Cooperation
vs Competition in Education
Competition
I’m not talking about athletic, or even academic,
competition in public schools. They can
be uplifting and enhance school spirit when done in a positive way. What I am concerned with is the proposed
method of evaluating teachers using their students’ scores on standardized
tests. If I am being judged against
other teachers on test scores, then I will do all in my power to come out on
top. If that means keeping my successful
teaching techniques to myself, then so be it.
Why would I share good teaching tips with other teachers who may end up
pushing me out of my job? I do not want
to help my ‘competition’ become better than me and earn more bonus money than I
could. Nor do I want others to finish
higher than me on the passing test percentage list. If schools do plan to get rid of low performing
teachers, then I want to finish as high as possible on that list to keep my job.
I can also use other techniques to bolster my
rating. For instance, I could work
through the school counselors to get low performing students transferred out of
my classes. I do not want any
hard-to-train students when I could pass them off to other teachers. I used to work for the good of the students
but now, with my performance measured by these tests, I have to look out for my
rankings and me.
I will also petition to teach upper level courses,
especially AP, pre-AP, and gifted and talented courses. Those kids are the cream of the crop and do
extremely well on standardized tests. I
will push for any advantage I can get to keep my job and keep those bonuses
coming. Why not use the system to my
advantage?
I am certified in math and physics and have been
happy to teach both in the same school year.
I have actually done that and enjoyed it tremendously. It makes for an exhausting year but well
worth it. But under this new system, I
would decline to teach both at the same time.
Preparing for one subject is difficult enough but preparing for two is
even tougher. Maybe the school could use
my expertise in the two subjects and spread the work out among teachers in a
more efficient manner but that is not my problem. I want to maximize my benefits and I am not
concerned about whatever problems the school may have. The schedule and work load are their problems,
not mine. I am here to use the system to
maximize my salary, not for any other purpose like making administrators jobs
any easier.
Cooperation
Now that I’ve showed you a cynical view of teaching
with scores used to evaluate teachers, let me show you a better way to
facilitate the learning process.
Cooperation is the key. Departments
and teams that work together for the overall good of the students is the way to
go. Sharing and letting others in on
your techniques helps all in the quest for superior performance. Assisting in the process rather than trying
to come out at the top of the heap is the preferred method to use in
education. Counselors can steer students
with special needs to the teachers who can best assist that student in the
learning process. I had counselors tell
me they were giving me tough to handle students because they thought I could
get through to them. I enjoyed the
challenge and did ‘get through’ to some of these kids. But it took extra time and effort. However, under this new system, I would
refuse to take on those students.
Lesson
Learned
There is so much more than test scores in
education. When those reformers and
political leaders realize this, then maybe, just maybe, teachers will be
allowed to do what we have done well for many years, and that is teach
children, not just the subject listed on our resume, but about life and how to
be good human beings in a big, bad world.
