has germinated and grown into a massive, gorgeous oak tree, there are a lot of
enemies that threaten to obliterate the life of an oak tree. From insects, fungi, and bad weather to human caused destruction, oak trees are susceptible to certain entities that can damage them. Diseases and fire are two of the most common elements that kill oak trees. Recently in Marin County, California, oak trees started dying at a rate that reached epidemic proportions. According to a recent web article, Interesting Facts about Oak Trees (2006), “Such a massive die back of live oaks has never been reported in California, and a severe environmental crisis is expected in the months and years to come.” Much like stately oak trees, teacher passion is susceptible to certain elements that threaten to destroy it. Those elements are responsible for the teaching profession’s own “severe environmental crisis” as the rates of teacher attrition and teacher shortages increase to epidemic proportions. According to a report prepared by the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (2003), “One-third of new teachers leave the profession within three years and almost one-half leave within five years.” In an attempt to help remedy growing rates of teacher attrition and teacher shortages, AARP (American Association of Retired People) and NRTA (National Retired Teachers Association) (September 2003) conducted a qualitative research study in order to determine why the teaching profession is plagued by such high numbers of teachers who leave the field. Fifty former teachers (with less than five years teaching experience) provided a list of
reasons for leaving the teaching profession. Encompassed in their justifications for quitting teaching careers were political pressures, including standards and testing, lack of parental support, low pay, general lack of respect, negative colleagues, and unmotivated students. These entities are the fungi that infect teacher passion and ultimately kill teacher identity.
Found within this chapter are data texts collected from the six research
participants. Each section includes specific questions and each participant’s response to those questions. Following each type of data collection, i.e. teacher interviews, an italicized analysis of those texts is provided. Those analyses are provided to help understand how each participant’s teacher identity has grown as strong as a gigantic oak tree with passion that surges through it as strongly as nutrients flow through the xylem and phloem of an oak tree.
Teacher Interviews
In this section, responses from each participant’s interview questions are documented. In order to help my participants feel more relaxed and less distracted by visuals in a strange location, I interviewed each participant in her own classroom.
Likewise, in order to make the interview session as comfortable as possible, each participant was asked to schedule an interview that best suited her schedule. Susan and Uticia scheduled their interviews early in the morning before school started.
Mary, Julie, Diane, and Yolanda preferred afternoon sessions after their students had been dismissed. Each interview was recorded on an audio-cassette tape. I chose to organize the responses according to each topic of discussion instead of transcribing
each interview in its entirety. An analysis of the data texts is provided following each topic of discussion.
Political Constraints
Interview Question: What political influences affect your performance as a teacher?
Interview Question: With the implementation of Georgia Performance Standards as a directive of The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, how have the standards impacted your teaching?
Susan Donovan: I consider myself fairly knowledgeable about the political aspects of our educational system. I don’t necessarily agree with the solutions that politicians and legislators propose for remedying low student performance.
No Child Left Behind sounds like a great plan but who does it help in the long run? I mean it seems to me that when a child does not pass the CRCT he or she will certainly be left behind. Georgia’s new standards have not really changed at all from Georgia’s QCC objectives.
Mary Griggs: Evelyn, it is difficult for me to say that any political influences affect my teaching performance. Maybe I should consider the political aspects of our educational system, but I don’t. I simply teach because it’s what I love.
The new standards have not changed at all. I still teach the same way that I have always been teaching. I still present the same second grade skills and concepts that I have been teaching for years.
Uticia Brown: Political influences? Do you mean how the politicians complain about how poorly our students perform? I’d like for them to come and do my job for a few weeks. I think they would change their minds. Evelyn, I believe
standards are very important. I think teachers need a guideline for what it is t hat they should be teaching and what the students in each grade should be learning. I don’t think our new standards have changed much, but I do think they are necessary.
Julie Mayville: When you ask about political influences, I can think of several fairly recent political mandates that have impacted my job as a teacher. Not
necessarily my teaching performance, but our teaching situations have changed. For instance, Governor Roy Barnes gave us increased pay and reduced class size. I think those are two positive political influences that have impacted my job as a teacher. GPS has not really changed our curriculum at all. The new standards are simply worded a little different and are grouped under new headings and fancy categories, but they are basically the same as the QCCs.
Diane Nobles: No Child Left Behind Act of 2001? Right! I have a thirteen-year-old in fifth grade and he’s still not motivated. GPS standards are good guidelines that help teachers stay on track and focus on what is necessary in each grade.
These new standards are the same old thing just stated differently.
Yolanda Doctor: Political influences that affect my teaching performance are the amount of paperwork I am required by law to submit on each child. I spend hours and hours completing IEP’s. I do most of the work at home so that I can spend my time at school with my students. It’s not their fault that I have to do so much paperwork. For me, the state standards have not changed. I
have to match my students IEP’s to the standards and I don’t see much change at all.
Analysis of Teacher Responses Concerning Political Constraints Many of the present reforms and mandates in education have proved to be incommensurate with the belief system of many teachers. Some school
districts have become so narrowly focused on test scores and test preparation that teachers have been forced to jettison successful curriculum units of long standing because they don’t explicitly connect to the exam.
(Intrator, 2002, xli) All participants unanimously agreed that Georgia Performance Standards, which is a directive from the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (2002), is simply a rewording of previous standards. Likewise, the participants agreed that the new standards have not changed the way they teach. Most participants agreed that standards are necessary for giving teachers a guideline for information that should be taught in specific grade levels. According to Sam Intrator (2002), it is the dehumanizing of students wrought by standardization that makes teachers feel
“undermined” (p. xli).
What is surprising to me is that in the writings of Pinar (2004) and Palmer (1998), teachers lament standardization and feel “undermined” and
“underappreciated” by the political constraints placed upon them by standardization.
Yet, the participants in this study do not bemoan standardization. They see it as a necessary evil and teach with freedom in spite of the media frenzy and hullabaloo about standardization. The participants are confident in what and how they are teaching and use the standards as a mere guideline for presenting appropriate skills and concepts to their students.
The participants in this study teach in silent opposition. They take what they need from political mandates and teach in ways that they know are effective. They do not need a cookbook to tell them exactly what to use and how to use it to help students make progress toward becoming contributors to society. What is said by these
participants is not readily documented in other studies. Most studies give voice to those teachers who complain why they cannot do their life work because of
government interference. The teachers in this study do what Bill Ayers (2004) beckons teachers to do…they take the labels, the mandates, and standards and rip them apart as they go about their business of loving and caring for students.
What makes these teachers different from other teachers who decry the injustice and stifling effects of political constraints? Confidence and passion. The participants of this study have been teaching for at least fifteen years. They know how the pendulum swings and how programs come and go. Likewise, they know students. They do not gripe about how students have changed. They take their students as they get them. They go about their task of building relationships with every individual and do what it takes to help each child make academic, social, and emotional progress. In spite of political issues, the participants of this study use their passion to do what they know is best for students.
Parents
Interview Question: How have interactions with parents influenced your teaching?
Interview Question: How do you approach the issue of irate or overly concerned parents?
Susan Donovan: Parents can really make you feel badly about yourself. I believe parents could be the major reason some teachers quit teaching. Even though I have been teaching for over 24 years, parents can still bring me to tears. They just make me feel so badly. It really hurts my feelings when I know that my intentions are right and good for my students and parents attack me for the silliest things. Usually when I am approached with an irate parent, I try very hard to listen carefully. Then I can address the parents’ concerns by telling them that I understand their concern. Understanding helps parents relax. But, it still hurts my feelings!
Mary Griggs: I have been fortunate in that I don’t really have too many problems with parents. If I am approached by irate parents, I try to make them feel at ease.
Uticia Brown: I had a situation this year in which one of my students went home and told his mother a twisted story about an incident at school. The mother went straight to the principal about it without contacting me first. What could have been handled so much more positively turned into a really big deal. The mother felt that I did not handle the situation appropriately based on what her son said. After all was said and done, the mother realized that her son had told a different view of the whole incident. I was upset that she did not come to me before lodging a complaint against me to my principal. Other than this incident, I don’t usually have too many irate parents. Most of the students’
parents are fairly supportive and appreciative. You have to remember, a lot of students have experienced failure. The parents are used to getting negative
reports about their child. I try to focus on the positive. That usually helps parents. They need to hear something good about their child.
Julie Mayville: Since this is my first year back in the classroom after being a SEARCH facilitator for the past five years, I am back to square one with parents. I feel like I did when I was a first year teacher…totally scared to death that I am going to disappoint my students’ parents. It’s awful. You would think that I would be more confident. Talking to parents with respect always helps. When I have had irate parents in the past, I have made it a point to try and diffuse their anger. I am always prepared with documentation and a professional attitude to address any concerns. Once, several years ago, a parent thought her son’s grades were incorrect. She went to the
superintendent with her complaint. After the superintendent requested my grades and poured over them, he determined that I was right. What a relief!
Diane Nobles: I cry. When parents accuse me of some injustice to their child, I cry.
When I am approached by an irate parent, I remain calm and stoic. I do not show my emotions. I listen and respond with respect. When the parent leaves, I cry.
Yolanda Doctor: Honestly, I cannot recall having an irate parent. Most of my students’ parents are very supportive and appreciative. They see their special children making progress. That makes them happy. I guess the best thing to do if you have an upset parent is to listen and answer them with kindness and reassurance.
Analysis of Teacher Responses Concerning Parents
When high-involvement teachers describe interactions with parents, they tend to welcome and include parents as partners in the education of the child.
They describe parent involvement as a ‘relationship among the three of us,’
and say, ‘We made a good team.’ These teachers say they want to draw the parent in in any way they can.
(Patricia L. Hulsebosch in Schubert and Ayers, 1992, p. 117) Although three participants of this study stated that parents can make
teachers feel badly and often falsely accused, the participants agreed that parents should be heard and respected. Patricia L. Hulsebosch (in Schubert and Ayers, 1992), discusses the difference between high-involvement teachers versus low-involvement teachers and how the difference between these types of teachers affects parent-teacher interactions and relationships. Based on the responses from my participants, I agree that teachers who see parent participation in the relationship building process as a necessary part of the equation usually approach parents with respect and dignity. Their desire to understand the child’s life from all perspectives supersedes any criticism they have concerning parents.
From the perspective of my participants, I find that these teachers have a genuine desire to be trusted and respected as teachers. When parents become irate or disgruntled due to their child’s skewed perspective on certain incidents at school, these teachers become hurt and disappointed more than angry. These teachers question why parents do not trust them more and respect their attempts to provide a safe and secure arena in which learning is taking place. Inasmuch as they welcome parents to be actively involved in their child’s life at school, negative encounters with parents undermine teacher passion and are not readily forgotten. Even though my
participants handle negative interactions with parents in the most professional of manners, they are often left saddened by the exchange.
Teacher Accountability
Interview Question: What does teacher accountability mean to you?
Interview Question: How do you feel about teacher accountability mandates according to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 initiative?
Susan Donovan: I am not concerned about teacher accountability. I put enough pressure on myself that no list of teacher behaviors can top my own standards for myself.
Mary Griggs: I think teachers need to be held accountable for their students’
progress. I am not sure I agree with the process for determining teacher accountability but I do think some type of teacher assessment should be in place. I feel badly for those teachers who are being told that they are not
‘highly qualified.’
Uticia Brown: Teacher accountability does not bother me. I know I am doing a good job of helping my students make progress so I do not worry about teacher accountability assessments. Teacher accountability under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 might scare some people into not wanting to be teachers.
It might also make some teachers leave the profession, especially in middle and high school.
Julie Mayville: When dealing with human beings, there is no way to escape the levels of subjectivity in an accountability assessment tool. Assessors have too much leeway in determining who is being accountable and who is not. Test
scores are but part of the picture. Once again, we’re dealing with human beings not products. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 teacher accountability section ignores the exceptions and pigeon holes teachers.
Diane Nobles: I believe teachers do the best they can with what they’re given. In spite of those who stand in judgment and criticize teachers, teachers try their best to help students learn. Teacher accountability is one more way to make teachers look bad. Instead of finding fault, politicians should be finding what’s right in our schools.
Yolanda Doctor: I would prefer that teacher accountability was based solely on my performance. I am one of those teachers who falls under the ‘not highly qualified’ label. Because I am certified in special education, I must pass the Praxis Test and gain certification in Early Elementary Education to be
considered ‘highly qualified.’ It’s a shame that the guidelines do not take into consideration my years of excellent performance and success with my
students.
Analysis of Teacher Responses Concerning Teacher Accountability According to Pinar 2004, “Accountability is not about learning, but about controlling what we teach to our children. It is about controlling the curriculum”
(p.26). The participants of this study reveal something quite different. In their responses to the topic of teacher accountability, much like their ideas about
standards, they understand the mandates, but go into their classrooms and do what they KNOW is best for children. Ayers (1989) explains and concurs with the teachers in this study when he writes,
It is true that teachers finally decide what goes on in classrooms. When the door is closed and the noise from outside and inside has settled, a teacher chooses. She can decide to satisfy distant demands or not, accommodate established expectations or not, embrace her narrowest self-interest or not.
She can decide whether to merely survive another day of inexhaustible demands and limited energy, or she can decide, for example, to interpret and invent, and resist and rebel when necessary. (p. 5)
Participants in this story choose to “resist and rebel” behind the closed doors of their classroom. They have enough confidence in their abilities as teachers to stand firm against legalistic terminology concerning teacher accountability for the sake of their students. They choose to use their energy worrying about student progress instead of worrying about their accountability to some “distant demands.”
Teacher Salaries
Interview Question: Teacher salaries are at the heart of the public debate. What are your thoughts about teacher salaries?
Interview Question: Some people believe that increasing teacher pay would entice higher quality people into the teaching field. What are your thoughts about that premise?
Susan Donovan: It’s true. Teachers are underpaid, especially when you reach the step that does not allow for an increase in pay. But, my small salary is not what keeps me teaching. I knew before I became a teacher that I would not make a whole lot of money. Money is not what entices a person into the teaching profession. Perhaps higher salaries would make college students