E-mail Story
Print Friendly Front Page 
opinion guest_columns
Monday, November 08, 2010
Master Teachers Can Contribute to Teacher Improvement
By Peter Sanchez And Celia Merrill
CEO, The Atrisco Companies Executive Director, Golden Apple Foundation
The op-ed "Let Great Teachers Teach Peers" by Emily Hanford of the Los Angeles Times nails the need for teacher improvement. The quality of the classroom teacher — the No. 1 factor for student success — represents our best avenue for effective, sustainable education reform.
But all the press about firing the worst and rewarding the best teachers, as Hanford points out, can't bring about the needed change for the middle mass of teachers — and the mass of students whose futures depend on what these teachers do, or don't do, each day in the classroom.
The mentoring programs Hanford describes are an important part of the solution. But mentoring is available for teachers in New Mexico only in their first and potentially their second year of teaching. A critical time, to be sure, but not sufficient to help those farther along in their careers who continue to "fail" their students.
In addition to mentoring by superstars, another effective way to help all teachers is through the professional learning communities that are becoming a more frequent avenue for helping teachers — superstar and ineffective ones — learn together on a regular basis. Teachers in a professional learning community share lesson plans, examine what's working and what's not, and collaborate on how best to assess student learning.
Either method presumes the guidance of a master teacher, one who uses sound yet innovative instructional practices, who engages students actively in their own learning, and who is continually taking a reading on the progress of individual students and adjusting instruction to meet student needs.
New Mexico has a remarkable asset in the statewide community of master teachers who have been selected for the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching. Since 1996, 95 teachers have won this prestigious honor, being recognized not only for their excellence in the classroom but also for their passion for giving back to the profession — that is, for helping new and less effective teachers improve.
Each day these teachers are working with thousands of New Mexico students. By their mentoring and guidance of colleagues, student teachers and the aspiring teachers in the Golden Apple Scholars Program, they are helping others improve teaching practice in classrooms reaching thousands more, both now and in the future.
Hundreds more Golden Apple-quality teachers are available among those who were finalists for the award, also gifted, committed and deserving of recognition.
Teacher improvement at all levels is an absolute necessity for improving education for all New Mexico children. And though the need is urgent, the path to a solution is evident. Golden Apple has the asset to be a central part of the solution.
By drawing upon its community of master teachers, Golden Apple can support the professional development of the middle mass as well as teachers at all levels.
Successful education reform will be comprised of a multitude of progressive solutions. One of those solutions must seek out alternative methods of professional development for teachers if we are truly interested in increasing the quality of our children's instructional experience in the classroom.
Peter Sanchez in on the Golden Apple Foundation board of directors.
You also can send comments via our comment form
|
|
