By Mark
When I have that student who keeps coming to me for advice, asking questions I know he knows the answers to, I always tell him "trust yourself."
When I stand in front of my classroom and tell them the book they are about to read may just be the best experience they've ever had in school, I implore them to keep an open mind, play along, and "trust me."
In my classroom, one of the words that comes up constantly is trust. I want them to trust the guidance I offer and trust that I always have their best interest as students in mind. I want them to trust themselves as thinkers and readers and writers so that they can grow and soar constantly. I tell them I know that asking them to trust is a tall order. It involves deep personal risk and the turning over of not just confidence, but in some cases, a relinquishing of power.
In education, I think that almost any mess we find ourselves in can be traced back to a fundamental failure of trust.
When students don't trust their teachers, the kid won't go seek help or advocate for his own understanding. The kid flounders, is perhaps left behind.
When teachers don't trust their students, the teacher never allows the freedom necessary for a kid to develop as an authentic learner. The kid is drilled with rote, and exits with content but not capacity.
When teachers don't trust administrators, concerns go unaired, resentment and resistance builds, and the gears grind to a painful halt; the teachers cast the administration as "the enemy."
When administrators don't trust teachers, faith is lost in the capacity of teachers as professionals, and the voices of teachers are ignored, for those voices are those of "mere teachers."
When policymakers do not trust educators, policy and legislation are established which neglect the needs of students in favor of corporate theory or political capital–and we end up subject to policies with high ideals, noble motives, and a snowball's chance.
It's all very simple: My most effective teaching happens when those kids trust me enough to open their minds. The most effective I have been able to be as a teacher-leader has been under administrators who trust me to do my job and trust my judgment as a professional. The most effective policy has come after policymakers have trusted in-the-trenches educators enough to listen.
It's time to add trust to our list of priorities.
And we need to the trust that the teachers who had our kids before us actually did their best. I hear so many complaints about students writing in the high school, with the refrain “what are they teaching them in Xth grade if they come in writing this poorly?!” That needs to be reframed as “wow, look at this writing, I wonder what it looked like at the start of Xth grade…that teacher must have had to work hard to get them to this level…”
And teachers should trust one another. Trust that everyone has the students’ best interests in the forefront. Trust each other to prepare the students effectively. In the early grades we build on what the last teacher taught. Too often, teachers introduce a concept, say, in math and then keep at it for too long, failing to trust that the next teacher will build on their introduction.
I agree that both sides are to blame. When one side gives up one the “trust” relationship, then the connection is severed. As for “accountability,” I don’t see that as an expression of a lack of trust… if done properly, it can help cement trust, as it does in the classroom (my students trust that when I ask them to perform, it is worthwhile; when I trust them to explore and construct, they surpass my expectation…that performance, exploration and construction are the manifestations of our trust).
I think teachers should be held accountable, but I also think that teacher input should be both solicited and valued as those accountability scales are developed.
Usually when trust breaks down both both sides share the blame. Are we (teachers) doing everything as a profession to earn the trust of joe public? Maybe, maybe not. Either way a perception exists that some/many teachers are not effective. With that perception it is hard to argue against “accountability” (even in it’s most misguided forms).