push themselves and do amazing things with kids. And parents see these pockets and want that for their children ALL of the time. Even less dramatic, there can still be differences between what we want and our children’s learning experiences – sometimes due to the pedagogy of the teacher, sometimes because of the “match” (or lack thereof) between the student and teacher, sometimes due to family situations or other “outside of school” factors, etc… We see situations with our kids where it’s just not working – yet there seems to be very little that we can do, the principal can do, the District can do. And so, demands are made for standardization (meaning, “we want every classroom to be amazing!” – not just that we want them all the same!) or for external evaluation that would “surface” the teachers that aren’t changing or who aren’t doing these great things with our children.
- Parents also see the blatantly “bad” classroom situations that exist. Teachers who, for whatever reasons, aren’t holding it together and need support. Or maybe even need a leave. I have immense compassion for teachers in these situations – we’re all human and life isn’t easy. I’ve had my own personal things to deal with and can’t imagine trying to manage a classroom of 25 – 30 kids during those times! But as a parent, I also want a way for that teacher to get support so that it doesn’t impact my child’s learning, self image or emotional stability. We MUST keep the needs of our children at the center of every situation. Period.
- Parents most often feel like “outsiders” in the current system. We feel ineffective and like our concerns/complaints are ignored. And so parents look for ways to both be heard and to see action based on our concerns.
These desires and demands make sense, from the parent perspective. We see how our children struggle or even suffer in situations that don’t fit well. And we want more! And so we SHOULD – in my opinion!
The problem is HOW we get to change – and demanding evaluation or standardized testing isn’t the way to get there! As leaders, in any role that we have within the system, I believe it’s important to stand up and remind everyone what’s REALLY important.
A big picture view is important whenever we talk about (or demand) singular changes. We need to consider ALL the things we want for our children and from our education system and be aware of how they interact or impact each other.
I want really big things for kids.
I want classrooms and teachers that help kids hold onto their joy and love of learning. Not just sit in rows and spout back memorized facts.
I want them to have questions and get to explore them. Not be limited by Provincial learning outcomes and prescribed curriculum.
I want teachers who learn WITH kids, not control them. I want kids to do the right things for the right reasons, not to jump through hoops for the right grade or to avoid detentions.
I want kids to learn in ways that make sense to them and apply to the real world – not just from a textbook or on worksheets. I don’t want them to say “why do I have to do this??” and not have a good answer for them.
I want kids to have teachers who really SEE them, for who they are. Their strengths and weaknesses. And who believe in them and their ability/desire to succeed.
I want kids to try, fail, get up and try again.
And I want teachers who are supported to do the same – try, fail, get up and try again.
Talking about teacher evaluations in isolation of other changes we need, is shooting ourselves in the foot. I can certainly say that, at times when I’ve been struggling in any way, having someone “evaluate” me and tell me what I’m doing wrong (with the threat of being reprimanded or fired) didn’t help me get better. That is trying to control and manage people with fear. “Do better or else…” And it doesn’t work (in the long run) in isolation of other factors.
And there’s LOTS or research to back that up too, including Daniel Pink and his book Drive (or watch his TEDtalk). He refers to Harvard business studies and World Bank research. Rewards and punishment (or threat of punishment, which evaluation inevitably includes if implemented in isolation) don’t bring about real change.
So what does bring about change?
Because we definitely need it! I want every child in every classroom around this Province to have all those things I talked about.
And that means some changes like:
- change provincial curriculum to focus on themes, skills and competencies instead of voluminous amounts of knowledge that we can just Google. Make it about “learning to learn” effectively.
- focus on effective leadership in every school. If you’ve had a great principal who knows how to LEAD (not just manage), and knows how to create a positive culture where people feel valued and included, then you’ve seen big changes happen. That kind of leader in a school includes teacher feedback, constant conversation and guidance and mentoring – and makes “teacher evaluation” unnecessary, frankly, because it’s embedded in the culture of the community.
- more effective teacher prep (university programs, etc) and ongoing pro-d. Teacher learning must be as relevant, timely, empowered and engaging as student learning, in my opinion. School years must be structured to include collaboration time, peer feedback opportunities and coaching/mentoring. Co-teaching with an expert is also much more effective at making real change than attending any one-day conference or workshop (as pro-d tends to be now) – so resources to Districts must include enough $$ to include such strategies.
- adding real and meaningful ways for parents and students to give feedback on the system and be HEARD. This needs to be ongoing and embedded in the culture of our schools (which takes us back to my first point about effective leaders who can create such a culture!). We need to be aware of not only what we’re trying to do but also what effect it’s having or how it’s being received. There is too often a gap between what is intended and what is received – that gap is only closed by communication and feedback loops.
NOTE: and here (with feedback loops) is where teachers who aren’t performing to our expectations could be identified too – but in ways that facilitate growth and change, not as a way to fire them. Some may leave the system once identified that they aren’t able or a good fit – but more often, there are things to do to support and facilitate teacher growth/change rather than firing them. People are NOT disposable – and I don’t want my kids to get that message either. Students aren’t disposable either – I expect the system to support ALL of them, not “fire” the ones who aren’t learning… - Letter grades and reporting need to be rethought. Assessment practices, as a whole must reflect our desire for kids to love learning, be internally motivated and to continuously grow. Back to my point about rewards and punishment…
I could probably go on, but I hope I’ve communicated my concerns with focusing on something like teacher evaluation in exclusion of all the other things that need to happen to support real, sustainable change that will build a system that supports every child, every day.
If parents “demand” one thing, like teacher evaluation or standardized testing, we damage the very system that we want to change in much bigger (and important) ways. Because politicians might actually listen and try to legislate such changes in isolation of much needed systemic and cultural changes in the schools where our kids occupy significant parts of their days…
And that, to me, is scary!