A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Teacher Power: MODELING FOR EACH OTHER

Dina Portney looked at her teaching career and the climate of her Philadelphia high school and decided she was in a wasteland. That year--1986--was a critical juncture for her, a time when she had to decide if she could continue to put up with huge classes, top-down directives, no time to meet with other teachers, and a curriculum so standardized she could only use basal readers, not literature. Searching widely for help, she stumbled into a summer writing institute which was really about re-envisioning her classroom. "This was probably the only place where teachers across grade levels were talking with each other about teaching and learning," she recalled. The summer institutes, part of the National Writing Project, help teachers train each other. In Philadelphia, they have grown into support groups where, Portney said, "we are able to discuss strategies for altering school culture and district policies." Teachers have become empowered, she added, and with "their collective strength, their ability to impact on policy has increased."

In Gorham, Maine, similar empowerment has come about because teachers are free to do research. Through outside funding, every school has a Teacher-Scholar who helps teachers redefine their roles, reflect on their work, find resources they need. Says Sally Lockland, a current Teacher-Scholar, "Everyone is expected to have strengths and to contribute as we build a collective vision."

Perhaps one of the most intensive examples of teachers modeling for each other is the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), whose 63-member board is composed primarily of teachers. Its rigorous standards will allow experienced teachers to be certified as excellent and to become leaders on reform. The process of developing the certification criteria and pilot tests already reveals the potential of the assessment for helping teachers become models--for students and each other. It promotes teachers collaborating with each other, according to teachers involved with NBPTS.

***last updated 5/18/94 (pkickbush)***
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Teacher Power: SETTING NATIONAL STANDARDS Table of Contents Teacher Power: DESIGNING A STUDENT-CENTERED SCHOOL