An increasing number of parents keep recently giving me “carte blanche” in helping their children learn foreign languages (both English and French, as I am into teaching both of them).
Not only did I feel truly appreciated for my work, but I also felt a much-needed affirmation of trust in my abilities to make professional choices in the classroom.
We, teachers, attempt the unknown, fail, and start over.
All I can say in these situations is “a big thank you” for the parents who understand what real learning is and who trust me to teach the best way I can.
Need 1: Parents as trustful partners
I started to inquire myself why exactly did I feel so astonished in acknowledging my need of approval from parents.
So I discovered my first need as a teacher. I kept interviewing my colleagues about their needs and submitted them a couple of choices like:
a)Smashed by the media, harassed by parents who think school should mean nothing but smooth sailing for their kids, fearing and worrying for their jobs in a rather troubled Romanian economy, hobbled by implementation of many well-intentioned standards, confused by managers or administrators who either micro-manage or lack the long view, teachers are feeling pretty demoralized these days, and above all, it is happening at a time when they must negotiate some of the greatest challenges ever to face their profession and the children they teach.
We need parents to be our partners as we face the challenges in a changing educational landscape. The road ahead is pretty daunting for teachers. No longer can we predict what our students will need to succeed in college and in their lives, requiring us to teach in so called blended learning format but many of us have no real personal experience of what that means. All we know is that we must adapt and change to meet the needs of students whose brains are wired differently from ours, but we also know that it will take time to practice and considerable thought to perfect our evolving craft.
Parents can help by sharing what they know about their children’s learning and by articulating what they need to learn from us in order to support their children’s learning at home. We need those parents who support new ways of learning, school leaders that allow kids to freely use the devices they have at their fingertips for learning in new, powerful ways.
Like our students, we need to dive into a problem in order to truly understand it, rather than just follow a prescribed route without working out what we are dealing with. We need guidance and inspiration from our leaders, but then we need you to get out of the way and let us figure out what change to a more blended teaching model means for us, for our students in our discipline in our classrooms.
Consequently 90 % expressed their willingness in dealing more with parents.
b) Need 2: Time
The most common issue or complaint I hear from my colleagues- teachers when they are asked to try new strategies in the classroom is “I don’t have time.” I can definitely feel their pain as I face the last month of the first school semester and wonder when I will get everything done. If managers and parents could create time for us, they would demonstrate their appreciation beyond measure, of course.
If we are to work through the issues of meeting the needs of the 21st-century learners, we need not to waste our time. We need not to be bothered by unnecessary emails and tasks that could be handled more efficiently and expertly (and possibly more inexpensively) by others.
Think about what is asked of teachers! If we really want teachers to think deeply about curricula and skills, then why don’t we have videos for flipping their classroom and provide feedback to writing online?
Teachers already work full, hard weeks — more than fifty hours per week on average (and based on my own experience, sometimes that includes summers “off”). If we want teachers to investigate and master new tools for the classroom, we need to give them time to play. The greatest tool in an administrator’s grasp is the schedule. How can our school leaders rethink the school day, flip professional development, and reinvent meetings to allow time for teachers to learn and explore and ultimately implement new ways of learning?
80 % of the teachers would like more time to share ideas and games in the classroom without being pressed by time.
c) Need 3: Connections
A recent conversation with a colleague helped me understand more deeply and personally the value of mentoring. I asked what she would ask for if she could have anything to help in her transition to a blended classroom, to a more interactive learning. Her answer was: “one-on-one instruction.”
Schools greatly underestimate the kind and quality of training their teachers need. Too often they come up with a pop idea of the moment, often in the meetings a few days before school starts, and expect teachers to just pick up the ball and run with it.
But the transformation and the change in schools will not happen if the teachers do not have the help and coaching they need. Certainly, hiring coaches would be an investment worth making. Providing ways to showcase innovative teaching, without offending the teachers who are still truly and meaningfully struggling, might be one road worth pursuing.
Helping teachers find and discover their own personal learning networks is the best way I know to help educators become self-directed, digital learners like their students. In this day and age, we all must gain the skills of directing our own learning, and teachers are no exception. They just need a little coaching (and they will tell you time as well) to get started.
50 % of the teachers want to improve their teaching skills.
d) Need 4: Courage
I’m lucky enough to be such an explorer of new ways of connecting with kids in the classroom.
I work with supportive parents who understand and support my work with their kids. I have an amazing personal learning network that helps me become a better teacher. But not every teacher has those blessings. In the end, we need to truly appreciate teachers by placing value on their courage to innovate in order to inspire innovation in their students.
100% of the teachers admitted lacking it.
e) Need 5: Money and resources
Romanian teachers are so underpaid. I personally consider themselves heroes and creators as they create our nation’s future sometimes almost for free; they invest and facilitate learning knowing the lack of appreciations from their own government.
80% of the teachers simply mentioned it vividly sorrowful as a basic need.
