I really believe that this "Buffer" theory is an insult to the educational profession. Just like any other profession in life, there are good professionals and poor professionals. Unfortunately, things go unnoticed for long periods of time before anyone is actually brought to justice. To say that the situation if "buffered" is an inappropriate interpretation.
Richard says that "the buffer theory prevents communities and the boards from knowing how well teachers teach". It is the only profession where the professional is doubted. When the banker at the bank takes on his roll as a trusted employee handling money, he remains at his job until he steals, the physician who is in the operating room is trusted by the external members of his organization to trust that he/she knows what they are doing, the mechanic is trusted under the hood of your car until the car fails, and there are a million other professions where accountability is measured by the code of professionalism. Not all teachers sit at their desks and read their newspapers. When teachers went to school for an education in teaching, we were all taught the legalities of the profession. To jeopardize that is to take the risk just like the banker would, or the doctor going to work drunk or the mechanic using the wrong part.
I do know teachers who give busy work and have no ties to the curriculum, but that is only a few and select individuals. I blame the stakeholders and the board for not going after them aggressively enough. I work in an area of the school that is rarely frequented by administration. Any individual can go there at any given time and they will see engaged learning taking place.
Teachers are evaluated just like any other professionals are.To go out of one's way to deliberately insinuate that the teacher is under the "status qou" theory is just another way that stakeholders go after the largest union of people who are responsible for educating the future generation.
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2 comments:
I understand how you would not want to be painted witht he same brush as the inneficient teachers.
For a different perspectivem, show the excerpt to your principal and ask them what they think!
You know Lizette when I began reading this article I felt insulted just like you are feeling, but when I finished reading the whole article I can understand what the intention of the article. It wasn't to put down teachers in general, but to make us aware as future adminstrators of what we are about to face. There are several teachers out there don their job insufficiently and there are many that do their job above and beyond. This article made me realize that what you think may be going on in certain classes, may not be the case. It made me think that I should be more invovled in the classroom and what the students are actually learning and taking away with them than anything else!
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