If I had to pick one educational group with whom I’d like to have conversations about teaching effectively, it would be administrators. I regularly think that administrators who understood the principles of effective instruction (e.g., given choices among methods, go with those methods that produce better outcomes for students) would be able to help their faculties to move in what I consider the right directions. Having never been a school administrator, I might be mistaken about this assumption, but I humor myself by thinking that administrators might be able to cause substantial change in education.
Teachers (and I was one, still sorta am one) have some autonomy, so they can influence effectiveness in their classrooms. However, they’re constrained in their capacity to do things. By whom might they be constrained? Well…administrators.
So I was kinda disappointed in the results of the little poll about readers. Thanks to all who responded (yes, I was sad that Teach Effectively has so few responding readers), but where were the administrators? I guess this drivel only makes its way to non-administrators.
I’m sure that there’s key combination somewhere on this keyboard that makes a discouraged face.
I think the whole assumption that administrators have anything insightful at all is a bit
ludicrous.
Having seen situations where building administrators seem to have caused substantial improvements in kids’ outcomes, I still want to communicate with ‘em.