Valuing and De-Valuing Teachers
Valuing and Devaluing Teachers
Stan Hartzler 11/15/2014
School administrators can be leaders who value students and nurture their teachers, managing when management is needed. They may also be total managers, who think that students and teachers must be told what to do.
Valuing Leader: Wants students to learn, to learn how to learn, and to temper the power and freedom of education with moral character.
Devaluing Manager: Wants most students to get through, cooperate, and be insecure, pliable, and fearful.
Valuing Leader:
Encourages and enables teacher development of better materials.
Devaluing Manager:
Forces teachers to stick to published programs.
Valuing Leader:
Encourages UIL and other interscholastic competition, with teachers involved with grading papers for teacher communication across districts.
Devaluing Manager:
Does not encourage teacher involvement in UIL and similar competitions.
Valuing Leader:
Monitors exams for good coordination with lessons and state objectives.
Devaluing Manager:
Requires exams that are irrelevant for students, so that low scores can be used to harass teachers.
Valuing Leader:
Provide for communication within and across grade levels, and within and among disciplines, for individual teacher strength and for building teams.
Devaluing Manager:
Requires teacher focus on his or her classroom only, discouraging communication within and across grade levels, and within and among disciplines.
Valuing Leader:
Discusses teachers’ lesson plans with teachers, to encourage teacher reflection and attention to issues.
Devaluing Manager:
Imposes lesson plans on teachers and monitors their use for fealty.
Valuing Leader:
Hires experienced teachers who are treasured by students and parents for effectiveness. Hires individuals who are grounded spiritually, socially, culturally, and intellectually.
Devaluing Manager:
Hires inexperienced teachers who are easily intimidated. Hires indoctrinated individuals who are subject to pop culture and peer opinions.
Valuing Leader:
Allows criticism and responds with “Thanks for sharing – – I’ll think that over.”
Devaluing Manager:
Responds to criticism by blaming the teacher for being inadequate, defensive, and disgruntled.
Valuing Leader:
Allows teachers time and provides stimulus for personal reflection – – The Master Teacher series, for example.
Devaluing Manager:
Attempts to train and mold.
Valuing Leader:
Reassigns teachers with as much lead time as possible, with trade-off considerations in appreciation for cooperation.
Devaluing Manager:
Reassigns teacher whenever control, authority, and managerial status seem in doubt.
Valuing Leader:
Encourages and assigns mentors to first-year teachers and to new-to-district teachers, for sharing classroom policy ideas and for discussion of class rolls.
Devaluing Manager:
Expects teachers to be born good, and sees mentoring as a waste of time.
Valuing Leader:
Gives all new-to-district teachers a tour of facilities and introductions to board members, custodians, cooks, and bus drivers.
Devaluing Manager:
Promises tour and introductions but then cancels same as low priority.
Valuing Leader:
Acknowledges vast responsibilities of teachers.
Devaluing Manager:
Defines role of teachers in terms of knowing what to teach and how to teach, and them limits both aspects.
Valuing Leader:
Values opinions of exiting teachers.
Devaluing Manager:
Dismisses opinions of exiting teachers.
Valuing Leader:
Asks teachers, “What more can we do to help our students?” as part of every formal discussion.
Devaluing Manager:
Tells teachers what is needed above the level of student needs. Example: “We need teachers who are team players” and other such subjectivity.
Valuing Leader:
Insures that teacher resources are ready before teacher orientation week begins.
Devaluing Manager:
Is careless about teacher resources so as to keep teachers begging.
Valuing Leader:
Supports new-to-district teachers regarding disciplinary referrals, well into the second year.
Devaluing Manager:
Blames classroom discipline problems on teachers who weren’t born teachers.