Speak Up!
With all the debating and promises and agendas during the presidential debate, something struck a cord with me. Clinton at one point has said that, as president, she promises to listen to teachers. Now all political opinion aside, and with no intention whatsoever of supporting anyone's anything, it made me consider.
First, does the office of the President really have the power to influence the kind of positive action we need in Education? Or is there more power with the local district or State decisiona? I don't presume to know, I am just thinking out loud here.
But most importantly, if the President were to listen, who is there to speak?
Ask any good teacher and they can tick off a list of things that should be different in Education legislation. These are not gripes, or complaints, but intelligent observations of experienced professionals. So where are these experts when Educational legislation is decided? Hmm...
I asked a few of my more seasoned coworkers if they ever thought of stepping up and speaking out. The consistent answer was they would love to, but there simply is not enough time and energy left at the end of their day. The good ones, the ones we should be consulting, pour all their creative and intellectual energy into making specific educational change in the lifes of the individual student who sits in front of them. An exhausting process.
Oh and retirement? Well, that is for the grandbabies. Nothing wrong about that!
BUT--we do need to speak up. All of us. We need to be the ones to say, "Hey, that's not a good idea", or "What if we all did ... ?" Because we do have great ideas. We are the ones who will have immediate feedback as to what works or doesn't.
How might we be empowered to speak up?
Because our students do need change, and they need us to speak for them.
