Last week, I introduced the meaning of cultural competence, looking back at its origins at the anthropological and ethnological levels. Just want to finish the initial thoughts on this subject today. It is particularly interesting to see how we are such creatures of habit, and particularly how much faith and trust we place with strangers many times over the course of a day.
Still planning on taking a look at the topic of paying college athletes for Thursday. Just searching for an article that I wrote back in 1986 on the effect which a successful college athletic program can have on the whole of a college or university. We are about to see another case in point as the number of applications to Virginia Commonwealth University will skyrocket over the next several years. Immediately, the coach, Shaka Smart, was signed to a eight-year contract with a 400% raise, from 325K to 1.3 million. Great news for the coach, but many educators in our state have not received a raise in three years. (OK, that's another story). But, what do the players like Rodriguez and Skeen see? You know, they did play the games.
But back to Geertz.....
Geertz defines significant symbols as “the meaningful symbols that constitute culture as an indispensable guide to human behavior.” Geertz continues “without them (symbols), we would not be clever savages like in Lord of the Flies. We would not be nature’s noblemen, who in Enlightenment thought lurk beneath the trappings of culture. We would not be intrinsically talented apes who had somehow failed to find themselves, as classical anthropological theory seems to imply. We would be unworkable monstrosities.” (Geertz, 1973)
Starts At Birth
The bottom line is that we are products of our environment. Most of our customary behavior is shaped by observation, by initiation, or by instruction at the hands of other members of the group. (Barrett, p. 54).
Most of these characteristics are formed in the first three years of life and the process begins at birth. Customs are learned. For example, does the family eat with forks or chopsticks? What language is spoken in the home? At what age are babies trained to crawl, walk, and toilet train? The particular society in which one is reared determine the answers to theses questions and many others like them. Many of these practices have been developed for generations and will continue to passed on for future generations. The techniques and practices are ingrained in each society.
Another sociologist, Emile Durkheim was one of the first to write about the influence from the great power that society exercised over every individual. He wrote of the education of children that begins from the womb. Durkheim describes how babies are taught how to eat, drink and sleep at certain hours, how they are taught to clean themselves, how to remain calm, how to obey and to exert pressure, how to show respect and give consideration for others.
According to Durkheim, the reason why children are so vulnerable to this type of training is that they have no choice. Acknowledging that children do not like to be toilet trained or fed, or dressed, Durkheim also notes that babies will cry as a defense mechanism, bit come to realize that their wailing and howling tantrums will be exerted with no effect. When the child realizes that the “world” is against him, he will comply. This is the reason why it takes less than three years for the core of a child’s cultural tradition to emerge. It is not brainwashing, but rather the fact remains that the child has developed stereotypes gestures and salutations that are peculiar to that society. (Barrett, p. 56). One anthropologist liked to refer to it as a “blueprint for all of life’s activities” (Kluckhorn, 1949).
Predictability is also important in studying cultural behavior. As humans, we are creatures of habit. This is made easier because we are expected to follow rules and regulations, whether they are local, federal, or familial. While we follow our important rules, we also assume that others in society will do likewise. A good example of trust in other people comes from an analysis of car traffic. Almost all drivers have little difficulty stopping at the proper red light, but why should we assume that every other driver is following suit? We have an inherent expectation that others will observe the same rules that we adhere to, simply because these behaviors have been instilled in us during the process of earning one’s driver license.
What is Cultural Competence (Part I)
As noted earlier, my chosen focus in educational studies is cultural competence. I truly believe that a key to improving the education problems in America can come from making our teachers (some, not all) more culturally aware of who they are teaching. In the coming weeks, I will examine this topic in greater detail, including some insight into my own personal history with the subject (aka - here's where I came from!)
On another note, I am going to post twice a week from now on. Monday will be dedicated to my studies on education, while on Thursday I will seek to add more op-ed type of articles. Admittedly, since sports is in my wheelhouse, a lot of the articles might be sports related. Currently examining some topics for this Thursday, especially with the hullabaloo going on about cheating in college athletics. The question has been raised -- should college athletes be paid. The NCAA says no way, while many columnists and desk jockeys disagree. Over the past week, a few key journalists and commentators have chipped in with some great thoughts, particularly Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post and the members of the John Riggins Show, shown on Mid-Atlantic Sports Network and worldwide at http://riggo44.com. For the record, I love this show and have found many others who share this feeling. That's my aim for Thursday.
But for today, some opening thoughts on cultural competence.
In order to begin any discussion on cultural competence, one must look backwards and analyze the behaviors of previous generations. While working to best understand why people act a certain way in the present, it is necessary to study the behaviors and actions of those who lived before us. When the topic comes to understanding human behavior on a broad level, looking into the past requires a working knowledge of anthropolgy.
In its simplest form, anthropology is defined as the knowledge or study of human beings. The science has been split into four fields, and the one most closely related to our topic is cultural anthropology, also called social anthropology or socio-cultural anthropology. In a sense, these anthropologists make the argument that culture is based on human nature and that people are capable of classifying expereinces, encoding classifications in a symbolic manner and teaching their findings to others. In short, culture is learned, and because of this, people living in different places have different cultures. Part of the conflict with different groups of people involves the strain between one living in his ordinary (local) world versus his struggle to exist in the global (universal) society.
The origins of this branch of anthropology fall to the early 19th century with the study of ethnology. Ethnology systematically compares different human societies. Ethnologists were concerned with the idea of why people living in different parts of the world behaved in different ways. It was believed by the early theorists that beliefs and practices were passed from one group to another, either directly or indirectly. Some believed that they spread from one place to another, although the explanation of how as never fully developed. There were beliefs in a cultural evolution, complete with several stages.
Ethnography
Much of these theories were rejected in the 20th century with the advance of ethnography. By definition, ethnography is “a methodology that sprang in the first instance of anthropology and anthropological theory has been adopted by symbolic interactionism and adapted to its own purposes” (Crotty, 1998). Ethnography put the researcher squarely among the culture being studied. The key word is immersion. In ethnography, the anthropologist lives inside of another society for a consideable period of time.
The practice was advanced by Franz Boas. Boas, a German scientist, observed and participated in the social and cultural life of Arctic Eskimos as part of his fieldwork on Baffin Island in Canada. The experience changed Boas’ outlook and turned him from a “scientist’s view of cognition to an historian’s view of culture.” (Crotty, p. 76) In his view, cultures were “irreducable and incomparable.” Through his influence, Boas was credited with helping cultural relativism succeed in dominating American anthropology.
Boas continued - “culture is not to be criticised. One is to observe it as closely as possible, attempt to take the place of those within the culture and search out the insider’s perspective.”
Others contributed to the cause. Although ethnography was born to anthropology, the study was adopted (and adapted) by sociology. (Crotty, p.76) British educational researcher Martyn Hammersley is an advocate for ethnography and defines it this way.
All in the Symbolism
One notable concept forwarded by the American cultural anthropologists was that of symbolic interactionism. Clifford Geertz wrote of “a system of significant symbols.” (Crotty, p. 53). The thought process behind this suggests that humans require a great deal of stimulation and continuous learning - of language and other symbolic systems - to maintain even normal human functioning. (Barrett, 1984). Without meaningful symbolic communication, even normal mental functions cannot be aroused. One example of this is noted in Barrett’s piece entitled “The Meaning of Culture.” In it, a newspaper account from 1973 is rehashed. The article centers around a 13-year-old girl who had been held captive in her home for most of her life. The girl, Susan Wiley, was discovered by social workers and studied while a plan for rehabilitation was developed.
Wiley was deformed, incapable of speaking, and wore diapers. Her muscle development was retarded from lack of exercise and she walked with a stoop. Her mental capacity equalled that of a 12-to-18 month infant. The reasoning behind these deficiencies and deformities was determined to be her lack of social contact during her developing years. Other children, who were neglected and later found showed similar shortcomings. In each case, the absence of social stimuli and communications were seen as causal reasons.
(More on Susan Wiley and Cultural Competence next Monday..thanks for reading)
On another note, I am going to post twice a week from now on. Monday will be dedicated to my studies on education, while on Thursday I will seek to add more op-ed type of articles. Admittedly, since sports is in my wheelhouse, a lot of the articles might be sports related. Currently examining some topics for this Thursday, especially with the hullabaloo going on about cheating in college athletics. The question has been raised -- should college athletes be paid. The NCAA says no way, while many columnists and desk jockeys disagree. Over the past week, a few key journalists and commentators have chipped in with some great thoughts, particularly Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post and the members of the John Riggins Show, shown on Mid-Atlantic Sports Network and worldwide at http://riggo44.com. For the record, I love this show and have found many others who share this feeling. That's my aim for Thursday.
But for today, some opening thoughts on cultural competence.
In order to begin any discussion on cultural competence, one must look backwards and analyze the behaviors of previous generations. While working to best understand why people act a certain way in the present, it is necessary to study the behaviors and actions of those who lived before us. When the topic comes to understanding human behavior on a broad level, looking into the past requires a working knowledge of anthropolgy.
In its simplest form, anthropology is defined as the knowledge or study of human beings. The science has been split into four fields, and the one most closely related to our topic is cultural anthropology, also called social anthropology or socio-cultural anthropology. In a sense, these anthropologists make the argument that culture is based on human nature and that people are capable of classifying expereinces, encoding classifications in a symbolic manner and teaching their findings to others. In short, culture is learned, and because of this, people living in different places have different cultures. Part of the conflict with different groups of people involves the strain between one living in his ordinary (local) world versus his struggle to exist in the global (universal) society.
The origins of this branch of anthropology fall to the early 19th century with the study of ethnology. Ethnology systematically compares different human societies. Ethnologists were concerned with the idea of why people living in different parts of the world behaved in different ways. It was believed by the early theorists that beliefs and practices were passed from one group to another, either directly or indirectly. Some believed that they spread from one place to another, although the explanation of how as never fully developed. There were beliefs in a cultural evolution, complete with several stages.
Ethnography
Much of these theories were rejected in the 20th century with the advance of ethnography. By definition, ethnography is “a methodology that sprang in the first instance of anthropology and anthropological theory has been adopted by symbolic interactionism and adapted to its own purposes” (Crotty, 1998). Ethnography put the researcher squarely among the culture being studied. The key word is immersion. In ethnography, the anthropologist lives inside of another society for a consideable period of time.
The practice was advanced by Franz Boas. Boas, a German scientist, observed and participated in the social and cultural life of Arctic Eskimos as part of his fieldwork on Baffin Island in Canada. The experience changed Boas’ outlook and turned him from a “scientist’s view of cognition to an historian’s view of culture.” (Crotty, p. 76) In his view, cultures were “irreducable and incomparable.” Through his influence, Boas was credited with helping cultural relativism succeed in dominating American anthropology.
Boas continued - “culture is not to be criticised. One is to observe it as closely as possible, attempt to take the place of those within the culture and search out the insider’s perspective.”
Others contributed to the cause. Although ethnography was born to anthropology, the study was adopted (and adapted) by sociology. (Crotty, p.76) British educational researcher Martyn Hammersley is an advocate for ethnography and defines it this way.
All in the Symbolism
One notable concept forwarded by the American cultural anthropologists was that of symbolic interactionism. Clifford Geertz wrote of “a system of significant symbols.” (Crotty, p. 53). The thought process behind this suggests that humans require a great deal of stimulation and continuous learning - of language and other symbolic systems - to maintain even normal human functioning. (Barrett, 1984). Without meaningful symbolic communication, even normal mental functions cannot be aroused. One example of this is noted in Barrett’s piece entitled “The Meaning of Culture.” In it, a newspaper account from 1973 is rehashed. The article centers around a 13-year-old girl who had been held captive in her home for most of her life. The girl, Susan Wiley, was discovered by social workers and studied while a plan for rehabilitation was developed.
Wiley was deformed, incapable of speaking, and wore diapers. Her muscle development was retarded from lack of exercise and she walked with a stoop. Her mental capacity equalled that of a 12-to-18 month infant. The reasoning behind these deficiencies and deformities was determined to be her lack of social contact during her developing years. Other children, who were neglected and later found showed similar shortcomings. In each case, the absence of social stimuli and communications were seen as causal reasons.
(More on Susan Wiley and Cultural Competence next Monday..thanks for reading)
Servant Leadership
Continuing the Journey to the East
There is an interesting passage in The Journey to the East that sums up why this book is a tribute to the concept of servant- leadership. In the exchange, Leo is defining the Law of Service to H.H. His quote is He who wishes to live long must serve, but he who wishes to rule does not live long.
H.H. then asks the question, "Then why do so many strive to rule?"
Leo's response is poignant and worth further review. He replies, "Because they do not understand." There are few who are born to be masters; they remain happy and healthy. But all the others who have only become masters through endeavor, end in nothing.
To me, this means that it is important to an individual to find meaning in life, to find something which makes oneself happy, to find joy in one's work. A pursuit with true meaning is found in the life of service, as opposed to a life obsessed with the desire to control, dominate, or manipulate. Those that live to serve others are happier and healthier than those who seek domination in their pursuit of power.
Perhaps it was this quote, or others like it, that inspired Robert Greenleaf to coin the phrase, servant leadership. Further reading found a background on Greenleaf. His own work history was impressive, spanning 65 years, with only the last 25 devoted to his academic and writing projects. For the first 40 or so years of his career, Greenleaf was a manager and consultant at AT&T. Finding inspiration from Hesse's book, Greenleaf used the term servant leadership in a 1970 essay entitled The Servant as Leader. In it, he explores the notion that a great leader must first be one who serves. Finding that his theory was well accepted, Greenleaf continued to compose essays on the subject, while finding receptive audiences at his public lectures on the subject. While known as a business management term, the author angled his lens in different directions with the concept to look at topics such as the teacher, the institution and the trustee as servant.
By definition, Greenleaf's view of servant leadership is devoted to several ideals. These include, increased service to others, a holistic approach to work, promoting a sense of community and the sharing of power in decision making. It is more than a way to work, it is a way of life, a self-promotion of character. By nature, it is a lifelong process working toward the growth of self-awareness. By developing and practicing certain habits, one is introduced to a better way of living.
The litmus test, according to Greenleaf comes in the growth of others. The author wrote, do those served grow as persons; do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? His approach also examines the effectiveness of the self-aware individual on society by asking what is the effect on the least privileged in society; will he benefit, or at least, will he not be further deprived?
It is an interesting question when studying the character of Leo. For the first half of Journey, he is seen as the servant, in a sense, the guide for the League journeymen. In spite of his lowly status among the group, it is acknowledged that Leo is in possession of the necessary items which are needed for the journey, a fact that no one in the group seems to question.
Getting back to Greenleaf's quote about the effect of a capable servant leader on society, did the least privileged in society, or the League, benefit from Leo's presence? One may argue that H.H. was the least privileged of the group, and if this is the case, the answer is yes. After Leo left the group, the dynamic disintegrated and chaos ensued, leading to the break-up of the League. Leo's effect on H.H. can be shown by the reaction he has upon Leo's return. He is excited and wanting to speak with Leo and is quite upset when it appears that the guide/servant has forgotten him.
However, H.H. is more surprised to learn that Leo is indeed the President of the League and comes to realize why he is working so hard to please the person he had viewed as a servant. Although Leo hid behind a subservient role, his power existed in his practice of expert leadership. Whenever a member of the League had a question or needed something, Leo was the go-to person. Even if he had not been the President, Leo would have enjoyed the status of unofficial leader by virtue of his knowledge and connections.
Larry Spears is the President and CEO of the Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership. He has picked up the ball and continued Greenleaf's work, authoring nine books on servant-leadership. He has studied Greenleaf's writings and developed ten characteristics which he sees as central to the development of servant-leaders.
The first is listening. The servant-leader listens intently to others with the motive of identifying the will of the group. Reflection is part of this characteristic.
Empathy is the second trait. The servant-leader accepts and recognizes coworkers for their unique and special spirits.
Healing is next. The successful servant-leader recognizes the emotional hurts of others and helps to make whole all that they come in contact.
Awareness is fourth. This includes self-awareness as well as general awareness with issues, especially involving ethics and values.
Persuasion is important. The servant-leader seeks to convince others rather than coerce. Consensus building is seen as an important skill.
Conceptualization is an key characteristic. The successful servant-leader dreams great dreams. Having the ability to see around the corner is crucial, as is the skill of thinking outside the box. However, one must maintain the balance between looking into the future while keeping up with the day-to-day activities.
Foresight is the ability to learn from past mistakes. It follows the intuitive mind, where the servant-leader knows the likely consequence of a decision for the future.
Stewardship is the practice of all stakeholders in an institution hold their trust for the greater good of society. Openness and persuasion replace control.
Commitment to the growth of people is the belief that people within the institution have an intrinsic value that goes beyond their contributions as workers. The competent servant-leader is committed to the growth of each individual in the organization.
Finally, an effort to building community is the last characteristic. It is believed that a community can be built within the organization, and the servant-leader is the person to lead the way by demonstrating his/her own unlimited liability for a community-related group.
In conclusion, there is no doubt that the servant-leadership movement has gained popularity over the past 39 years, when Greenleaf penned his essay on the subject. Hesse's Journey to the East has earned significance as a book because of its obvious influence on this concept.
The origins of the 2011 Egyptian revolution
Taking a break from the educational side of this, but I may post an article about early childhood development next week.
In light of the chaos taking place in North Africa, there looks to be a common thread weaving its way through the madness. In short, it is that citizens have felt oppressed and voiceless. While similar situations have existed for thousands of years, it is interesting to see how the influence of Facebook, YouTube and Twitter have allowed these people to speak up for themselves and get their message out to the rest of the world. Tunisia and Egypt have managed to overthrow their leaders and Libyans appear to be close to showing Moammar the door. But how does a revolution start? In Egypt, it appears that the citizens got a look at the success their neighbors were having and used the social media as an outlet to "Just Say No!" In the end, Mubarak and his multi-billion dollar empire was left with no choice but to resign.
The concept of holding a revolution in Egypt was not unique; in fact, the 2011 uprising was the fifth to take place in modern Egyptian history, although the first since 1950. In the wake of the civil unrest and consequent successful overthrow of the Zine El Abidine Ben Ali leadership in Tunisia, the stage was set for the oppressed citizens of Egypt to make a move. In reality, the seeds for the movement may have been planted as many as ten years earlier. The successful outcome in Tunisia helped to give Egyptians hope that their movement would also accomplish its objective. For 18 days, beginning on January 25, scores of protestors took to the streets, under mostly peaceful circumstances, to denounce the leadership of President Hosni Mubarak. At first, Mubarak offered to not seek re-election, but after further protests, the president of 30 years resigned.
Reasons for fighting back
There are many reasons for the revolution, and most of the reasons focus on economic, as well as political issues. In the end, an Egyptian people tired of being held back decided to retaliate. Mubarak, like many other African dictators, headed a corrupt system. Free elections were not a reality in Egypt and freedom of speech was frowned upon. The unemployment rate was excessively high, while Egyptians, who were able to work, did so for low minimum wages. Many Egyptians work for less than $2 a day. The price of food was uncharacteristically expensive and police brutality ran rampant on the streets. While many Egyptians toiled in poverty, the Mubarak family amassed a fortune, known to be as high as $70 billion.
Larger Issues
The issues which sent Egyptians to the streets were not unique in the Middle East. The problems which have been forcing uprisings in countries since the Tunisian and Egyptian takeovers are tied to the broader issues of capitalism within the region. Two are of particular importance. First, the global economic recession and nature of neoliberalism in Egypt are causing concern as the country becomes more dependent on American capital investment, while shifting to single crop production for export and the privatization of public companies.
The second issue is the role which Egypt has held in fostering American dominance in the Middle East and North Africa. Many Egyptians felt as if Mubarak was more concerned with his country’s relationship with the Western world than his own people, profiting from American business contacts while the gap between the wealthy and the starving widened.
Social Media
Although many Egyptians lived in an oppressed state, there had been no means of mobilizing the masses to protest. This changed with the advent of social media outlets, such as Facebook and Twitter. In one well known occurrence, Wael Abbas “tweeted” his arrest while being moved to jail, and found hundreds of protestors outside the police station upon his arrival. While the movement in Egypt was uncoordinated from a planning standpoint, the ability to transmit moving images to a fixated public put the upheaval as the lead story on many news outlets.
Timing Was Right
In the end summary, the timing was right for an Egyptian revolution. The negative economic and social factors came to a boiling point just as the Tunisians were overthrowing the Ben Ali regime. Looking for an example to follow, the citizens of Egypt learned of people like Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian who set himself on fire in protest of the Tunisian regime, or Khaled Saeed, an Egyptian who was brutally beaten by police for refusing to pay a bribe. Using modern technology, the Egyptians quickly crafted a message and sent it out for the world to see. After 18 days of protest, their mission was accomplished and President Mubarak resigned.
Closing the Achievement Gap -- What's a Building Leader to do?
I hope that everybody had a successful SPRING forward! YAWN!! I want to take a brief look at the role of the educational leader in terms of closing the achievement gap for this week's topic. The root of many school's SOL (Standards of Learning) problems mirror their ability to close the achievement gap.
Personally, I think that many problems with achievement gap have to do with cultural competency issues. In other words, some teachers do not understand the members of their classes on a racial, religious, economic, gender, disability or other level. I am going to veer in this direction with some future writings as it is the centerpiece of my dissertation studies.
As a building leader, the responsibilities of closing the achievement gap fall on several levels. The core traits involved with being a successful school leader are an ability to serve as a model teacher, a continuing awareness of cultural competency and the ability to analyze data, develop effective teaching strategies designed to improve learning deficiencies, and communicate the findings to the teaching staff. First, as an administrator, one is expected to be an educational leader. As such, the school leader needs to be a capable teacher in the classroom. A wealth of classroom experience helps when it comes to working with teachers to develop strategies. Therefore, any strategies aimed at closing the achievement gap can be modeled on a daily basis.
Secondly, in order to improve the achievement gap situation, the administrator needs to work with the leadership team to promote cultural competency among the members of the teaching staff. This should be an ongoing process. Cultural competence is more involved than simple cultural awareness and it cannot be taught in a single professional development session. This is especially important in more diverse school systems. This concept could be the most important element to be overcome in order to truly make progress toward closing the gap. It is not simply a black or white issue, but transcends many nationalities, and includes issues such as learning disabilities and socioeconomics.
Third, as a building leader, one must be skilled at reading into the most appropriate data to identify trends in achievement and to determine what needs to be improved. Effective teaching strategies are best employed when the available testing data has pointed to the deficiencies that need to be addressed. Studying the evidence and clearly communicating a plan of action to the teaching staff is crucial to closing the achievement gap. Having the ability to analyze data becomes a useful skill when the information can be shared among staff members. A competent assistant principal will promote an environment of positive collaboration and shared experiences among teachers.
These are the most important skills for a school leader to possess, but they must be encompassed with the ability to build and develop teams of teachers, to foster an environment of cooperation and trust and to show empathy with teachers when needed.
Personally, I think that many problems with achievement gap have to do with cultural competency issues. In other words, some teachers do not understand the members of their classes on a racial, religious, economic, gender, disability or other level. I am going to veer in this direction with some future writings as it is the centerpiece of my dissertation studies.
As a building leader, the responsibilities of closing the achievement gap fall on several levels. The core traits involved with being a successful school leader are an ability to serve as a model teacher, a continuing awareness of cultural competency and the ability to analyze data, develop effective teaching strategies designed to improve learning deficiencies, and communicate the findings to the teaching staff. First, as an administrator, one is expected to be an educational leader. As such, the school leader needs to be a capable teacher in the classroom. A wealth of classroom experience helps when it comes to working with teachers to develop strategies. Therefore, any strategies aimed at closing the achievement gap can be modeled on a daily basis.
Secondly, in order to improve the achievement gap situation, the administrator needs to work with the leadership team to promote cultural competency among the members of the teaching staff. This should be an ongoing process. Cultural competence is more involved than simple cultural awareness and it cannot be taught in a single professional development session. This is especially important in more diverse school systems. This concept could be the most important element to be overcome in order to truly make progress toward closing the gap. It is not simply a black or white issue, but transcends many nationalities, and includes issues such as learning disabilities and socioeconomics.
Third, as a building leader, one must be skilled at reading into the most appropriate data to identify trends in achievement and to determine what needs to be improved. Effective teaching strategies are best employed when the available testing data has pointed to the deficiencies that need to be addressed. Studying the evidence and clearly communicating a plan of action to the teaching staff is crucial to closing the achievement gap. Having the ability to analyze data becomes a useful skill when the information can be shared among staff members. A competent assistant principal will promote an environment of positive collaboration and shared experiences among teachers.
These are the most important skills for a school leader to possess, but they must be encompassed with the ability to build and develop teams of teachers, to foster an environment of cooperation and trust and to show empathy with teachers when needed.
Evaluating the purpose of teacher tenure
I recently completed a set (OK, ten) annotations shadowing various opinions on teacher tenure, which may be one of the centerpieces of any reform movement. As one of my William and Mary professors claimed, "Change is on the way..it's going to happen." The other centerpiece is merit pay, which is difficult because it is difficult to determine how to evaluate teachers. Do we measure by test scores, student surveys, principal evaluations, etc..? Both sides feel strongly about their views. One side suggests that the teaching profession is inundated with low-performing employees whose motivation could be summer vacation. On the other side are those who believe that academic freedom can only be achieved by teachers who have job security. Personally, I agree with the tenure concept, but see the current measuring stick (2-4 years in most states) as rather short. I also see merit pay around the corner and the distribution of money to teachers will probably be affected by all the evaluation methods suggested above, along with a few others.
I'd like to come back to the topic of teacher tenure from time to time, especially as the changes are being put into place. It will be interesting to see how the negotiating techniques of a certain Governor or two will affect the overall mood of educators. This may lead to another question entirely, that being, "Are unions relevant anymore?"
One of the most controversial topics in education today is that of teacher tenure. While a group of educators argues that teachers need to be protected with a reasonable level of job security in order to perform their duties, the detractors fire back with tales of low performing teachers who cannot be removed because they have earned tenure.
Reasons for Tenure
The two main reasons for establishing teacher tenure were to protect academic freedom for the teachers and to provide simple job security. In the 1983 book, “Critical Elements of the Employment Relationship,” legal scholar Joseph Beckham notes that tenured status is the most substantial right in employment that state statute or school board policy can convey to the public school employee. In terms of its intent, the author adds that the other purpose of tenure is to “compel procedural due process in dismissal or other adverse employment actions and thus to protect competent professional staff from unjust or arbitrary employment decisions.” (p. 10)
Does Tenure Allow for Incompetent Teachers?
Tenure is granted after the completion of a probationary period, which allows school building leaders ample time to judge the effectiveness of a classroom teacher. Generally, this period lasts between two and four years. As each teacher, regardless of tenured or non-tenured status, is observed and evaluated several times each school year, the argument against the detractors is that there are numerous opportunities to examine the effectiveness of a new teacher and to dismiss incompetent ones before they are granted tenure. In a 1982 article, Ernest Brown notes that the problem of incompetent teachers lies not from tenured status, but “is the result of administrators who avoid preparing cases for dismissal.” (p. 54)
How Do Teachers Feel?
In a 2003 article for School Reform News, George Clowes conducted a study among a group of New Jersey teachers and his findings were unique to the debate. Surprisingly, there are a majority of teachers (58 percent) who admit that being awarded tenure does not necessarily mean such teachers have worked hard and proven themselves to be adept at their craft. Fifty-nine percent acknowledge that some of their colleagues should not be teaching as they fail to do a proficient job.
In the same survey, looking at possible alternatives to tenure, most teachers were not in favor of merit pay, but 70 percent were receptive to the concept of “combat pay,” a bonus for teachers who work in rough neighborhoods at low performing schools. If the standards are changed, 93 percent believe that they should be set by educational professionals and not elected officials.
Reforming Tenure
Many questions about the usefulness about teacher tenure arose after the A Nation at Risk report in 1983. Over the past 27 years, academicians have searched for new and innovative ways to improve the system which grants continuing contract status to qualified teachers.
In a 2010 article on teacher tenure reform for www.americanprogress.org, Patrick McGuinn of Drew University and the Institute for Advanced Study raises several interesting points on the subject. The author notes that a great deal of recent research on teacher quality has devoted scant attention to the enactment and implementation of teacher reforms. While focusing on the costs and benefits of tenure, there has an absence of scholarly argument about genuine solutions to improving the tenure process. McGuinn offers nine recommendations, ranging from the Department of Education funding research and pilot demonstration programs, to think tanks and organizations such as the National Governor’s Association providing more informational resources and policy guidance to states wishing to pursue teacher tenure reform.
Suffice it to say, the argument surrounding the purpose of teacher tenure continues to be echoed throughout the halls and meeting rooms of school boards and legislators alike.
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