Conversations with Educators

A+ is pleased to present a conversation with Wilma Guthrie. Wilma is a science teacher at Talladega County Central High School, grades 7-11. She previously taught at Anniston M.S.; Hewitt Jr. High, and The Donoho School. She was the 1991 District III Teacher of the Year; the 1996 Presidential awardee, and 1997 ENC Going the Extra Mile teacher recipient.

Wilma Guthrie's comments are posted below:

Last week while in Washington, D.C. at a science leadership workshop I heard a well-respected colleague of mine remark, "We already know everything we need to know about effective teaching." The comment hung in the air, not lifeless, but as a challenge. Being the pragmatic person that I am, I asked, "Why aren't we doing it then?" This opened an altogether new avenue of discussion that our workshop leaders did not want to pursue and where two roads diverged, we took the one most traveled - what to teach. This left me wondering about the difference between teaching and effective teaching. My English teacher husband claims that teaching is an art, not a science. It is my belief that the truth lies somewhere in between.

On effective teaching...

Teachers are not automatons and students are not programmable. We as an industry have in many ways, consciously or not, dehumanized the educational process. Fear of litigation or simply being hurt has kept many teachers at arm's length, maintaining a teaching and learning environment that is aloof and sterile, neglecting that our students are children, or, at best, young adults, with all of the needs and demands inherent in their development. While I believe in the strength and potential of systemic reform and most especially in the national standards movement, I most respect the core propositions of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. The first proposition states "Teachers are committed to students and their learning." We can no longer pay lip service to this idea and hope to affect change in the students we teach. Herein lies the art.

Typewriters are all but obsolete. With the advent of word processing writing can be composed, edited, and rewritten without ink or paper. The worth of many a secretary has been judged by the speed at which he/she could type and the number of corrections made. But for many years, typewriters served us well as a means of quickly and neatly presenting our thoughts on paper. Likewise, for many years a pedantic style of teaching, one dependent largely on rote learning stood our nation in good stead, compared to the rest of the civilized world. Perhaps our success is attributable in part to more and better resources than much of the rest of the civilized world. This is no longer the case. "It was good enough for me and it is good enough for my child" is an arcane and narrow-visioned way of thinking. Just as the typewriter no longer adequately serves the needs of a late twentieth century office worker, a "one size fits all" style of teaching no longer serves as an adequate approach to instruction. We must identify and teach to our students' varied learning styles to effectively increase their learning. Herein lies the science.

On teachers as leaders...

Those who can should lead. We cannot affect systemic change in our school, district, and state if we sit smugly in our classrooms knowing that our students are learning well and what we are doing is right. We can volunteer when a leadership position is open. Serving as a committee chairperson gives leaders visibility and an avenue for making their voices heard. We can help a struggling colleague. Encouraging and instructing new teachers or helping to reenergize veterans facing burnout propagates the notion that teachers are best suited to teach other teachers. We can attend and facilitate workshops. Attending workshops broadens our own learning, exposes us to new ideas, and strengthens us as professionals. Facilitating workshops allows us to share what we have learned about effective teaching and learning. We can speak out when we know something is wrong. Innovative, energetic teachers are often praised behind closed doors, but not publicly, so as not to make other teachers jealous or resentful. Why does this happen? If what a teacher is doing is right and good, should it not be held up as a model? We can demand that the quiet "atagirls" and "ataboys" be recognized. There is no rule requiring ours to be a self-effacing profession.

On change...

Why is that we know change is inevitable and yet we resist change? Perhaps it's because change takes us out of our comfort zones and forces into new ways of thinking and acting. Some of the changes projected for public education over the next 15 years are scary, distance learning with communication at light speed and computers small enough to be worn as lapel pins. The changes we as educators will face will demand of us possibly the greatest amount of flexibility we've ever been called on to demonstrate. We must be informed and ready to evaluate the proposed changes in light of student benefits, discarding the ineffective or mediocre and perpetuating the positive. Stake holder must be prepared to listen to our voices of experience in affecting the changes that will take place, just as we must be prepared to listen to them.

A former principal frequently would ask, "You think you're gonna like this line of work?" My answer would vary depending on the kind of day I had. My answer to him today probably would be, "I don't always like it, but to do what I do, every single day I have to love it."