[AAACE-NLA] A response to Professional Wisdom

[Elise Leonard]

Hi David,
 
I hope you didn't get from my original post that "leave us alone and we and
our students will figure out together what needs to be done" reaction, or
the, as you put it, reaction of "we don't need a body of experts, regardless
of whether it includes well-respected practitioners and researchers, to tell
us what to do." 
 
As a former educator I can tell you from experience that educators
CONSTANTLY get handed down "directives" that are the most absurd,
ridiculous, non-productive, wastes-of-time you could imagine. [I could tell
you some that would make you crack up with laughter, although at the time,
while educators were forced to do them, they were not the slightest bit
funny!]
 
David, we are a nation in crisis. Our educational system--our ENTIRE
educational system--is not working. I think we can all agree on that. As to
where to point fingers or place blame? That is a topic that can only waste
more valuable time. [I kind of smiled at your qualifying: "we don't need a
body of experts, regardless of whether it includes WELL-RESPECTED
PRACTITIONERS AND RESEARCHERS, to tell us what to do."]  :-)  To be honest
and frank, David, which is something you asked for, I've met educators and
volunteer literacy coaches who were amazing and brought results that were
astounding. And why? Not because they were educated in the field of
education, but because they cared about their students and wanted their
students to succeed, and their students felt that, and gave their all to
succeed. Again, it all comes down to the learner. It comes down to what the
learner decides to do. Will he stay and learn? Or will he feel he is wasting
his time and quit.  The educators and volunteers are on the front lines
every single day. They hear their students, they feel for their students'
losses and celebrate their students' gains. They pick lice from their
students heads, buy supplies for their students from their own wallets,
many, like me, sometimes feed and clothe their students.
 
Most of what I learned in my many years of teaching was through my students,
not from any of my degrees. No amount of research or statistics can quantify
or clarify the daily events of a teacher. A real teacher. The effectiveness
of an educator can be evaluated (by her students' success), but cannot be
replicated (due to the individuality of the educator as well as the
individuality his or her many students).
 
So please don't be offended if teachers are worried about what will be
demanded of them next. It sees that the worse things get (and they are
getting worse!), the ideas handed down to them are more crazy, desperate,
and absurd. 
 
At the risk of totally offending anyone (and I sincerely apologize if I do),
perhaps the teachers might feel better about the "well-respected
researchers" if the well-respected researchers would make an effort to get
out of their nice, clean offices and come down to the actual programs to
help pick some head lice off of the learners while also helping to advise
the learners as to how they will come up with the money to pay their rent,
their food bill, their electricity bill, their car insurance and gas bill,
and the medical bills for their children. 
 
Please do not take offense at this. Just know that if you are feeling a bit
of resentment, which you seemed to indicate in your latest post, this may be
one reason why. I also realize that the people who post on this site and who
read the postings on this site are mostly the, as you put it,
"well-respected practitioners and researchers."  Most of the teachers,
tutors and literacy volunteers I know are not ON this list serve because
they just don't have the time, don't have an office to sit down down in to
read these posts, and to be honest, are overworked, underpaid, frustrated
and are "dancing as fast as they can."  
 
As a nation, we have GOT to stop this "us against them" mentality, and just
do what is right for our LEARNERS! When we focus on and do what is right for
our learners, EVERYONE will benefit!  Educators, researchers, society as a
whole.
 
Again, I apologize if I offended anyone. I just felt that those who are on
the front lines, who are not on this list serve, deserve to be heard.
 
~Elise Leonard


  _____  

From: aaace-nla-bounces at lists.literacytent.org
[mailto:aaace-nla-bounces at lists.literacytent.org] On Behalf Of David J.
Rosen
Sent: Tuesday, July 01, 2008 8:00 AM
To: National Literacy Advocacy List sponsored by AAACE
Subject: [AAACE-NLA] Professional Wisdom


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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