Beyond Blame: Teacher Excellence by Design

A new report indicates that job satisfaction among teachers decreased over the past five years to the lowest level in at least 25 years. The report, issued by MetLife and Achieve, notes that only 39 percent of teachers report being very satisfied at their job. Nationally, between 40 and 50 percent of teachers leave the classroom within the first five years of entering the profession.

Just about every day, expert coaches from NC New Schools support teachers across North Carolina as they navigate a maze: changing standards, new assessments, unfamiliar technology, new practices linked to graduating all students career and college ready, and demands that often have little to do with actually teaching students. The stress heaped on teachers during a time of unprecedented change in education is driving many of them from the classroom, much less helping them grow and learn to be at the top of their profession. The use of tests is simply misguided for any other purpose than to assess individual student progress and needs and to help teachers advance their knowledge and skills

Michael Cohen, president of Achieve, said at the time the report was released: “What struck me most [is that] they are operating in an environment of public discourse that is often focused on blame.” Those familiar with highly skilled coaches leading athletes or top-tier performers in business and industry know that a culture of blame diminishes everyone and makes the goal — any goal – that much harder to achieve. Blame is the organizational equivalent of cancer.

With the consistent gains in student achievement and school performance by innovative schools partnered with NC New Schools, one lesson rises above all others. It’s this: elevating teachers with the tools and supports to succeed with every student requires that all approaches to teacher support, including the role of administrators, must be focused laser-like on developing the talent of these professionals, long term.

There is no short cut. Across the globe, societies win when they coalesce around the needs of teachers, and ultimately, students. It’s just that simple. But the onus is on all of us—on anyone with the will to influence education—to stop assigning blame and instead build an aligned and integrated system and culture of support for teachers worthy of our children.

Is there any more noble—or purposeful-cause in education than to lift up teachers to become their very best? All of us must be in service to their continued growth and satisfaction in a career and life well lived.