Let's Create A Vision for Professional Growth
Photo by Razvan Chisu on Unsplash
“Jenn, I’m just not cut out for teaching anymore.”
I was catching up with an old friend last week about our lives and careers. She shook her head and told me the energy teaching requires was just too much of a burden for her now. She wanted to stay in education, because that was her experience, but the classroom was not where she belonged.
And, she was right. In my opinion, her skill sets after decades of work were better aligned with mentoring young teachers. I had seen her interact with them and offer solutions to their challenges, and she was so skillful in being supportive yet able to offer crucial feedback.
Her school, however, did not have a mentorship program in place. So, she had no growth opportunities to match her strengths. Instead, she was stuck
After our conversation I wondered, in how many other jobs are you limited to one role for the duration of your entire career?
In education, we seem to have a limited view of professional growth. Sure, in schools, you can move to a principal position, but you need to have specific skill sets to be successful in that role. And, the duties of that role are not what everyone is looking to experience.
However, there are so many needs for leadership in schools, yet schools fail to offer them as “positions”. Instead, teachers learn, grow, and share on their own without any additional compensation or official titles. Sometimes, people offer their expertise so much over time that it is just “expected”.
During my years in the field, I have seen many teachers, like my friend, burn out in the classroom without any opportunities to grow. As I was crafting the four pillars to elevate our profession, this was in the top of my mind.
Why do teachers have limited paths for growth?
Why is it such a single track career?
What if we created more options for growth that suited the diverse skill sets we find in teachers?
What if we also provided leadership and pay raises for these roles?
For example, as I thought about the many teachers I have known over the years, several types of roles came to mind. Some of these already exist in schools, but they could be expanded to include a framework of leadership roles.
Innovation
When I use this term, I do not mean simply STEM or AI. Innovation applies to many subjects and can include program development. This could refer to project-based learning, schedule redesigns, and even designing new programs.
Mentorship
Many schools provide a mentorship program for new and young teachers, yet many could use a formalized framework. Experienced teachers could be supports in all areas of the work including classroom methods, parent communication, school culture, and discipline strategies.
Instructional Coaching
Many schools have instructional coaches, as well, and this is a great path for those who enjoy supporting teachers with new methods, ideas, and strategies for teaching. Unfortunately, when budget cuts occur, these teachers are often removed and placed back in the classroom. These roles need to be solidified as crucial and necessary for professional growth in the profession.
Deans/Student Support
While schools all have some method of handling student support and discipline, the roles are less career-focused. If we design a system that allows teachers to use their expertise and graduate out of the classroom fully into a dean and leadership role, many teachers would take the opportunity. A lot of times, schools add this on to a teacher role as an additional “duty” with a stipend, but the teacher feels pulled in too many directions. The more leaders we have interacting and impacting students’ lives, the better.
Technology
With the increasing growth of AI, we cannot simply have one person running the use of technology in a school. We need teams of teachers with this interest to become leaders in the field who can support classroom teachers in their methods on a daily basis. We need leaders who will offer training sessions regularly, visit classrooms to see how technology can support the needs of students and teachers, and who are willing to lead schools through these transitions.
Curriculum
Curriculum has always been a critical component in schools. Now with an increase in technology use and advent of AI access, we need real leaders in this arena to develop curriculum that meets the needs of today’s world. These educators should work alongside teachers to develop new plans to suit the needs of current students, as well as, address the skill sets we believe students need to have in the workforce over the course of the next 20 years.
Brain Science
This is an area that is often under-researched in our schools. Studying brain science trends and research should be a key component of how we approach teaching and learning. Answering questions about how technology impacts the brain, what are the best tools for teaching specific subjects, and how does a young brain react when isolated from an experience like covid-19 should be at the forefront of our work. We need leaders in this area to learn and work with teachers how to implement new and effective strategies.
To be clear, I am not recommending silos of expertise here. These groups should be collaborating and building the new version of school together on a daily basis alongside the teachers who remain in the classrooms.
All of these specialties are needed in schools, we just have not taken the opportunity to build what we need. Schools have not taken the time to develop possibilities that will attract top talent to the job.
When I suggest these paths, I am not speaking of additional responsibilities with stipends. What I believe schools need is a structured leadership framework with increased salaries and opportunities. A clear path to managerial growth must be created. Because if we’re speaking of professional growth, this is what it truly means.
And, the lack of opportunity in education is why many young people leave the field early or do not even consider it as a career. But imagine telling a young teacher that after 5 years in the classroom, they have the opportunity to select their professional growth path based on their interests and skill sets. Imagine sharing with them the possibilities of training teachers on new brain science trends to inform their teaching or being part of an innovation team designing a new program.
Companies offer different means of professional growth, why can’t schools?
To learn more about my four pillars of the profession, you can download my The Profession Reimagined. This briefing is designed to help you bring fresh and actionable ideas to the table at your school today.