I remember almost every second of the evening of December 12th 1996. I had the incredible fortune to be at The Manic Street Preachers homecoming gig at Cardiff International Arena to celebrate the launch of their 4th studio album Everything Must Go. It was the band’s first release since the mysterious disappearance of guitarist and insanely talented lyricist Richey Edwards. Die-hard fans were delirious with joy at the chance to witness this historic event but simultaneously felt sadness as three took to the stage rather than four. James Dean Bradfield, Sean Moore and Nicky Wire made the whole evening a conversation (in amongst songs) and an intentional tribute to Edwards.
An abiding memory was that the whole event was handled with empathy by the band. There was deep appreciation articulated for the messages of support during the difficult last year, thanks to the crowd for turning up and spending time/money and gratitude for the album purchases which enabled the band to do what it is they love doing; writing, recording and performing for people. I remember feeling really connected to the band and enjoying their sincerity, awareness of where they have come from and eagerness to continue producing high quality work for all to access and enjoy.
I wonder sometimes whether those who trot the educational speaking circuit (and broker (no doubt) huge appearance fees) realise the extent to which they can hold audiences in the palm of their hands and influence thinking that will eventually meander its way back into schools and infiltrate discussion and decision-making. In dimly-lit halls, spotlights are cast on lone figures of repute trudging laps of a stage (or pretty disappointingly live by video link such as John Hattie at this week’s ACEL conference) as fingers are poised to tweet out this ‘nugget’ and that, photograph this graphic and that. I would despair if all anecdotes and ‘research’ is uncritically consumed as gospel in a pseudo-evangelical atmosphere.
Teaching is, and should be treated as an intellectual activity. It tends to attract people who love teaching and relish the autonomy they have to think, act and be. Teaching is also an activity which should value sharing, explore new and exciting frontiers and actively listen to one another’s ideas and work. While I accept that sometimes it is helpful to hear from those who have the ear of key upper-echelon educational players, it is miserable to hear the same hermetic tropes about ideology, evidence, comparability, quality and effect.
There is a significant distance between conferences and classrooms, headlines and the day-to-day reality of working in schools. It is my belief that those who have the extraordinary privilege to speak to and work with large numbers of attentive professionals should remain closely connected to us, watching unobtrusively, listening undistractedly and communicating affirmatively and respectfully about our efforts and struggles. Like the Manic Street Preachers of December 12th 1996, converse WITH us, don’t talk AT us. We are a profession and we wont get mugged off with wordsmithery, political gamesmanship, fancy slides or reputation. It doesn’t mean ‘guru’s’ or educelebs will be dismissed out-of-hand, but his we know …
“Good teachers are necessarily autonomous in professional judgement. They do not need to be told what to do. They are not professionally the dependents of researchers or superintendents, of innovators or supervisors. This does not mean that they do not welcome access to ideas created by other people at other places or in other times. Nor do they reject advice, consultancy or support. But they do know that ideas and people are not much real use until they are digested to the point where they are subject to the teacher’s own judgement. In short, it is the task of all educationalists outside the classroom to serve the teachers; for teachers are in the position to create good teaching”.
(Stenhouse, 1988)
As always Jon, you leave me challenged. I must admit that I enjoy going to conferences. I was told recently that leaving ‘the classroom’ would underminey voice and authority at such events, yet a part of me feels that such authority is a bit of a ruse. None of us has THE answer, instead we share ideas. In different contexts that may take on different forms. To support this, I do not tell MY story, but try where possible to curate as many stories as possible. This is not to achieve some sort of truth, but really to highlight the impossibility of a single answer.
To be truly student-centred the available evidence suggests that you need to be teacher-focused. Paradoxical as it sounds, it seems that teacher self-efficacy, competence and confidence are the ‘coin of the realm’ if you want all learners to floursh and grow into capable, resilient and caring people. Rather ironically, the fine qualities we want to foster in all teachers are by-products of actually witnessing good teaching practices that impact student outcomes positively and powerfully (Guskey, 2010). It is by observing evidence of powerful practices being negotiated WITH learners, within and beyond classrooms, that teachers’ attitudes change and grow. The role of good educational leaders is not just to keep sharing what has worked In the past but to prepare the people in their community for their future. The professional decisions made by teachers as they combine evidence-based practice AND practice-based evidence will determine the quality of ‘next practice’ in our schools. Truly transformational leaders want to support teachers with professional learning that helps teachers trust themselves to make good decisions. Having spent half my thirty year career as a university academic/consultant, and half teaching in schools, I know how important it is to keep teacher competence, confidence and self-efficacy in your line of sight if you want positive change for all the learners in your school. Do all our new wave of edupreneurs, intrapreneurs and entrepreneur$ understand this – or do some of the self-proclaimed ‘disrupters’ inadvertently or otherwise diminish the self-efficacy of the profession to foster dependency? Thanks so much for this timely, important, professional and COURAGEOUS reflection Jon .