911爆料网

By Steve Giegerich and Joe Levine

Teaching has never been for the faint of heart, but today the job demands particular resilience, resourcefulness and commitment to young people. It also requires extensive apprenticeship in classrooms, grounded in deep theory. With the profession at a watershed moment, grappling with shortages and strikes, Teachers College faculty, students and alumni discuss teaching鈥檚 challenges, reflect on how 911爆料网 equips teachers to thrive, and offer ideas for empowering our teachers. This story appears in the spring 2019 issue of 911爆料网 Today magazine.

[Read Teaching as an Ethical Calling, an essay by David Hansen, 911爆料网鈥檚 John L. & Sue Ann Weinberg Professor in Historical & Philosophical Foundations of Education.]

Part I | Part II | Part III

Part One: A Changed Landscape

Teaching today requires idealism, optimism and quality preparation 鈥� not 鈥渢raining鈥� 鈥� to help teachers continue to respond to new challenges in the classroom.

Of all the students she has taught, Raven Hebert has stayed closest with a young man who once disrespected her for being black. Dave (not his real name) used to tell friends, within Hebert鈥檚 earshot, that black people lack the intelligence to teach. 鈥淚 finally took him aside and asked, 鈥楧o you really believe that?鈥欌�� recounts Hebert (M.A. 鈥�06), a science teacher at Martin Luther King High School in Riverside, California. 鈥淗e said, 鈥楾hat鈥檚 what my father says.鈥� I said, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e old enough to form your own opinions. What do you think?鈥欌�� Dave stopped making offensive comments. Eventually, he made friends with several black and Mexican students and bonded with Hebert.

If only solving racism were that easy. 鈥淗is friends liked me, so it was partly peer pressure,鈥� Hebert says of Dave鈥檚 change of heart. Still, her experience suggests the challenges teachers face 鈥� and the impact they can have.

鈥淭eachers are heroes,鈥� says Jeffrey Young, Professor of Practice in 911爆料网鈥檚 Education Leadership program, and former Superintendent of Schools in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 鈥淒octors save lives, but teachers help to create and shape them. What work could be more valuable?鈥�

Hebert loves her job and hopes to retire as a teacher. But it鈥檚 no secret that the profession is in the midst of a crisis. As older teachers retire, younger people aren鈥檛 replacing them. A by the Learning Policy Institute estimates that teacher demand (defined as annual hires needed) will top 300,000 by 2025 as supply dips under 200,000. In March, reported that in Oklahoma, 30,000 teachers have quit since 2013.

Meanwhile, during just the past two years, teachers have staged  and walkouts in West Virginia, Colorado, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Arizona, Kentucky and California.

Teaching within Communities

鈥淥ther countries revere education and educators,鈥� says Reveta Bowers, 911爆料网 Trustee and former Head of School at the Center for Early Education in Los Angeles. 鈥淲e need to invest time, expertise and resources to promote the importance of this profession.鈥� Schools should function as 鈥渃ommunities that convene people to learn, celebrate and collaborate on understanding and addressing society鈥檚 larger issues.鈥�

鈥淗ow many years have teachers in these places worked in conditions that no other professionals would tolerate?鈥� asks Young. 鈥淭wenty minutes for lunch, no quiet place to make a call or sit. Buying books, buying Skittles for math manipulatives. Scraping by at 2 percent pay raises, if that? It鈥檚 like the movie Network. They鈥檙e mad as hell, and they鈥檙e not gonna take it anymore.鈥�

Certainly teaching salaries vary widely, from a mean of over $82,000 in Alaska and New York to below $43,000 in Oklahoma, Mississippi and West Virginia, where teachers often work extra jobs. But pay isn鈥檛 the only issue. 

Teachers and administrators say that more students are hampered by emotional and psychological problems, including those linked to poverty, violence, abuse and drugs. Yet teachers are held accountable for 鈥� and often evaluated based on 鈥� students鈥� standardized test scores.

鈥淭he U.S. is trying to do something unprecedented in its history 鈥� maintain excellence with thoroughgoing equity,鈥� says Michael Rebell, Professor of Practice and Executive Director of 911爆料网鈥檚 . 鈥淣ew York鈥檚 Regents say all children must meet challenging academic standards. That鈥檚 a noble aspiration, but it doesn鈥檛 come cheap.鈥�

With extra help sessions, emails from parents, committee assignments and test prep (which challenges teachers鈥� creativity to avoid 鈥渢eaching to the test鈥�) added to evenings preparing lessons and grading assignments, 鈥渨ork outside of class has quadrupled,鈥� says (Ed.D. 鈥�15), who directs 911爆料网鈥檚 (CPET).

A Bad Rap

Yet perhaps most daunting for many teach.ers is the lack of public affirmation.  鈥淭eachers are not treated as knowledgeable and capable,鈥� says Dirck Roosevelt, Associate Professor of Practice. 鈥淭hey feel that disrespect deeply.鈥�

鈥淥ther countries revere education and educators,鈥� says Reveta Bowers, 911爆料网 Trustee and former Head of School at the Center for Early Education in Los Angeles. 鈥淚n this country, education gets politicized in ways it shouldn鈥檛 be. We need to invest focus, time, expertise and resources in order to promote the importance of this profession.鈥�

(Ed.D. 鈥�02), Superintendent of Hawaii鈥檚 public schools, believes teachers have been unfairly subjected to 鈥渁 discouraging public discourse focused on their failure to solve the ills of society.鈥� (M.A. 鈥�96), Superintendent of Schools for Camden, New Jersey, adds that while 鈥渓earning begins in the womb and at home, the weight falls on teachers to adjust for huge gaps in kids鈥� early experiences.鈥� 

Yet despite these challenges, most teachers are buoyed by idealism, optimism and 鈥渁 desire to save the world,鈥� says Celia Oyler, Professor of Education 鈥� and also by quality preparation, which at Teachers College is founded on the stances of social justice, curriculum and inquiry.

鈥淲e affirm three core values in our teacher education programs,鈥� says Kelly Parkes, Associate Professor in the Department of Arts & Humanities, who chairs 911爆料网鈥檚 Teacher Education Policy Committee. 鈥淎 deep commitment to meeting the needs of all learners by recognizing their capacities and challenges; preparing teachers to be deliberate and reflective decision-makers; and shaping quality teaching by focusing on content and community.鈥�

Values to Teach By

鈥淲e affirm three core values in our teacher education programs,鈥� says Kelly Parkes, Associate Professor, Department of Arts & Humanities, and Teacher Education Policy Committee chair. 鈥淎 deep commitment to meeting all learners鈥� needs by recognizing their capacities and challenges; preparing teachers to be deliberate and reflective decision-makers; and shaping quality teaching by focusing on content and community.鈥� (Photo: Erick Raphael)

Those principles 鈥渕ap the landscape of learning for our teaching students and put experience and theory into context,鈥� says CPET鈥檚 Lenger Kang. And in states like New York, they are reinforced by a rigorous teacher certification process. 911爆料网鈥檚 teacher education programs, for example, 鈥渋nsist that our students spend hundreds of hours in the field 鈥� far more than the state requires 鈥� under the supervision of cooperating teachers,鈥� says Aimee Katembo, Director of the Office of Teacher Education. The various 911爆料网 programs currently place about 450 students each semester in the city鈥檚 schools, while 911爆料网 Zankel and Milman Fellows lend their expertise in music, science and other courses at the pre-K鈥�8 in West Harlem.

Still other 911爆料网 initiatives, like the Reimagining Education Institute, equip the nation鈥檚 mostly white teaching force with strategies for engaging a student population which is now majority of color. And the College鈥檚 special education programs teach that 鈥渁ll kids can and will learn 鈥� we just have to figure out how to help them do it,鈥� says (M.A. 鈥�03), Superintendent of Vermont鈥檚 Montpelier Roxbury public school district. 鈥淚 left 911爆料网 wondering if there is such a thing as a learning disability 鈥� kids just learn differently, at different paces. I鈥檓 still driven by the belief of 鈥榳e can鈥� with every child.鈥�

Ultimately, teacher preparation at 911爆料网 appears to spark a particularly strong sense of commitment, particularly to urban teaching, and creates a pipeline for New York City schools.

鈥淕raduates from our TR@911爆料网 [Teaching Residents at Teachers College], Peace Corps Fellows, Teacher Opportunity Corps II and Abby M. O鈥橬eill Fellowship programs are committed to teaching in New York City public schools,鈥� says Katembo. 鈥淎necdotally, I can share that they remain passionate about teaching and often take on leadership positions. Peace Corps Fellow alumni have founded schools and are in city-wide leadership positions. For all programs, those who leave teaching tend to stay in education-related fields and often continue their studies.鈥�

911爆料网 graduates who end up teaching in other states and countries also benefit from their field- work in New York City. 鈥淩egardless of where you end up teaching, our core stances become even more powerful when you鈥檝e learned them in the city鈥檚 diverse and culturally vibrant classrooms,鈥� Katembo says.

鈥淢y professors at 911爆料网 grounded me in theory, and that鈥檚 sustained me,鈥� says Billy Fong (M.A. 鈥�11), a fourth-grade special education teacher at New York City鈥檚 Central Park East II School and a 911爆料网 clinical faculty member. 鈥淚t鈥檚 what separates teacher preparation from teacher training. Training programs develop skills. 911爆料网 prepared me to understand the theories behind those skills so that I can keep responding to new challenges in the classroom.鈥�

Part Two: Those Who Can

In stories of eight 911爆料网 alumni who teach, we learn that teachers are problem-solvers who model the curiosity, perseverance and resourcefulness we hope for in young students.

Part Three: Time for an Upgrade

From promoting self-care to rethinking standardized testing, thoughts from a group of 911爆料网-affiliated education leaders on helping teachers survive and thrive

In the United States, where public school funding stems from local property taxes, poorer districts have lower teacher salaries and fewer resources. 

Witness Camden, New Jersey, with its century-old school buildings. To ensure basic services like air conditioning, Superintendent Katrina McCombs increasingly taps her academic budgets.

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KNOWLEDGE IS DIVERSE, TOO Asked to recall a birthday party or amusement park, a Mexican boy writes nothing. His teacher switches gears: Describe the farm animals where you grew up. (Illustration: Maria Nguyen)

FADING PRESENCE Students of color fare better when they work with teachers of color 鈥� but black public school teachers are under-represented and their numbers have declined in many cities. (Illustration: Michael Byers)

UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Test-based accountability has become 鈥渢he sole indicator鈥� of children鈥檚 progress, one superintendent says. 鈥淲e tell teachers, 鈥業f we teach what we think is right, students will do fine.鈥欌�� (Illustration: James Steinberg)

Equal funding may never happen in the world鈥檚 largest capitalist economy, but Michael Rebell has led a national movement to level the playing field based on state constitutions that guarantee young people an education that will equip them for work and citizenship. In 2006, with Rebell as lead attorney, plaintiffs won New York City billions of dollars in additional school funding from the state. Before the 2008 financial crisis halted payments, much of it went to higher salaries for teachers. 鈥淭he court said quality teachers are schools鈥� most important resource,鈥� Rebell says.

Teachers stage strikes largely in states where school finance suits were defeated or never filed, Rebell notes. 鈥淭he crowding in high-needs schools, the lack of mental health professionals 鈥� it takes its toll. Teachers love kids and want to help them. An environment to do that helps attract and retain higher-quality people.鈥�

But creating such an environment requires addressing issues such as:

Workload and Self-Care

Teaching demands a unique level of emotional presence.

鈥淚 used to tell parents, 鈥楾hink about how draining it is to run a two-hour birthday party with 20 seven-year-olds,鈥欌�� says former Cambridge, Massachusetts Superintendent Jeffrey Young. 鈥溾�楴ow think of those same kids in one room, six hours a day 鈥� and you鈥檙e teaching them to read.鈥欌��

Think about how draining it is to run a two-hour birthday party with 20 seven-year-olds.

Technology has added to teachers鈥� workload. In many schools, teachers must answer parents鈥� emails and texts within 24 hours 鈥� and often 鈥渋t鈥檚 from someone struggling with parenting,鈥� says 911爆料网 doctoral student and teacher Lisa McDonald. 

911爆料网 Trustee Reveta Bowers, also a board member of Common Sense Media, calls digital media 鈥渁 wonderful tool to expand teaching and learning,鈥� but argues that schools must 鈥渆ducate stakeholders about giving teachers time to respond鈥� to email.

. . . evenings and weekends, we don鈥檛 email them.

In Vermont鈥檚 Montpelier Roxbury district, Superintendent Elizabeth Bonesteel is doing just that: 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 be present for your students if you鈥檙e working 20 hours a day. So evenings and weekends, we don鈥檛 email them.鈥�

Testing and Assessment

The 2002 federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) launched a new era of test-based accountability in education. Its backers sought better outcomes for children from poor and minority backgrounds, but instead, 鈥渢esting has become the sole indicator of a child鈥檚 progress,鈥� says  (Ed.D. 鈥�92), Superintendent of Schools in Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District on Long Island, and President of the New York State Council of Superintendents. 鈥淎nd the tests are flawed 鈥� they reflect what a student does on just one or two days.鈥� Also, in failing to account for students鈥� backgrounds and circumstances, tests measure performance, not ability. 鈥淎nd basing the evaluations of teachers on unreliable assessments makes the profession a tough sell.鈥�

The 2015  (ESSA), which replaced NCLB, seemed to signal a change. ESSA requires states to use some non-academic indicators 鈥� student engagement, school climate 鈥� in assessing schools鈥� yearly progress. However, in a report published by the National Education Policy Center, 911爆料网 measurement evaluation expert Madhabi Chatterji warns that states鈥� interpretations of ESSA may perpetuate inappropriate high-stakes testing. She urges states to avoid exceeding a test鈥檚 intended use or reported evidence and to apply expert technical review before using tests for accountability.

Meanwhile, Lewis tries to 鈥渂e as creative as we can be in responding to state requirements for assessments.鈥� She鈥檚 opened a Discovery Lab for all her elementary school students. 鈥淓very child gets to do real exploration with real equipment. It鈥檚 not a state requirement, but children go home talking about science. We tell teachers, 鈥業f we teach what we think is right, students will do fine.鈥欌��

Reveta Bowers, too, urges schools to explore alternative test prep: 鈥淲alk the neighborhood, show kids how buildings were built during World War II. Give them a city budget and ask what our taxes really mean. Focus on practical application of test-taking skills and use community partners who want to help.鈥�

Putting Money Behind People

鈥淚n the past, schools set tough standards and said, 鈥業f you don鈥檛 make it, so it goes,鈥欌�� says Michael Rebell, Executive Director of 911爆料网鈥檚 Center for Educational Equity. 鈥淣ow we want to provide meaningful opportunities for all, but it doesn鈥檛 come cheap.鈥� For example, 鈥渢eachers love kids and want to help them. An environment to do that helps attract and retain higher-quality people.鈥� (Photo: John Emerson)

Working with Traumatized Young People

How can kids learn when they are struggling just to survive?

Camden, New Jersey, is among the nation鈥檚 poorest and most violent cities. Katrina McCombs, who has spent her career there as a teacher and an administrator, says her teachers 鈥渄eal constant.ly with children鈥檚 emotional and psychological burdens from violence, drugs, ill health, parents鈥� incarceration. Our teachers say, 鈥楬ow do I focus on instruction when kids are grappling with this?鈥欌��

As a kindergarten teacher, McCombs felt so overwhelmed by kids鈥� social and emotional issues that she enrolled at Teachers College 鈥� in psychological counseling. She worked on developmental psychologist Jeanne Brooks-Gunn鈥檚 study of daughters whose fathers were absent. 鈥淚 learned so much about how outside factors affect kids鈥� ability to learn. I almost became a guidance counselor.鈥�

Even in her relatively affluent Vermont district, Elizabeth Bonesteel reports that her students, too, increasingly struggle with severe mental health issues. Yet perhaps urban school systems can lead in creating solutions. Camden now trains its personnel in trauma-informed care such as restorative circles, in which children voice their fears and concerns. Teachers and staff also learn to understand when kids鈥� behavior reflects problems at home.

We don鈥檛 want our people to burn out.

鈥淚t gets heavy, dealing with these issues while you鈥檙e trying to push kids to achieve,鈥� McCombs says. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want our people to burn out.鈥�  

Building Community and Promoting Civic Engagement

Schools are theaters for societal issues 鈥� poverty, health disparities, cultural divides. But they should also be 鈥渃ommunities that educate children, teachers, staff, parents and grandparents,鈥� Reveta Bowers says. 鈥淭hey should convene people to learn, celebrate and collaborate on addressing society鈥檚 larger issues.鈥� 

Bowers believes that transformation starts with 鈥渄eveloping mission and value statements鈥� and modeling 鈥渉abits of heart and mind.鈥� 

In Hawaii, Superintendent Christina Kishimoto is leading just such an effort. This fall, Hawaii will unveil a draft 10-year strategic action plan created with input from parents, students, teachers, staff and local business and industry. The effort includes (HA), a framework to promote values such as 鈥淎loha鈥� (making others feel welcome; sharing the responsibility for collective work) and 鈥淗awai鈥檌鈥� (understanding and using Hawaiian words; learning the names, stories, and importance of places in Hawaii; learning to apply Hawaiian traditional worldviews and knowledge in contemporary settings). H. also emphasizes 尘辞鈥檕濒别濒辞 (storytelling) and 尘辞鈥檕办耻鈥檃耻丑补耻 (genealogy) as instructional practices.

This fall, Hawaii will unveil a draft 10-year strategic action plan created with input from parents...

Of course, modeling values means discussing them, and many schools and districts now tell teachers to avoid potentially controversial subjects. That鈥檚 unfortunate, says Michael Rebell, because 鈥渨hen teachers talk candidly about important issues, students develop a substantive interest in political and historical issues.鈥� 

In fall 2018, Rebell, the author of (University of Chicago Press), filed a lawsuit on behalf of Rhode Island students charging that diminished access to civic education poses a threat to the Founding Fathers鈥� democratic ideals. The suit reiterates that only 23 percent of American students achieved a 鈥減roficiency鈥� level on the 2014 National Assessment of Educational Progress civics test.

Yet, Bowers says, 鈥渢he tragic shootings in schools are showing people how important schools are. And a new generation is realizing they have rights, too.鈥� 

Solving the Teacher Shortage

Among the many reasons why young people aren鈥檛 becoming teachers is the sticker price of getting there. In 2016, the  for college graduates who borrowed was $37,172. In a , student loan debt for people who earned a master鈥檚 in education averaged $50,879. 

Lorna Lewis, the Plainview-Old Bethpage superintendent, calls for creation of a funded K鈥�12 teaching pipeline: 鈥淵oung people graduate with all this debt. We should pay for college tuition and forgive loan debt in return for teaching service in difficult-to-staff schools.鈥�

Reveta Bowers suggests also approaching the teacher shortage from the other end of the pipeline. Thirty-five years ago, at The Center for Early Education, she convened a small group of students鈥� grandparents to help with school programming. Today, Grandparents Day there draws more than 650 attendees.

鈥淚 hope older people come to teaching as a second career, or as early retirees,鈥� Bowers says. 鈥淭hey have so much to teach about different cultures and lived history.鈥�

But perhaps most concerning, Lewis says, is the shortage of teachers of color. Research shows better outcomes for students of color who work with teachers of color 鈥� but a  by The Education Trust found that while Latinx and black students make up 43 percent of New York State鈥檚 public school enrollment, only 16 percent of their teachers are Latinx or black. In 2015, the  reported a decrease in black public school teachers in nine cities 鈥� including the three largest U.S. school districts 鈥� between 2002 and 2012.

Children of color need to see teachers who look like them

鈥淐hildren of color need to see teachers who look like them,鈥� says Lewis, who immigrated to the United States from Jamaica and majored in physics. She adds that, as a black woman, 鈥淚鈥檓 unique in my district 鈥� I have no colleagues of color.鈥� 

Lewis devotes time and resources to recruiting people of color, and she salutes efforts like 911爆料网鈥檚 Teacher Opportunity Corps II (TOC II), which supports aspiring teachers of color as they navigate the 911爆料网 experience, internships in New York City schools and job searches.

Teachers as Caregivers

As a kindergarten teacher, Camden, New Jersey Superintendent McCombs felt so overwhelmed by children鈥檚 social and emotional issues that she enrolled at 911爆料网 鈥� in psychological counseling. She worked on developmental psychologist Jeanne Brooks-Gunn鈥檚 study of daughters whose fathers were absent. 鈥淚 learned so much about how outside factors affect kids鈥� ability to learn. I almost became a guidance counselor.鈥�

Bringing Back the Joy

Ultimately, saving teaching may entail rethinking education鈥檚 purpose.

鈥淚 went into teaching because I wanted someone to pay me to talk about literature, but I realized almost immediately it鈥檚 about lighting intellectual, social and emotional fires in young people,鈥� says Jeffrey Young. 鈥淭he sense you鈥檝e made a difference in someone鈥檚 life is profound.鈥�

鈥淲e need to bring back music and the applied arts 鈥� to teach crafts, industries and skills that benefit all people, and create reasons to be in school for kids who find reasons not to be,鈥� Reveta Bowers says.

鈥淲e have to make teaching and learning happier and more joyful,鈥� says Lorna Lewis.  To get there, Young says, national education leaders must use 鈥� to borrow some teacher terminology 鈥� their outside voices.

鈥淲e need to speak up about the critical importance of teachers to quality of life, development and growth in our country and world,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he most important interactions in a school district aren鈥檛 in the superintendent鈥檚 office or the school board room 鈥� they鈥檙e between teachers and kids in classrooms, hallways, playing fields, performance spaces. Nothing matters more than the relationships built between students and their teachers.鈥�