Matching Teachers to Learners

In Gates Foundation: Good teachers trump small schools, eSchool News reports that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has determined that billions of dollars in grants to support a range of initiatives shows that the key to better education is effective teachers, not necessarily smaller schools. Of course, this begs the question: who are effective teachers and how do we determine their effectiveness?

Then, we have to ask how do we recruit and retain effective teachers? How do we encourage teachers who are not effective to improve or find another calling?

These questions are critical to the future of public education. Especially now. Especially here in Los Angeles, California, where the budget has collapsed and teachers are being laid off. As citizens who need today’s students to graduate with the skills and entrepreneurial energy to contribute to our economy, we have to keep talent in our schools. A classroom is not just for students, it is the office or workplace of highly trained professionals. Layoffs mean city schools will lose a new breed of teachers tells the sad story of inner city schools fighting hard to recruit teachers to their schools only to have them let go by the district because they have the least experience. Between testing, layoffs, certification requirements and lack of resources, I often wonder how people come to the decision to become a teacher?

An important point to the Gates research is that smaller is not necessarily better. If we can break free of the teacher per student ratio and think more creatively about how and when to engage students, we will have more flexibility. Sometimes a student may need one to one attention or small group work or learn by lecture with a large group of others. Social networking technology has a place in helping us organize learning groups more dynamically to leverage different teachers strengths and student expertise for the benefit of all.

Finally, I heard a complaint on a radio call-in program that LAUSD had a budget line item for flowers. In a multi-billion budget, the item wasn’t much. I would ask that caller to think about their own workplace. If we want dedicated, qualified teachers to prepare the next generation of Californians, we have to create a hospitable workplace where working hard, being innovative, and helping students achieve is rewarded by a continuing opportunity to teach.