Education Blog
Most Likely to Succeed: Part II
This is my second post on this excellent article by Malcolm Gladwell in The New Yorker titled “Most Likely to Succeed: How Do We Hire When We Can’t Tell Who’s Right for the Job?”
Today’s response is about how difficult it is to measure what makes a good teacher. Anyone who has spent time in front of a class knows that there’s a certain magic to teaching that’s difficult to name, even by the teacher who’s doing the magic!
Gladwell share the following in his article:
_A group of researchers—Thomas J. Kane, an economist at Harvard’s school of education; Douglas Staiger, an economist at Dartmouth; and Robert Gordon, a policy analyst at the Center for American Progress—have investigated whether it helps to have a teacher who has earned a teaching certification or a master’s degree.
Read More >>Teachers Most Likely to Succeed?
If you’re like me, you read a lot about what people outside the field of education have to say about education. And much like me weighing in on my personal views of NASA’s next shuttle launch, there is inevitably a disconnect between the writer’s perspective and what really happens inside a school. Unless you’ve taught, you just don’t “get it.”
But I recently came across an article by Malcolm Gladwell in The New Yorker titled “Most Likely to Succeed: How Do We Hire When We Can’t Tell Who’s Right for the Job?” You probably know Gladwell from his books The Tipping Point and Blink. He has raised himself to the sort of writer/thinker that when he speaks, people listen. In his article, he explores the myriad issues that are involved in recruiting, rewarding, and retaining quality educators.
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Who are the people in your neighborhood?
If you’re of a “certain age,” the Sesame Street’s “Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood” probably transports you back to being parked in front of a t.v. (perhaps black and white) and grubbing on an afternoon snack (in my case cookies with carob chips). Perhaps the song might be up for some new application now that you’re “old.”
We don’t often think of our schools in these terms, but a single school is like a small city, made up of different services, constituents, and yes – neighborhoods. While a school staff at large is a community in itself, the school is broken down into smaller neighborhoods. These neighborhoods are probably unofficially named in your building. There could be the “math and science floor.” Or perhaps there’s the “special education rooms.” If that’s the case, that means that within these sections are neighbors.
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So, what should I do?
I’ve been doing a lot of speaking and training events recently. Far and away, my favorite part of any event is meeting fellow educators and hearing your stories. Whether I’m consulting with staff in a particular school or giving a more general presentation at a conference, participants inevitably linger in the room to tell me their amazing stories. Some of the stories are uplifting and energizing—stories about wonderful schools full of hopeful teachers in a positive work environment. But more often than not, I also hear from educators who want to share their stories of struggle and hardship. However energized they may be by a presentation about improved workplace climate, they still feel stuck. Often their stories end with the question, “So, what do you think I should do?”
Last week I spoke at the Education Minnesota’s annual conference, hosted by the Minnesota teachers’ union. After my presentation, I spoke with a young woman who has been teaching for four years.
Read More >>A New Golden Rule?
Let’s start this conversation with the following question: What might happen to your job satisfaction if you inverted the Golden Rule? In other words, imagine what would happen if you and your colleagues operated under this mantra:
DO UNTO YOURSELF AS YOU WOULD DO UNTO OTHERS.
What happens when we’re as good to ourselves as we are to our students? What happens when we’re as insistent about issues of equity and justice in our dealings with educators as we are with students? What would change in your school and in your life if you adopted this outlook?
This site is a place for you to join with others who are looking at themselves and their work differently, who are working toward the following balance: taking care of yourself and your colleagues so that you are able to be better resources for your students.
So come to share your stories, questions, frustrations, ideas, and successes. Come to share your own answer to, “How was your day at school?”
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As a former teacher, I’ve seen first-hand the issues that educators face every day. I hope that by writing this blog, I can share some insights (as well as a sense of humor) on teacher job satisfaction and school climate, and spark conversation about how to improve our schools.
—Nathan Eklund, M.Ed
Senior Education Consultant
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