I am on the verge of an epiphany…
Recent discussions and debates with friends have forced me to ask myself,
“What do I really believe about our educational system?”
I have fought the notion that we are a failure because I may have taken that too personally. How do I feel about this system I am a part of? When looking at the system, as a whole, is it a success or is it a failure? It really cannot be somewhere in the middle, can it? How do we pick where it succeeds and where it fails? Which kids do we just chalk up to collateral damage?
Now I honestly believe that there are teachers who need to be replaced. I have worked with some, and my children, for a brief time, have had some of them. The place I am not hearing a call for change in though is our educational leadership. We need leaders who will take a stand on behalf of all children and not just their pet interests. We need leaders committed to where they are now and not those that are just waiting to step “up” to something more. We need leadership that inspires and demands respect when it is earned. We need leaders with vision, who have ideas that teams of people can build a plan around.
Where does the union stand in all of this? Tough question for me to answer. Have I felt their impact in building a future? I must admit that I have not. I think their role has become more of a stop measure – don’t let things get any worse than this. Instead of being proactive, they have become reactive. And yet, I am afraid to be without them.
I am rethinking many things. I do have a core value of what I believe. I know education is our best investment in our future. I do think we have to prepare for great change, and that if we are wise, we will embrace it. Now how do we inspire it?
No comments:
Post a Comment