There are plenty of changes teachers say will help them do their jobs better, including ample planning time and wellbeing supports.
The Louisiana Department of Education decided to tackle some of these challenges by bringing together a group of teachers to propose solutions, and they are seeing change taking shape.
The Let Teachers Teach working group List of Recommendations Their ideas range from improvements to address issues including professional development, student discipline and what one of the state’s top education leaders calls “the art of teaching.”
“To me, teaching is pedagogy, but it also requires an artistic approach to instruction,” Louisiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Cade Brumley said. “Unfortunately, bureaucracy and a lack of leadership have left many teachers feeling like robots rather than professionals.”
The 18 recommendations are unashamed about the challenges teachers face: The section on training recommends strategies such as avoiding “redundant professional learning sessions” and providing individually tailored teacher development plans and more time for better collaboration and planning.
One of the discipline recommendations, titled “Trust Us, Don’t Blame Us,” calls for removing “excessively disruptive” students from the classroom and sending “unruly students” to alternative schools. Critics have criticized this kind of “exclusionary discipline” practice, arguing that it can be counterproductive and unfairly targets racial minority students. But in the wake of the pandemic, some teachers are exploring new solutions. Struggled to manage deteriorating student behavior.
Bramley said four recommendations became law during the spring Legislature session, including: Require problem students to leave school It prohibits students from leaving class at the request of a teacher and prohibits retaliation against teachers.
Others Prohibit the use of mobile phones At school starting in the fall Additional Payment A teacher’s “non-academic” work could also include activities such as working the concession stand at a school football game, Brumley said.
The Legislature also directed the Louisiana Department of Education and the State Board of Education to come up with a more effective plan for state-mandated training, which the Let Teachers Teach recommendations describe as being provided by teachers “outside of regular school hours and without compensation.”
Brumley said he wanted the task force to come up with “practical solutions that advance teacher professionalism while keeping student outcomes top of mind.” The concept was to address issues teachers repeatedly told him were preventing them from doing their jobs.
“An obvious example is when you hear a teacher say, ‘My school forces us to read from a script,'” Brumley says. “We were very clear about that particular concept in our recommendations: Unless there is explicit, direct instruction, or unless they’re a novice or struggling teacher, an effective teacher needs the autonomy to convey content through the craft of their profession, not just read from a script.”
Governor Brumley and Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry strongly support the recommendation, but they Press conference The announcement of the release of this document does not mean that there is no conflict in the local education environment.
Low income potential leaves some Louisiana teachers skeptical how much They can remain on-site, but the governor has refused to back them. Permanent salary increaseIt’s also the site of a culture war that teachers say is taking a toll on them, and the governor is suing the federal government over an expansion of Title IX guidelines. Protecting transgender students From discrimination.