Today is the first official day of summer vacation. The last several days I've been spending time reflecting back on my first year teaching in a new district. Though my primary concern in my reflection and personal improvement centers around my own curriculum and instruction, I've also been analyzing the new system and school culture I joined this year.
Unfortunately, the existing school culture isn't one that fosters excellence among the staff or students. There are many critiques to be made of the current system, but far and away the biggest criticism I have is that the school lacks a culture of criticism.
In general (there are definite exceptions), criticism in any way shape or form is not welcomed. Even minor, soft-spoken constructive criticism is often responded to as if the criticism were a personal attack. As a result, criticism has become extremely rare in any form. This, in my opinion, may be the single most detrimental characteristic of the school.
Criticism is important and should flow freely at any institution that wants to improve its effectiveness. Let me suggest a few ways that a culture of criticism should evidence itself:
There should be regular (I'd say weekly at minimum) observations of classroom instruction both by teachers and administrators. These observations should be viewed by both parties as opportunities to improve existing practices and learn new methodologies.
The decision-making processes should be open and transparent. For example, if a committee is formed to interview and select a new administrator, it should be clear to all stakeholders how the members of the committee were chosen and what qualities they're looking for among the candidates.
Procedures and policies should be open for suggestions as to how they might be improved to be more effective or more efficient. While constantly changing procedure and policy can be detrimental, they should be regularly questioned: Why do we do things this way? Is our current method helping students/staff/the school accomplish the stated goal efficiently?
If the school culture is not open to crtiticism, how can we ever hope to improve? The worst thing we can do is continue old practices simply because "that's the way it is." Constructive criticism from a variety of viewpoints drives reform and is a hallmark of robust and rigorous institutions. As educators, we expect our students to take constructive criticism from us. We also need to learn to take that criticism ourselves.
On a personal note, I've tried to offer gentle constructive criticism many times this school year. The responses have ranged from a simple blow off to downright unprofessional behavior. Through it all, I keep telling myself that eventually some people will realize that I'm trying to improve their lives, not get them fired. What is the best method to create a culture of criticism? I'm looking for any help (or criticism) you might have.
I like your thoughts, but let me offer some advise (or criticism) :).
Don't be so willing to keep offering criticism to your colleagues, especially unsolicited criticism. In a culture of non-criticism, it will be viewed negatively, and I think you risk being branded in a negative way.
Instead, actively seek criticism from your colleagues about your teaching practice. You may find, over time, that it will have a much more positive impact on your school's culture rather than trying to hit it head on.
My 2 cents worth, please feel free to ignore! 🙂
I like that idea. Offering myself up to criticism first, I agree, could be a good way to get others to open up themselves. The question I have next would be how do I do that?
I have invited my supervising administrators to stop in my room at any time for any length of time. I'm not sure how I would go about asking teachers to critique me. I do share lots of my lessons & curricular materials, but generally we don't critique each other. I'll have to think about other ways I can achieve this.
Perhaps reflection is the real goal I'm looking for the organization to embody. Reflective practices naturally opens open us up to critiquing our own practices, which may also make it easier for us to accept criticism from others.
Lesson Study and Critical Friends are two methods that come to mind if you want models to look at. You shouldn't feel bad though, you can't do this on your own. It's a cultural thing and needs to be taught and nurtured as a community practice.
At least if you have models like these that are accepted practices, with research and lots of case studies to learn from, it's not just you trying to convince people.
I used to be a physician--one of the things I miss in education was the no holds barred criticism docs leveled at each other.
In medicine we had M&M conferences (Morbidity and Mortality); people get hurt, people die--the point of the conferences was to learn why. Administrators were not welcome, and what happened at the meetings was not discussed much outside of the meeting. It felt like wrestling with a priest at confession, and it worked.
There is something cleansing about formal pro-wrestling style criticism. We were exposed to it as medical students, and it was just another part of the process of becoming a physician. (It became less effective, though, as hospitals and insurance companies institutionalized their version of risk management strategies. Docs don't mind ripping each other's heads off in private; it's less fun when judged by people in suits who work half as much as we did.)
I am fortunate to be in a department that fosters criticism; it is not unusual for a colleague to pop into the classroom, then ask questions about particular strategies later. Nothing is written, and administrators are not involved. Not all of the department participates, but for those of us who do, it is an extremely effective tool for improvement.
.-= Michael Doyle´s last blog ..Arne Duncan, meet the Declaration of Independence =-.
@sylvia martinez: I'll look into Lesson Study & Critical Friends. While I realize I can't change the school culture single-handed, I'm hoping I can at least get a few other people on the bandwagon. Once that happens hopefully the culture will slowly spread and begin to change. It'll just require patience at my end- always a struggle. 😉
@Michael Doyle: The medical training process definitely contains some elements that might translate well to professional development and teacher training. I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with the "pro-wrestling style criticism," but I doubt anyone is at first. It would certainly lead to more thought out instructional decisions if I knew I might have to defend my every decision. It's important that the one being critiqued knows the criticism is coming from the critiquer's desire to help them improve- otherwise it turns into the whole mess I experienced recently.
Now that you have me thinking of translating medical training to teacher training, I wonder what a residency for young teachers would look like? Hmm...