In my previous post, I wrote about a valuable practice in reading intruction: reading alongside the students during independent reading. Often an in-the-moment decision, reading alongside students can be used when the mood in the classroom is just perfect and joining in the reading makes more sense than disturbing students’ reading, and other times when the mood is frenetic, and modelling silent reading is more helpful to students than any other measure.
The thing is, many frameworks for observation and evaluation discourage in-the-moment decision making by teachers. The comments from colleagues on the Collaboratory (Thanks Scott & Jill!) made me realize just how important professional autonomy is, not just to me, but to most teachers–and how easily top-down policies can chip away at it. Using a blogging tip from Bill Ferriter, I created this slide.
Now, remembering Daniel Pink’s Drive: How can teachers be expected to develop mastery without autonomy?
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Author
Ariel Sacks
Ariel Sacks began her 13-year teaching career in New York City public schools after earning her master’s degree at Bank Street College and has taught and coached in grades 7-9. She is the author of Whole Novels for the Whole Class: A Student Centered Approach (Jossey-Bass, 2014) and writes a teaching column for Education Week Teacher.
Ariel’s work as a teacher leader with the Center for Teaching Quality involved her in co-authoring Teaching 2030: What We Must Do For Our Public Schools – Now and in the Future. She was also featured in the CTQ book Teacherpreneurs: Innovative Teachers Who Lead Without Leaving.
She is currently working on a book about the role of creative writing in equitable, 21st century schools, and she speaks and leads workshops on the whole novels approach.
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