I was very proud to be a Massachusetts educator until the pandemic struck. There was and continues to be so much to be proud of with regard to Massachusetts' public schools including the following elements:
- Quality standards for teaching and learning
- High expectations for students and educators
- Worthy teaching/learning goals
- Positive efforts to optimize curriculum, programming, teaching/learning environments
- Strong union membership/efforts/outreach
- Strong public support for public schools
Now, satisfied with my choice since it was right for me to leave, and what I've been able to do since for my family has been significant and positive, I am thinking about how Massachusetts can now regain the good teaching/learning that was happening prior to the pandemic. What can they do?
First, Massachusetts can continue the positive curriculum efforts they were committed to--efforts that were deepening, bettering teaching/learning programs in ways that match cognitive science and the modern world. Many of the Massachusetts' professional learning programs I attended truly ignited and improved what I could do in the classroom--this was very good work. Commissioner Riley and his team were right on with their many curriculum ideas and programming. The one challenge with these programs was that the people attending were mostly from administrative ranks rather than teacher--there are too many administrators in systems, and too often their work does not trickle down to effective service to students. It should be teachers that are attending these workshops and receiving the professional learning needed--we don't need lots of middle-persons in education as that dilutes the good work possible with regard to students and families.
Continue to expect high standards for teaching and learning, but rethink how those standards are evaluated and promoted. The high standards for teachers in Massachusetts meant that new teachers have been coming to Massachusetts' schools highly trained and ready to do an amazing job. I was so impressed with so many new teachers, and this, in part, was due to the high standards Massachusetts has for teacher candidates and educators. Massachusetts should consider financial incentives for people to enter the teaching field since good college programs are expensive and teacher pay is relatively low--perhaps any student who enters the teaching field and stays for ten years does not have to pay for student loans.
Re-think the teacher evaluation system. While the standards for teaching well are excellent, the system is burdensome and time-consuming. This system takes too much time for administrators and also creates a layer of fat in the system that can be deconstructed in order to make more good time for direct teaching and learning. This system can continue to be based on the awesome standards listed, but greatly simplified with regard to evaluation time and process.
Redirect the layer of administrative fat that exists in every school system. Sadly, because teacher responsibilties are so unreasonable, teachers do not have the time to lead well with their knowledge and skill. Teachers who directly serve students are greatly overworked which leads many into leadership roles that are wasteful and oppressive. For example, I worked about seventy-hours a week just to meet the expectations for my work. Meanwhile I had about a dozen educational leaders telling me what to do daily--often their directives were contradictory to one another and outdated. Many of those leaders rarely-to-never worked directly with students. Also, they were not evaluated well or tracked as teachers were. We were tracked by multiple evaluation tests and efforts--some which were not indicative of the work we were doing. There is a lot of injustice in school infrastructure--some positions are responsible for very few students and much less work while other positions are responsible for countless students and overwhelming expectations. By re-looking at roles in the school and their direct responsibility for students and families, we can gain more good support for students/families, empower educators, and modernize schools more.
Update, modernize teaching/learning online and offline environments. Schools have to be able to pivot more easily in times of trouble. Both online and offline learning communities need to be updated. Too many learning environments are outdated. The bathrooms are gross, the buildings too crowded, and the schedules oppressive. Honestly, in many schools, teachers don't have time to use a restroom or eat a peaceful lunch--these are simple matters to change. Further educators often don't have time to do the work they are expected to do. A friend is spending this weekend writing student report cards--there should be time during a teacher's day to do the related work like writing report cards, researching/planning lessons, meeting with families and attending professional meetings online and offline. When educators are overworked and undersupported, the great potential for what can happen in schools for students and families is compromised.
Make learning environments welcoming and inviting. Update buildings, remake playgrounds, sports fields and natural environments, and improve virtual learning environments and access too.
Increase staff at schools. Too often school staffs are simply too small in numbers for the needs of the children. Due to countless societal factors, many children are arriving at school with lots of social, emotional and physical needs, but the staffing is too small and mismanaged to serve those needs. Eliminate the wasteful roles at the administrative level and increase direct teaching/service staff at every school--that will greatly increase the quality, achievement and satisfaction related to public schools. Also, by increasing staff, it's possible to increase the diversity of the staff which will result in more students seeing people like them in roles of leadership and learning. This will result in better teaching, learning and leadership.
Invest in schools. The public has to invest in schools--that investment will pay off greatly with increased good living, less violence and greater contribution to a cohesitve society going forward. It's possible to add a corporate tax to every location so that big businesses who profit from the labor and location of cities such as Boston, Worcester, and Springfield have to contribute greatly to the public schools in those areas via this tax.
Make good time and support for students' extracurricular activities. The extracurricular activities at every level of learning are often undersupported. This is a BIG mistake since children's passions and interests are greatly supported via extracurricular activities. Instead make nature, arts, tech, and sports a mainstay of teaching/learning life with considerable staffing and time each day--that will inspire and excite children as well as help them figure out who they are and where they are headed in life. We can no longer take advantage of the good will and passion of extracurricular coaches and experts, and instead we have to pay them a fair wage and offer needed supports so they can do the transformative, empowering work that they do.
Rethink how school committees work. In too many communities, the school committee members reflect the most privileged people in the community. Often these members reflect their own interests rather than what's good for the entire school system including those students/educators who are marginalized. I believe that most school committee members are well meaning, yet I do believe that we can better support and promote school committee work that truly uplifts school systems in inclusive, equitable, successful ways that serve all students and the community well, and there's work to do in this regard. Too many school committee members do not have the need background in education, psychology, cognitive science and leadership needed to make the important decisions related to students' optimal achievement.
Focus on places where great innovation can happen. Highlight that innovation and let these leadership schools and staff teach others as to how to do this. This would create a ripple of success that will grow and empower all students, families, and educators as well as uplift our state for the days, weeks, months and years ahead.
It is time for Massachusetts' schools and Massachusetts' Teachers Union to rethink their priorities, advocacy, and efforts. Fortunately there is a lot of good work to build upon and make better. The key to this good work is to empower the educators with greater leadership, more reasonable expectations, fair pay and worthy opportunities and time to collaborate with students and families to grow a dynamic public school infrastructure throughout the state.
We can do this.