My Capstone, Terry F Erickson [classic novels .txt] 📗

to schedule meetings. Some teachers said that all district meetings should be held during the school day, while others thought they should be held outside of the school day. School administrators do value teachers’ time and attempt to schedule most meetings during the school day and provide funding for substitute teachers. Several teachers praised administrators for making this change from the past, when most meetings were scheduled before or after school. However, attending district meetings are only a small part of teacher leadership duties. Most of the leadership work is done at the building level by site councils, advisory groups, and task forces. The meetings are always scheduled outside of the regular school day, and subsequent work must be completed on a teacher’s own time. I frankly see no way of solving this problem unless there is a systemic overhaul of how we schedule the school day. This would mean we shorten the students’ school day or lengthen the teachers’ workday. The first would be very unpopular with parents and politicians and the latter unpopular with teachers unless they are justly compensated, which would make this proposal equally unpopular with politicians.
A Piece of Advice
Although my findings didn’t lend themselves to a set of recommendations as I had initially planned, I do have one suggestion to pass along to administrators. Every teacher I interviewed told me that he or she feels honored when an administrator or colleague asks them to do a job or accept a position because of their individual skills and talents. However, the key is to ask them because of personal assets they can bring to the task, not just asking to be a warm body on a committee. Senior teachers appreciate being able to utilize their skills, talents, and interests in areas that they have purposely developed and nurtured over the years. In other words, if Loretta is an expert at teaching reading to primary students, administrators should ask her to take a leadership role in teaching reading at the primary level.
All teachers need some type of external recognition, whether they have been teaching one year or 20. Untenured teachers receive recognition during the yearly review process. However, administrators may take senior teachers for granted and perceive that they no longer need a pat on the back or a few complimentary words. But I found that they do. What better way to recognize and honor a teacher’s years of service, expertise, and passions then to use these in a leadership role?
William Glasser (1997) asserts people are motivated by the need to belong to a group, high self-efficacy or power, and just having fun. In Abraham Maslow’s (1970) hierarchy of needs theory, money is toward the bottom, and recognition and a sense of accomplishment are near the top.
I recommend that principals and administrators form “honor committees” for certain issues that face schools or the district or for work that only experts may be able to accomplish. These honor committees would be much like “blue ribbon” task forces or committees that are established by legislative bodies when high-profile problems must be resolved. Honor committee members would be senior teachers with knowledge, skills, or talents that could be utilized to accomplish the task at hand. The district would benefit from the collective wisdom of the group, and teachers would benefit by being able to use their skills and talents in a meaningful and rewarding manner.
Summary
I have thoroughly enjoyed working on this Capstone for the past eight months. I especially took pleasure in reviewing the literature for Chapter Two and interviewing the nine teachers to collect the data for Chapter Four. I talked with teachers I had never talked with before, and I was in school buildings I had never walked into before---despite teaching for 14 years in the district. I often hear administrators talk about the talented staff we have in my school district, but I have never really appreciated this statement until now. I wish every teacher would have the opportunity to talk with colleagues from other grade levels and buildings about our profession.
I found a sense of responsibility to be the primary motivator, and time to be the primary hindrance for senior teachers. I believe that teachers should be compensated for the extra work they perform in leadership roles but that money will never be a significant motivator. The primary motivator will be the recognition and public appreciation shown by administrators, parents, community members, and students for the dedication and professionalism of all teachers.

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