I Never Use a Cookie Cutter

       When I bake cookies, I never use a cookie cutter.  Of course, they all have the same ingredients, but each one is unique, taking on its own shape as it fully develops in the oven.  When I remove them from the pan, I marvel at how each one turns out.  Then, I watch as people select the one that appeals to them the most.  There is usually a great deal of thought that goes into picking just the right one for the person's individual tastes.  This is why I don't believe in a cookie cutter curriculum either.  I prefer not to live in a world of cloned teachers and students who look and act the same.  Where is the beauty and excitement and fun in that?  

       I recently read a piece on the cookie-cutter approach to education by a community member . It reads: "The cookie cutter approach to education, by design, should produce teacher clones with identical classrooms and indeed identical classes. Why would administrators want clones, when mere observation discloses that every teacher has his or her own interests, talents, and vision, and all the good ones seem to use those to sculpt lessons that are completely centered around their style and personality? The short answer is that administrators are generally inept clones themselves, who were by the way, ineffective or outright failures as teachers.  Certainly, we could all name a few exceptions here, but I generalize." 

       I have indeed worked for a handful of incredibly innovative, bright, talented administrators who valued their own autonomy so much that they ruled, not with an iron fist, but with an Andy Griffith spirit that always allowed the best in everyone to shine through. They created an environment conducive to creative thinking and problem-solving where teachers could offer their very best.  Bud Dennis, one such principal, used to say, "My job is to take care of my teachers so that they can take care of the kids.  If my teachers are happy and and like coming to work every day, then I have done my job."  

       Well, I can tell you that I did some of my very best work when this man was my principal.  I always felt at home with him there.  He encouraged me when I had an idea, counseled me like a caring parent when he could anticipate a problem, and gave me enough free reign to create a curriculum that served my department extremely well for many years while allowing me to develop a teaching style that was uniquely my own.  

       He knew all of his teachers well because he was always in the halls listening to his teachers work their magic on their students and appearing just in the nick of time when a teacher needed help.  My first year of teaching was like that of every teacher, a bit shaky as I learned to discipline while teaching.  Mr. Dennis was known for opening the door, glaring at the kids who were a bit unruly, then leaving after everyone was back on task.  This was not followed by a reprimand or a piece of paper telling what he did in his "walk-through".  It was just the way he was.  He cared about all of us, and we knew it.  Years later I asked him why he did that.  His response was simple:  "You needed a chance to re-group and get on with your lesson.  I was just helping you do that." Does this kind of leadership ever become outdated?  I certainly hope not.

         Most of the time, all teachers really need is that Mr. Dennis kind of trust and support .They need an administration that understands the importance of a positive working environment.  If this personal account doesn't mean anything to you, then perhaps something a little more research-based might.  Read on. 

The following is an excerpt from http://www.teacherworkingconditions.org/index.html , a website dedicated to improving the working environment in schools.  The website has outlined what everyone should do to make it possible for teachers to do the best job possible for their kids.  All recommendations are research-based and offer what great teachers understand about what must happen in schools if we truly expect to get the best out of our students.  Please note that these three recommendations put the teacher in charge of his/her classroom. 

What We Know

As noted by Richard Ingersoll, in his 2003 book Who Controls Teachers’ Work?  Power and Accountability in America’s Schools, “Those who are entrusted with the training of this next generation are not entrusted with much control over many of the key decisions in their work.”  He goes on to say the result of this disenfranchising of teachers will be schools that “deprofessionalize and demotivate teachers.” 

Ingersoll attributes problems with recruitment and retention in part to the way schools are organized and to a lack of respect for the teaching profession.  These factors must change for the quantity and quality of the teacher workforce to improve.  In many schools, key decisions are made with minimal input from teachers, but in schools where teachers are more empowered in decision-making, he says there is “less conflict between staff and students and less teacher turnover.”[1]

What The Toolkit Provides
Empowerment can include a variety of levels of teacher involvement in decision-making – from simply providing feedback on options being considered by someone else, to making the final decision themselves.  Specifically, education stakeholders should consider: 

Recommendation One:

Providing teachers access to resources (financial, time, opportunity, etc.) to identify and solve problems related to their classroom in order to ensure they can help all students learn.

Recommendation Two:

Creating opportunities, both formal and informal, for teachers to influence, design, create, and implement school and district policies and procedures.

Recommendation Three:

Encouraging the inclusion of teachers in community, school, district, and state level discussions related to the welfare and ability of all students to academically achieve at the highest levels.

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[1] Richard Ingersoll. (2003) Who Controls Teachers’ Work? Power and Accountability in America ’s Schools. Harvard University Press. 

         Do I pine for the good old days?  No, but I do pray that teachers and students will have the opportunity to work with a leader who has the ingredients that Mr. Dennis had.   He had his own special style that appealed to me and many others.  More importantly, he created a school environment that allowed me to teach in a way best suited to reach my students and allow them to use their unique abilities.  As a department chairperson, I afforded my fellow teachers this same privilege.  Our curriculum was always a work in progress that was amended yearly, weekly, daily, and even period to period based on student need at that given point in time.  I worked hard to be the kind of leader Mr. Dennis would have been proud to have on his campus.  I was not his clone; I was who I was meant to be because he believed in allowing us to grow as individuals.  "The better my teachers are," he said, "the better I look."  And then he grinned that famous grin of his.  I fear he would not be grinning right now if he could see what teachers are facing in this new, cookie cutter approach to education.