The Role of Teachers

Ethos of Teaching

How many times have you taught what you deemed to be a great lesson, only to hear your teammate talk about how they teach the same concept in a way that makes you jealous?  I reflected lots during and after my reading of this chapter, and really realized how isolated teachers are.  We (speaking of teachers in general) seem to be content with what goes on in our classroom, but we are really quite ignorant of what's going on around us.  Once we get into a groove, we get comfortable with what we're doing, and tend to stick with it for a while.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?  Being isolated is easy, collaborating takes work.  I recently discussed our school's goals and vision with my principal, and when I brought up this isolation that we teachers face, she agreed completely and stated her wish that teachers would open their eyes to the great things happening around them.  We may think we're doing a 9 or 10 job, whereas our principal may see us as only performing at a 6 or 7 level, simply because they see a bigger picture.  

"The ethos of teaching," state McLaughlin and Talbert, "must change 'from individualism to collaboration, from conservatism to innovation.'"  My first year of teaching, my "mentor teachers" completely abandoned me, one before school even started, and the second after just a few weeks because my school was the farthest away for her to visit.  Needless to say, I struggled that first year.  But as I've become more dedicated to teamwork and collaboration, I have found my job much more rewarding, for many reasons: sharing makes burdens lighter, a help system is heaven-sent, successes shared lifts the whole, and discussion breeds innovation.  If "Research tells us that teacher quality is the most significant variable in student achievement", as shared by Sanders and Rivers (1996), then the reasons I shared above demonstrate that good collaboration is much more productive than isolation.

The one thing my principal said that helped me decide to start my Master's is, "It made me a better teacher."  I can already see myself being a better teacher because of the things I've read and discussed, and this chapter definitely helped.  I get to have a jump start on administration by expanding my vision as a teacher, helping lift those around me come out of their isolation, and assist them in seeing a bigger picture than just their classroom.  I have the opportunity to lead our team's summer work, and that is when I will start to try and change our team's ethos of teaching.  I have some challenging teammates, but by implementing my new knowledge into our work will hopefully lead us forward towards better teaching and increased student achievement.