Teachers Need to Speak Out . . . and Explain What Their Work Is Like
and What Kind of Support Is Needed for It
See the first in a series of free Web seminar recordings designed to encourage teachers to speak out about the work they do in classroom and how to do so wisely and through a number of venues.
In "Finding Our Voice -- Speaking Out to Build Suport for Our Work," presenters Steven Zemelman and Harry Ross, authors of 13 Steps to Teacher Empowerment,
• recognize that the present situation for teachers and schools in many places in this country is not a happy one right now with widespread budget cuts, mandates from people who don’t really understand teachers’ work, and policies that, however well-intended, undermine good teaching and learning.
• know that teachers complain to each other about these things, but most hesitate to speak out publicly.
• posit that it’s especially important that we do speak out now, in the present climate, so we don’t just sit by passively while our hard work is getting bashed.
• insist that teacher responses, though, need to be carefully crafted and echoed by many voices, so they are as effective as possible.
• share skills and strategies for speaking out so we can all learn, find it easier to speak and be heard, and not lose our jobs in the process.
Share your teacher story with NCTE colleagues, friends and neighbors, policymakers, legislators. Read more in "Telling Our Stories for We Must," by NCTE Past President Yvonne Siu-Runyan.