Thinking About Coaching
I really don’t like the idea of instructional coaches for teachers, and I’m not totally sure why.
This particular rant is also born out of the Washington Learns discussion, where they’re suggesting that every school receive one instructional coach for every 200 students. At a school my size that would mean three coaches, which I could see being split between math, reading, and science.
I’m wary.
I don’t mind the idea of someone coming in and showing me ways I can improve my teaching, but I would mind someone coming in who only had different ways, not better ways. Take reading, for example. I’ve had great scores for the last couple of years, even among my low kids. I get results. If a reading coach came in and tried to tell me I needed to change, I’d have a hard time with that. I work with the youngest kids and the hardest to teach kids, and someone else is going to try and tell me how to teach reading?
I know, that’s me being petty.
The other thing that worries me is that I’ve heard in other districts that the instructional coaches have become little more than snitches for the principal. If they don’t like what you’re doing, even if it works, they complain, and since they’re the nominal experts on their subjects, they’re immediately given more credit than you are. I know that it doesn’t have to be that way, but I could easily see it happening, and that’s a concern.
And how does the coaching aspect work, really? In my school of 30 teachers do they watch each teacher every week? Every two weeks? I’m assuming that they’d be required to visit every classroom whether the teacher wanted them or not, or would they only go to the classrooms where there was a demonstrated need for them to be there?
I don’t mind being responsible to my principal—that’s life. It would worry me, though, to have to be responsible to my principal and three coaches, each of whom is looking over my shoulder to see if I’m teaching “their” subject the right way. I’ve worked hard to get an effective flow in my room that works for the kids, and anything that would threaten that makes me nervous.
Is there anything to worry about, or am I worried about nothing?
This particular rant is also born out of the Washington Learns discussion, where they’re suggesting that every school receive one instructional coach for every 200 students. At a school my size that would mean three coaches, which I could see being split between math, reading, and science.
I’m wary.
I don’t mind the idea of someone coming in and showing me ways I can improve my teaching, but I would mind someone coming in who only had different ways, not better ways. Take reading, for example. I’ve had great scores for the last couple of years, even among my low kids. I get results. If a reading coach came in and tried to tell me I needed to change, I’d have a hard time with that. I work with the youngest kids and the hardest to teach kids, and someone else is going to try and tell me how to teach reading?
I know, that’s me being petty.
The other thing that worries me is that I’ve heard in other districts that the instructional coaches have become little more than snitches for the principal. If they don’t like what you’re doing, even if it works, they complain, and since they’re the nominal experts on their subjects, they’re immediately given more credit than you are. I know that it doesn’t have to be that way, but I could easily see it happening, and that’s a concern.
And how does the coaching aspect work, really? In my school of 30 teachers do they watch each teacher every week? Every two weeks? I’m assuming that they’d be required to visit every classroom whether the teacher wanted them or not, or would they only go to the classrooms where there was a demonstrated need for them to be there?
I don’t mind being responsible to my principal—that’s life. It would worry me, though, to have to be responsible to my principal and three coaches, each of whom is looking over my shoulder to see if I’m teaching “their” subject the right way. I’ve worked hard to get an effective flow in my room that works for the kids, and anything that would threaten that makes me nervous.
Is there anything to worry about, or am I worried about nothing?
posted by Ryan at 7:59 AM
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