I have been talking to fellow teachers on the verge of tears, and with tears, and with so much frustration, over all the pressure we are going through now.
For any readers who are not public school teachers in Hawaii, we are "piloting" a new Educator Evaluation System. We agreed to it when we ratified the contract, sans specifics. This version of our evaluation was a way to NOT have all of it based on student test scores, as it is in many states across the country. The NEA policy on teacher evaluation, which calls for "multiple measures," supposedly guided the negotiations. We put a lot of faith in our representatives on the Joint Committee, to fight the good fight for us. But there didn't seem to be a lot of room for compromise. The Race toThe Top agreements, as well as those made in the NCLB waivers, set an immovable stage for the drama that is "multiple measures." Because this is a trial year, it "doesn't count"; whatever evaluation we get as a result of this is not going to be tied to money or an employment sanction. So, why worry?
Because it's not about money. We pretty much just want to teach. We want to do our jobs. We want to make a difference in the lives of children. We don't want to jump through endless hoops to satisfy bureaucratic mandates. Teachers express frustration that the time spent on all aspects of the EES is more than the time given to us to do these tasks, especially when you are told to redo your work. They tell us all the work we're doing on the Student Learning Objectives is good for the school, it's good for us, it's good for the kids. I wonder. There's no way to know for sure. But morale is down, down, down. That's not good for us. And that can't be good for kids.
At any rate, what I wanted to write about is how to cope and find joy amidst all the madness. Many teachers are retiring earlier than planned and the ones who can't retire are seriously looking at other careers. If you weigh it out, can't retire, want to stay in teaching, what strategies help you to cope? What strategies can get you though THIS year?
Obviously, there's religion, whatever is your spiritual source of strength. Pray. There is no challenge too great that your faith cannot get you through. Or so they say. I need more than prayer. I need a plan, which I believe comes from a spiritual place as well. My religion has a more activist bent.
For me, what got me through the NCLB years was fighting it, speaking up against it, believing that activism could change things. I was wrong, it seems. Education is in even more dire straits now than it was in the NCLB days. Now, the stress is on teachers, our evaluation being the pressure point. In the NCLB days it was about your school being branded as a failing school, rather than being branded a failing teacher, as the fear is now.
You would think that I would be cynical about activism as a way of coping. But I'm not. I guess it's a process thing, a journey thing. The process, the journey, the belief that you can make a difference, gets you through the ordeal. You may not always get the outcome you wanted, but that desired outcome, gives you a vision, and having a vision gives you purpose.
When I was seriously considering leaving teaching about 8 - 10 years ago, I also became acquainted with the work of Parker Palmer, whose book, Courage to Teach, got me through that hump. When you realize and remember that you are entrusted with these precious beings, your perspective shifts. They are not test scores. They are children. They are young people. You are responsible for the development of their very humanity, conscientious citizens now and for the future. No, not you alone, but your part is valuable, not to be taken for granted. You also are responsible for your own contribution to the world. Being responsible for my children and myself, and acting on that responsibility, when the powers that be seem to be on a different wavelength, takes courage, hence the title, Courage to Teach.
Yes, we need to do what we're told. But we have a contract that can protect us. We are being paid the 21 hours more to work on the EES, and there are six hours of prep that can be taken as well, that don't require payback. Anything beyond that must be paid back in time and unless you can get a specific agreement on how and when it will be paid back, don't put in your own time to meet their demands.
We joyfully put in more than our contracted hours to prepare for lessons that we want to do, that foster great learning experiences. But what causes stress is putting in those extra hours grudgingly, based on mandates that we don't believe are in the best interests of the kids. Since this is a trial year, there needs to be a realistic evaluation of what really works. If you choose to bend over backwards and spend an inordinate amount of time to meet the demands, make sure you document it, so that we know exactly what it takes to make it work. But better, in my opinion, is to allow the contract to protect you.
The cure for stress is joy. I became a teacher because of my love for children, my belief that it was important work and that I would be good at it. Moments of connection, or engagement, or enlightenment, or attainment, or empathy, or compassion, or creativity, being pono, showing malama - these are moments we live for. I tell my students - it's like chocolate! You have it in your power to cultivate those chocolate moments. Maximize that, minimize the rest.
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