Educators need more influence — and time
Change is inevitable and most people do not like it.
Sometimes change is for the better and we still do not like it.Many times, our dislike for change is unfounded — we just like things the way they used to be and the change takes us out of our comfort zone, causing a little more work to implement and adapt.
Other times, we detest the change because it feels as if we are just changing for the sake of change and to appease someone other than whom the change impacts in their life or job.
I did a little checking for the definition of change in a variety of places, and they all gave essentially the same idea: to be or cause to be different; alter.
Nowhere was there the mention of improvement as a reason for change, but you would think that should be the case.
I have always been under the impression that in order for a change to be effective, it would take anywhere from 3 to 7 years, depending on the size of the change or the organization. I would have to believe it would be difficult for a change to be accurately implemented and assessed if it were to happen more frequently. Why do I bring this up? Good question.
As I complete my 39th year in public education, I will tell you that I have seen a lot of change in what we do, how we do it, and what is expected of us. Those expectations could be imposed upon us by ourselves or from the outside, either the Ohio Department of Education, the state legislation, or the federal government — which should not happen, but that’s a topic for another time.
Theoretically, the decisions about what a school district does or does not do is controlled by the local governing body — the school board. Most do a pretty decent job. I don’t really mind the influence of the state entities imposing their mandates on us. It’s part of their job, as well, and most are well-meaning.
However, there are times when we must try to hit a moving target. Currently at the high school level, there are three different sets of graduation requirements. What is necessary for the Class of 2020 to graduate is not the same for the Class of 2023.
Our administrators and guidance counselors are working overtime to assure that all of our students are on the correct path to graduate. I am sure that, in the near future, everyone attending the same high school will have the same requirements.
Let’s talk about the building and district report card that gets issued every year. Most educators have no issues with the premise to allow us to use data to see what we are doing right and where we need to make changes.
It was stated that the purpose was to determine what we need to do better. Agreed. The goal was stated that all students would meet the goal. Idealistic, but probably not realistic. The problem has been that it changes way too frequently and gets way more attention than it should.
Someone supposedly said for educators to quit whining and to do our job. To that I say, we are doing our job and more.
What would be nice would be if we were brought to the table for the discussions and the desired outcome might be consistent to allow time for the changes we are making to meet the changes that are passed down to us. Thank you.