Teacher leadership requires us at times to buck the system. By this I mean that sometimes we will find ourselves in the minority on an issue, and we will be faced with tough decisions. Should we go with the opinion of the majority, or do we stick to what we feel to be right? How do you know that you are on the side of what is right?
In this business, we have a solid and predictable compass on our leadership journey. What is best for the students informs all that we do. The needs of the students drive our decisions because, if the students are failing to thrive, our system is failing. Often, teacher leaders become frustrated with administrations and other influential bodies that drive policy based on money, staffing issues, politics or other lesser things. It is then that we bristle and arm ourselves with research, data, and anecdotal evidence to march bravely to the front and speak on behalf of those who matter most, our students.
Teacher leaders take pride in representing our students. Still, when we find ourslelves faced with yet another issue where we must raise our hand and our voice, where we must offer the better way, despite being “just” teachers, it can be challenging.
I’m currently struggling with such a dilemma. Our district is strenghtening its retention policy to discourage a rapid uptick in junior high students with failing grades. The majority of district staff believe that if our policy has more “teeth,” if we actually retain more students, then others will work harder. This issue strikes a very harsh chord with me, and it’s personal.
My path to teaching has not been conventional. Many teachers come from middle class upbringing and school was a positive part of their young lives. For me, my childhood was marked by poverty, disfunction and abuse. Although, school, at times, was a sanctuary, in the end I chose to fail several classes in high school. I didn’t like or trust some teachers. My emotional needs took priority over academics at the time. Although I graduated on time, I let my grades fall and jeopardized my future. Punitive measures pushed me farther away from my teachers and my goals.
Fast forward to my adulthood, and the economic difficulties continued. I was a single mom with two children, struggling with poverty, homelessness, and general upheaval while I finished my education. My son failed fifth and sixth grades. His school wanted to retain him. Fortunately, the next school year I got my first teaching job, moved him across the state, and had him in my first seventh-grade class. He earned a D…from his mom. But, after settling in, he started to feel like the staff and the students cared about him. He started to appreciate his education and his own abilities. It was a complete turnaround. By the time he graduated, he had a B average.
So there is the anecdotal evidence, and the source of my personal passion. However, the research is vast that tells us that retention and other punitive measures do not work to improve engagement and achievement. (See links below)
But here is our real problem: Our student population is changing. We have a growing rate of poverty in our district. There are many students facing homelessness, abuse, neglect, disruption of every sort. Of course, we are already putting supports together for these troubled kids, but our resources are limited. And, we haven’t yet implemented the most basic changes to improve our outcomes: social-emotional learning curricula, trauma-informed teaching practices, remediation for low readers at the secondary level, peer mentoring, more frequent contact with adult mentors, etc. On top of that, they, the students, have not been asked what they need.
So, I ask, why are we getting “tough” on these kids before we get tough on ourselves? Our school generally supports the needs of its students. In fact, it is the same school that put my own son back on the path to success. However, missteps can be made. Teacher leaders should be ready to safeguard the needs of the students when and if they do.
Although I am as concerned as anyone else about the academic progress of my students, I believe that all students need emotional and academic support. I believe they need solid, trusting relationships with the adults in their school. I believe that they deserve a voice in the matter, too.
So, even though my position against retention is in the minority, I will stand by it, armed with data, case studies, and anecdotal evidence. I will listen to and consider the opposing views and share what I know and believe, hoping to make a difference.
As teacher leaders, we must regularly check our leadership compass. We must set our sights on true north–the academic and emotional needs of our students.
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More reading about the retention issue, should you want to dig a bit deeper:
A quick psychologist’s point of view- “Does Student Retention Work?”
An older study that should have settled it- Flynn’s “The Effects of Grade Retention on Middle School Students’ Academic Achievement, School Adjustment and School Attendance”
A level-headed look at both sides of the issue- “Essential Questions Concerning Grade Retention”
Here is a link to a project that inspired me to bring my background in poverty into my teaching practice. Kristen Leong’s Roll Call Project illustrates the connections between students and their teachers. How are we different? What do we have in common? Does having something in common with our students matter?
And, for an alternative way of approaching students in poverty, check out the section on “Mind set” here- “Engaging Students with Poverty in Mind”
Thank you for asking the question about being tough on ourselves. In education, too often, adults ask of children what they wouldn’t do themselves. Thanks for sharing a piece of you and your son’s story.
Retention seems like a system failure not a kid failure. If systems don’t change to support our kids better–in all the ways you say–then we will continue to fail these kids.
Thank you, Robyn. Me, too!
Your personal anecdotes are powerful and persuasive, Lynn – thanks for sharing. I definitely have students whose “emotional needs (are taking) priority over academics.” I hope your voice is listened to, along with the research that supports your case.
All the training I’ve had in ACES the last few years tells me that the more you punish a kid who has been traumatized (by multiple stressors like divorce, abuse, neglect–just to name a few), the less you will get the positive behavior you want.
Establish structures. Build relationships. Have patience. Stay calm. And realize that you need to take care of the child before the child can take care of the academics.
And the idea that “if we actually retain more [junior high school] students, then others will work harder” made me laugh out loud. I’ve taught middle school. Creating engaging projects was the only thing I saw that motivated students to work harder.
Thanks, Jan. I love your advice to establish structures and build relationships. That is the name of the game around here. It took me years to see the true value in the “long game” – building a positive relationship with a student who was failing to achieve. But it works. Just last Thursday a young lady who failed my class multiple times through junior high and high school came in to visit and wrote a very affectionate message to me on my whiteboard. She’s in our alternative high school program these days, but she never felt disliked or unwanted in my classroom, and she still seeks me out for advice and help with English assignments. I put that one in the win column.
Thanks for this very thoughtful and vulnerable post, Lynne. This is such an important topic. We tend to take the “tough love” approach in our schools. Our schools with more behavior issues (usually our schools in areas where there is more poverty) we tend to bring down the hammer, while in our more affluent schools there is more choice and more free movement. The results are clear, more punishment leads to more behavior issues. I hope others join in this conversation. Thanks for starting it, Lynne.
Thank you, Mandy. I know it is hard for many adults to understand that tightening the screws doesn’t always get the results we want. We have a lot of work to do for our kids, so I hope we get to pursue more positive supports soon. As always, time, money, and training are needed. In the meantime, the conversations are so important!