Conversations with Educators

A+ is pleased to present a conversation with Brett Michael Mayhan, a teacher at Cranford Burns Middle School. (view biographical sketch)

Graduation Requirements

Teachers should receive training in methods to help student's (1) who are not working on grade level and (2) who require remediation in specific subject areas.

To increase student achievement, open communication among students, teachers, and parents is vital but often overlooked. The hundreds of parent conferences that I1ve participated in clearly indicate that, while most parents truly value education and want their children to succeed, they themselves do not know how to effectively assist their children in academic achievement. Students and parents can benefit from understanding the importance of good study habits and testing techniques.

Our new graduation requirements are designed to encourage more Alabama students to achieve at higher levels and to go to college. While that is a laudable goal, it is extremely important for us to realize that a college education is not a viable alternative for all students. It should also not be the sole focus of public education.

Technical or trade skills are not only more appealing to many students but are also where the majority of jobs will be available in the near future. As vigorously as our state has pursued higher academic standards for high school diplomas, Alabama needs to just as vigorously take steps to provide modern and widespread vocational and technical opportunities for its public school students, and this program should begin affecting students as young as eighth or ninth grade.

Teacher Leadership

First of all, incentives of some form should be provided to encourage teachers to assume more leadership roles. This idea may sound like the same old tired plea for more money for educators, but good teachers should not be forced to leave the classroom to earn a better wage.

Outstanding teaching should be recognized and rewarded on a systematic, widespread, and continuing basis (even though this will inevitably bring howls of woe from legislators controlling purse strings).To some extent, incentives are being offered in Alabama in the form of $1500 pay increases for teachers receiving national board certification. (It is rumored that this figure may be increased to $3000 in the near future.)

This example may go more towards teacher professionalism than to teacher leadership; however, the two are fairly tightly intertwined. Tangentially, I1m a firm believer that improving teacher professionalism, both actual and as perceived by the public, is of paramount importance. It is critical for attracting more well-qualified candidates to the teaching field (since all indications are that we will be facing a severe shortage of teachers in the next few years) and for reaching the point where teachers are paid and respected on a level comparable to that of members of other professions.

Incentives for improved or increased teacher leadership do not necessarily have to be monetary, however. Exemplary teachers should be recruited by either the state or state universities to serve for one to two years as mentors to either specific schools or school districts or to travel the state conducting workshops. This would serve as a truly organized and widespread mentoring program. Every year, first year teachers would have a readily available, continuous source of expert teaching experience from which to draw. Colleges of education should work hand-in-hand on a regular basis with these expert teachers to obtain valuable feedback, which would be used to modify teacher education and training as needed.

Technology Integration into Student Learning

Teachers are being provided with a tremendous amount of access to multimedia technology. They are frequently being shown how to use the technology, but not necessarily being shown how to apply it to their instruction. For classroom teachers who don1t have a bank of computers for each child in the class to use, some guidance as to how to use their limited technological resources with a whole class would be beneficial.

Knowledge of the use of technology is obviously important for most career or job fields, but, other than in designated computer classes, I don1t believe that core subject-area teachers should be concerned with actually teaching students to use the technology. Subject-area teachers should be using the technology to supplement or enhance instruction, and it is there that many teachers need assistance.

Professional Development

While school systems and universities (at least here in Mobile) are doing a good job of providing a variety of in-service opportunities for staff development, effective staff development must to some extent be a "bottom-up" process. Teachers--the recipients of staff development-- should have a great voice in determining what types of in-service or workshop opportunities are offered. Teachers need to be able to easily inform in-service and training centers of the types of programs for which teachers want and need professional guidance.

return to top of page