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News, analysis and opinion on reforms being offered to improve schools, whether the ideas originate in Washington, Austin or Dallas. The online discussion will take education policy debates seriously, while it connects them to students from grade school through college. We welcome and read all letters from readers. Letters are selected for publication based on their clarity and brevity. They also are chosen to represent a diverse set of views on as many issues as possible. March 2010
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The Bush Institute holds its first education seminar today. The subject is educational leadership. Here is an interview I did for our Sunday Points section with James Guthrie, who is the institute's senior fellow for education studies. I'm particularly interested in the question of whether good teachers are naturally that way, or whether they are the product of years of training. What's your thought? Also, I'm interested in whether it's possible for a superintendent to be good at both finances and academics. What's your thought? Comments |
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1. Teaching is like stand-up comedy - talent helps you write the material, but experience helps you hone it for maximum effectiveness.
2. Yes it's possible, but that's the wrong question. Is it necessary a superintendent be good at both? I say no - the business side is far more important for that position.
Titus Groan,
So, should we hire business folks to run districts? If so, who handles the academics?
Great line about teaching being like stand-up comedy. Is there any way to hurry up the experience portion of this comparison so more teachers can be effective?
While you can train someone to be an adequate teacher, the best started with a spark that they "brought to the table" to begin with.
As for the other. Perhaps educational leadership and district leadership are not totally the same. An educator, a businessperson, and someone paid to break the ties or get them to agree.
Taking your follow-up questions in order:
1. We don't expect the CEO of GM to be able to build a car, do we? So, why do we expect superintendents to be master teachers? I don't see why that position should be closed to business people who don't happen to have teaching experience. Academics would be handled as they always are - through teachers, department heads, and the curriculum department. Of course, it would take a very special executive to succesfully make the leap from industry to a district, because there are many fundamental differences.
2. I don't think it can be hurried much, but perhaps we could revamp ed-school curricula to include a full year of student teaching. Within districts, eliminate CILT and other pointless trainings and allow veteran teachers to directly mentor the newer teachers. Rotate the vets out of teaching for a year so they can mentor full-time.