From the Executive

From the Executive Director

Reasons to Stay Positive About Education as a Profession

Anew calendar year brings with it a measure of hope and anticipation of good things to come. Half of our academic year is complete, and graduating students begin to realize their commencement date can be calculated in months and weeks, not years. High school students consider college and what it will take to prepare for a career, while college students prepare for their first professional job.

Unfortunately, the number of students choosing teaching as their career has been decreasing in recent years, with a 16 percent decline in enrollments in Georgia colleges and universities coming into this year. The reasons vary, although the generally understood issues are declining respect for teaching as a profession, lack of autonomy in the classroom, overemphasis on standardized testing, performance evaluations linked too closely to student performance scores and compensation stagnation. For many young people, choosing a teaching career may seem to be a commitment to a frustrating and difficult professional existence.

While understanding that these issues are real, I choose to be positive when faced with a challenge. At PAGE, we believe that each of these circumstances can be overcome and progress is being made. Through advocacy at the state and national level and a groundswell of grassroots support from students, parents and educators, I sense that a shift in attitudes is coming. There is a growing realization that learning happens best when educators have the time and opportunity to build good relationships with students while working on relevant content — not prepping for and administering tests. In the past year, the federal and state departments of education have expressed their evolving opinions that testing takes up too much instructional time and distracts teachers and schools from quality teaching. The annual PDK/Gallup Poll provided significant data that the public does not support standardized tests as the most effective measure of student success or of a teacher’s abilities. The poll also clearly highlights that a majority of Americans believe that public education is underfunded.

I also see positive indicators that our young people still want to be teachers. Last year, PAGE reinstituted the Future Georgia Educators program in high schools across the state. We provide curriculum for teachers and their students, make classroom presentations and sponsor FGE conferences on college campuses throughout Georgia. We are sponsoring six such conferences this school year. The two held so far have proven to be highly successful in connecting hundreds of prospective future educators with colleges of education.

In focus groups conducted by PAGE at these events and in responses to surveys, high school students demonstrate a realistic and enthusiastic attitude toward becoming teachers. They express a desire to make real connections with students in ways that promote positive change in students’ lives. It is clear that the way to improve the teacher preparation pipeline is to encourage and support those exploring teaching as a career. FGE is a powerful tool in this regard.

I am also encouraged about the future of our profession because of the excellent professional development work I have witnessed in south Georgia. PAGE sponsors professional learning in a collaborative network of Berrien, Brooks, Lowndes and Tift counties. Another joint effort is underway for districts in the ChattahoocheeFlint and the Southwest Georgia RESAs. These initiatives facilitate effective multi-district collaboration among teachers, administrators and superintendents on how to measurably improve student engagement and progress in their schools. In working to engage students, educators themselves are highly engaged. I was thrilled to hear, for example, that a group of Tift County teachers asked their administration and PAGE to hold an additional session after school hours to fill in the gaps from professional learning in which they had been unable to participate.

Sharing knowledge and encouraging learning is a noble calling that compels people to engage with others. I have faith that together we will identify, support and encourage young people to respond to the call to become a teacher. n Dr. Allene Magill

There is a growing realization that learning happens best when educators have the time and opportunity to build good relationships with students while working on relevant content — not prepping for and administering tests.