In my experience, I have noticed a pattern. I believe it to be fairly consistent across the educational landscape of the United States, and I share it here for either gentle confirmation, or violent damnation.

Of all the teachers I have met I believe I can loosely group them into one of four categories. I believe a person can change their position in a category, in fact I believe that if someone in any category is self aware and self reflective enough, combined with concerted effort, any change is possible:

1. Tier 1 - The Innovators — These are the truest practitioners of the delicate art of education. They are innovative, always thinking, always growing, always refining what they do to maximize the positive impact on their students. They make mistakes, take missteps, have ideas, and lessons that “blow up in their face” (sometimes literally for those of us Chemistry teachers… yes, kids, Mr. Washburn’s eyebrows DO grow back… -grin- ) They work too many hours, even though they try not to, and there are days that the weight of their calling or the realities of their students lives drop them to their knees in tears. Many if not most of these instructors have found ways to stay “under the radar” quietly working in their classrooms, changing children’s lives for the better, one at a time. They know if they are “discovered” their peers may hate them for “making others look bad” or be jealous of their talents. A process I have, admittedly never understood, even when I was a high school student myself. Many of this type of instructor have actually had other educators work against them on an issue truly good for students & learning simply out of spite. These innovative instructors must stay “under the radar” with administrators as well since in “reward” for the excellence of the educator, the administration may “promote” them out of the classroom, or simply ask them to do so much that they burn out.




2. Tier 2 - Waiting in the Wings — This second class of teachers are the ones who, with just a little help, protection, encouragement, etc. would become the aforementioned excellent educators. For political reasons, they have learned to duck-and-cover very well. They desire more, but the multitude of small assaults build up, in what I tend to call the Lilliputian Effect, and numerous small injuries and pains become overwhelming. They are slowly worn down by the education machine and its politics and disappointments, until they settle in to a place of mediocrity. They want more, but believe they can not or will not obtain it.




3. Tier 3 - With enough effort — These instructors are much like the Tier 2 instructors, but they don’t even know where to begin. They want to be good educators, they have just been so beaten by life or the system, that they don’t really ever believe something good is possible. The good news is like the Tier 1 & Teir 2 teachers, these educators have the one, absolutely critical component for success: they want to be good teachers. With enough training, time, encouragement, support, and political protection these instructors can become better than they ever dreamed.




4. Tier 4 - Kickers & Screamers — Sadly, these are the teacher that all of have had at one time as a student, and we tell jokes about now that we are older. The teacher with untenable, illogical rules; the professor who hasn’t bothered to update or improve a single mimeographed worksheet for 20 years; the politically vested teacher who coached little league (nothing against Little League) 15 years ago with the now Superintendent, which they now feels justifies them to procure items they will never use, and literally steal thousands of dollars a year in materiel from the school (not hyperbole, I am thinking of an actual former co-worker as I write). These are the warm bodies taking up space, damaging children every year, not because they lack talent, but because they don’t want to be good teachers, they just want to get their paycheck. These are the people that Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Inc., says the teacher’s unions protect that prevent real growth from occurring in education. They will, as the name implies, only be dragged “kicking and screaming” into any change, even if the perfect educational reform came knocking at their classroom door.

How many times as educators have we watched motivational movies like “The Dead Poet’s Society” (a personal favorite), or “Stand and Deliver”, or recently “The Ron Clark Story” and see that if we set high expectations for our students, and then “scaffold” or provide small, attainable, sequential goals to accomplish these high expectations, students will succeed? Why is this so different for us as adults? We excuse ourselves from such growth with ideas like; “I’m too old”, “I’m not a digital native”, (here’s one I have used before) “I don’t have the time”. Didn’t many of us get into education because we believed it was worth it? We didn’t do it for the money, we became teachers because we believed it was worthwhile. That we could make a difference. I sincerely believe the Kickers and Screamers, which in my humble opinion are the only ones beyond saving, are less than 15% of the total U.S. K-12 teacher population. That means the rest of us in that 85% need to redouble our efforts, not to work more hours, or to work harder, but to work together, work smarter, communicate more and more effectively with the teachers in the classroom next to us, or across the lunch table to find ways to make ourselves better. All it takes to be a leader, is the willingness to take the first step, they humility to admit when you have taken a wrong turn, and the gentleness to ask others to come along with you. I hope you will join me and the thousands of hard working, passionate, professional educators to lead today.