[AAACE-NLA] Professional Wisdom

[David J. Rosen]

Colleagues,

I hear in some of the postings in this discussion a concern that having a body of professional wisdom could mean that teachers would be constrained in what and how they teach, that "best practices" could be imposed, not just available for teachers to try in their classroms, perhaps in the way that the National Reporting System and standardized testing have been imposed on federally-funded programs and teachers. I interpret from some of the posts a  "leave us alone and we and our students will figure out together what needs to be done" reaction,  perhaps even "we don't need a body of experts, regardless of whether it includes well-respected practitioners and researchers, to tell us what to do." 

Do all teachers in this discussion feel that way about the process of identifying professional wisdom as we have proposed it? (Do any feel that way? Have I misunderstood some of the postings?) Is the concern not about how professional wisdom is arrived at, but how it is used by program and state or federal level administrators? Are there those who feel that we should not try to further develop the professional wisdom part of the definition of "evidence-based" practices, that "it would just be one more thing imposed on teachers?" Are there those who agree this might be a concern to keep in mind but that a body of professional wisdom needs to defined, that teachers would benefit from this? Let's hear what you think. 

David J. Rosen
Adult Literacy Advocate
djrosen at theworld.com
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