Steve Zemelman, Director, Illinois Writing Project

1
Finding Our Voice Speaking Out to Build
Support For Our Work
NCTE Webinar March 27, 2012

• Steve Zemelman, Director, Illinois Writing
  Project
• Harry Ross, Associate Professor, Department of
  Secondary Education
• National College of Education, National Louis
  University

2
Meet Our Presenters

• Steve Zemelman
• Director of Illinois Writing Project
• Co- author of Best Practice and 13 Steps to Teach
  Empowerment

3
Meet Our Presenters

• Harry Ross
• A professor in the Secondary Education
  Department at National Louis University
• Works with teachers in Chicago high schools
• Co-author of 13 Steps to Teacher Empowerment

4
The Situation Teachers Need to Speak Out but
Wisely

• Widespread budget cuts and union-busting
• Unsupported administrative mandates
• Policies by politicians and bureaucrats who dont
  understand teachers work
• Teacher job satisfaction has decreased by 15
  since 2009 and is the worst in 20 years.
• http//www.metlife.com/assets/cao/contributions/fo
  undation/american-teacher/MetLife-Teacher-Survey-2
  011.pdf

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The Situation Teachers Need to Speak Out but
Wisely

• We cant sit back passively while our hard work
  is getting bashed.
• Reponses need to be carefully crafted and echoed
  by many voices.
• Susan Komen emails as an example of whats
  possible http//www.nytimes.com/2012/02/04/health
  /policy/komen-breast-cancer-group-reverses-decisio
  n-that-cut-off-planned-parenthood.html?pagewanted
  all

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The Situation Teachers Need to Speak Out but
Wisely

• Knowing more about skills and strategies makes it
  easier to speak - and not lose our jobs in the
  process.
• Levels of advocacy teachers can engage in
• Promote change in your own building
• Build understanding of your work among leaders in
  your district
• Inform parents and community members about what
  it takes to achieve deep learning in classrooms
• Influence state and national policies

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Agenda for this Session

• A few stories to illustrate the sorts of teacher
  efforts were talking about.
• Your thoughts on the educational issues in your
  school and community and how teachers address
  them (or not).
• Concepts for re-thinking our roles, influencing
  policies in our schools, and effectively using
  our influence.
• 4 key strategies for using our voices wisely.

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Overall Perspective

• We are not telling you what issues to address or
  what stands to take. Those will be your
  decisions.
• Well focus on the thinking, attitudes, and
  strategies that can help you to speak up and make
  change happen.
• Thats what has been a missing link for so many
  teachers.

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Wallace Foundationwww.wallacefoundation.org

• Learning from Leadership Investigating the Links
  to Improved Student Learning, by Karen Seashore
  Louis, et al., University of MN (2010)
• Some conclusions from the study
• When principals and teachers share leadership,
  student
• achievement is higher.
• When teachers feel attached to a professional
  community, they
• use instructional practices linked to
  improved student learning.
• Higher-performing schools provide more
  opportunities for influence
• by teacher teams, parents, and students.
• What happens when the school improvement process
  is top-down, without significant teacher
  collaboration?
• See Charles Paynes So Much Reform, So Little
  Change The Persistence of Failure in Urban
  Schools (Harvard, 2008).

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Some Teacher Stories

• A high school teacher collaborated with a fellow
  teacher to teach a previously out-of-control
  class.
• An art teacher figured out how to win permission
  to have students paint murals in the hallways.
• A teacher uses Facebook and Twitter to fight back
  against ignorant comments about teaching.

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Survey of the Audience

• Now wed like to hear from you. We have two
  questions
• 1) What are one or two issues you believe need to
  be addressed in your school, district,
  community, or nationally?
• 2) How are teachers addressing these or not?
• Write a phrase about each question on the next
  slide with your A tool or in the chat space
  on the bottom left of your computer screen.
• Raise your hand by clicking on the hand icon if
  you have a microphone and want to share.

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Survey of the Audience

• Possible Issues to be addressed Overload of
  Initiatives - Lack of Time for Collaboration -
  Administration Doesnt Consult Teachers - Data
  Mandates Other Issues
• Write in the space below

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.
Now its your turn!
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Listening to your stories
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Learning from Community Organizers

• Organizers have a whole vocabulary and way of
• thinking that most of us as teachers have
  never
• been exposed to.
• We acknowledge teachers have a lot on their
• plate, and that students in your classroom
  are
• your first priority.
• Its also important to think and act outside
  your
• classroom and your building as well.

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Some Ideas for Rethinking Leadership

• Traditionally, many teachers focus just on
• their classrooms and dont think too much
  about
• wider roles.
• In a school community everybody leads and
  exerts
• an influence of some kind.
• We can be intentional about the roles and
  actions we
• take and plan carefully to maximize our
  influence.
• Leadership is not about who you are, but what
  you
• say and do.

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Some Ideas for Rethinking Leadership (cont.)

• Influencing other teachers and a school can take
  many forms besides leading professional
  development workshops.
• Some community organizing strategies
• Build relationships within your group across
  groups
• Find self-interests in common
• Dont fight battles you cant win
• Choose activities that appeal to multiple
  interests individuals e.g., a book-reading
  group, action research together.

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Positional vs. Relational Power

• Positional power gained from an official
  position, like a principal. S/he evaluates
  subordinates, may be able to hire or fire people,
  and gives out rewards or punishments.
• Relational power comes from how a person relates
  to other people, inspiring respect, or maybe
  fear.
• Good principals exert relational power. Often
  its what enables them to get things done.
  Positional power is actually rather limited.
• If we understand relational power, we can use it
  intentionally to influence actions and policies
  in our schools and communities and build
  support for ourselves.

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Building Relationships

• Community organizers use one-on-ones,
  person-to-person sit downs with someone they need
  to work with. This may be an opponent or official
  who would rather not be bothered.
• These meetings are not for gaining support for
  your ideas, but simply for the two of you to get
  to know each other better, and build trust.

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Act Strategically

• Dont go out on a limb alone. Get plenty of
  support a floor team 3 or 4 other people
  who will second your idea and back you up.
• Meet with likely detractors and get their
  objections in advance so that they feel
  consulted.
• Dont take the principal by surprise.
• These principles apply at your school and in
  larger contexts.

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Choose a Focus

• Carefully choose a focus for your advocacy and
  your
• arguments. Dont try to fix everything at
  once.
• Many schools have too many initiatives going
• at once. There is simply not enough time or
• energy to get tasks all done, so efforts get
  diluted and
• scattered.
• If a group has a long list of priorities, it
  can be difficult for
• people to know which ones to respond to
  first.
• Dont get distracted by personal comments. Stay
  focused.

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Comment on these strategies

• Tell us your thoughts about these strategies
  either on this slide or in the chat box and
  raise your hand to make a comment.
• Write in the space below

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Listening to Your Stories
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4 of the 13 Steps

• Build Bridges
• Talk to the Man/ Woman
• Look inside the black box
• Speak Up

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Build Bridges (Especially with fellow teachers
who see things differently than you do)

• How it helps builds a basis of trust and
  understanding so that more of the faculty can
  work together relieves stressful situations
  strengthens connections even with fellow
  professionals you think you already know well.

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Build Bridges (cont.)

• Use short (half-hour) one-on-one meetings to get
  to know each others background and values.
• Dont try to press an agenda. Rather, learn about
  the person and share your own background as well.
• Look for shared interests, focus on kids
  learning, and keep the conversation constructive,
  but dont be afraid to ask hard questions. 
• Big meetings arent usually the best place to
  tackle sensitive topics. Its better to take
  these up one-on-one though thats a different
  situation from the more introductory discussions.

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Talk to the Man/ Woman (the Principal, that
is)
How it helps enables you to understand the
principals thinking and to share your own
builds trust and the relationship so if needs or
issues arise, you have a basis for approaching
him or her.
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Talk to the Man/ Woman (cont.)

• Start a practice of regular brief check-ins. Ask
  questions to learn the principals interests.
•  
• Do a bit of research to learn more about the
  principals background.
•  
• Examine your own attitude toward authority, to
  reduce anxiety in approaching the principal.
•  
• If making a request, couch it in terms of the
  principals and the schools best interests.
• If an issue is sensitive, dont put the principal
  on the defensive, or go negative. Identify shared
  common interests.

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Look Inside the Black Box (Studying your students
and their learning)
How it helps adds to your understanding of your
students enables differentiation provides
information that can be shared and analyzed with
fellow teachers gives you fresh perspectives
provides data to justify your teaching
strategies.
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Look Inside the Black Box (cont.)

• Consider what kinds of information would help
  with your teaching.
• Check out existing research on your question.
• Plan a research strategy that is doable, and that
  will give you the sort of useful information that
  you need.
• Document the evidence and observations you
  gather, and save evidence such as student papers.
  
• Share results with other teachers. Do so in a way
  that elicits their ideas and sparks discussion.

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Speak up
How it helps It enables you to get your needs
met instead of just complaining avoids having
all decisions made by others helps to make the
school more of a professional community.
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Speak up (cont.)

• Evaluate the risk involved in speaking up. Often
  its lower than you think.
• Be clear about what you are aiming to accomplish
  when you make a proposal or state an opinion.
• Talk with the principal first so he or she isnt
  taken by surprise.
• Talk with other key teachers to get their
  support or learn their concerns.
• Decide the best strategy to achieve your aim.
  Will speaking out in a big meeting help, or is
  there a more effective venue?
• If debate develops, stay focused on your goal.
  Dont get drawn into unproductive arguments.

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Speak up (cont.)

• Carol Jagos feature articles on teaching
• Recent New York Times article Confessions of a
  Bad Teacher http//www.nytimes.com/2012/03/04/o
  pinion/sunday/confessions-of-a-bad-teacher.html?pa
  gewantedall

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Comments on these strategies

• You mentioned some issues earlier. With the four
  strategies in mind, how might you work on these
  issues?
• Write in the space below

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Listening to Your Stories
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Follow Up

• On the next screen are the four strategies we
  described.
• If youd like to follow up on one of these, write
  your name by one or more youd like to continue
  to explore with other participants. Well get a
  listserv going for your group.
• It will be up to you to keep the conversation
  going, but we can pitch in some ideas and
  resources.

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Talk to the Man/ Woman
Build Bridges
Look Inside the Black Box
Speak Up
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Follow Up

• Next November in Las Vegas, well conduct a
  featured session at the NCTE National Convention,
  on
• Using Teacher Voice to Inform Public Policy.
• Sonia Nieto will be the main speaker, and there
  will be discussion tables so teachers can
  actively learn and share their efforts to be
  heard.
• We hope to see you there!

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Thank you for attending our session!

• Steve Zemelman
• Illinois Writing Project
• stv.zemelman_at_comcast.net
• Harry Ross
• National Louis University
• hross_at_nl.edu
•