Education Week - March 15, 2023 - 11

What's the Best Thing
Happening in Schools Right
Now? We Asked Top Teachers
They're optimistic about collaborating with peers,
connecting with students, and countering a negative
storyline about teaching
By Elizabeth Heubeck
Teacher dissatisfaction has become
an all-too familiar theme within the
profession.
Each new poll aimed at K-12 educators
seems to paint a more negative
picture of the profession than the
last. In a nationwide survey of teachers
conducted in January and February
of 2022 by the Edweek Research
Center, respondents reported feeling
overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated.
More than 4 in 10 teachers
surveyed said they were either fairly
or very likely to leave the profession
in the next two years.
A few months later, a national
RAND Corp. workplace survey
found that teachers experience
" frequent job-related stress " at
about twice the rate of other working
adults. Discouraging stuff.
But it's not all doom and gloom.
We asked five acclaimed K-12 teachers-finalists
for the 2023 National
Teacher of the Year, a program run by
the Council of Chief State School Officers-to
share what they believe is the
best thing happening in K-12 education
right now.
They each responded without hesitation.
Further, their responses all
centered around a similarly encouraging
theme: connectivity.
Perhaps this should come as no
surprise given the isolation endured
by so many during the pandemic.
Read their responses to learn more
about what they say is worth celebrating
right now in the K-12 education
sphere.
Rebecka Peterson, math
teacher at Union High School
in Tulsa, Okla.
Reflecting on the overwhelming
negativity surrounding the education
profession right now, Peterson said:
" There are so many opinions. To
me, opinions don't really change us.
I don't think I've ever really changed
my mind because of someone's
opinion. But I've changed my mind
because of people's stories. "
" For me, stories really soften us, "
she continued. " Some of the best
things right now are teachers talking
about what's going on inside
their classrooms. As educators, we
hold the power to direct the narrative.
I love to see teachers reclaim
our profession, and talk about the
good, and talk about what brings
us life and light and joy while doing
what we do best, and educating our
audience about the work that still
needs to be done. Holding that balance
and sharing our stories is what
gets me really excited, " she said.
Peterson has long been a proponent
of sharing positive stories happening
in the teaching profession.
For over a decade, she has contributed
to a blog called One Good
Thing. " Every day, I write about
something good in the classroom, "
she said.
She's gotten her students to engage
in the practice, too.
" Every Friday, my students write
about something good that happened
during the week, " Peterson
said. " We live by the mantra that
every day may not be good, but there
is one good thing in every day and
that empowers us to take ownership
of our own stories. Our collective
stories can bring so much hope. "
Harlee Harvey, 1st grade teacher
at Tikiġaq School in Point Hope,
Alaska, a remote northwest part
of the state
Harvey pointed immediately to
a noticeable sense of unity among
teachers. " I'm seeing teachers coming
together to collaborate in ways that
keep us in the classroom and keep us
working for kids, " Harvey said.
Harvey views the collaboration
among teachers as more than just an
uplifting experience to witness and
be a part of. She sees it as a necessity.
" Without that unity, we're going
to see more teachers leaving the
profession, " Harvey said. " If we can
continue that unity among teachers,
hopefully we can stabilize the profession
a little more. "
Carolyn Kielma, science teacher
at Bristol Eastern High School
in Bristol, Conn.
Kielma said she has always made
an effort to create a personal connection
with her students before
attempting to teach them science
content. What's exciting to her is
that, right now, the entire profession
seems to be recognizing the importance
of this strategy of connecting
with students.
" I think that's what's really exciting
about what's come out of the
pandemic: How to connect with all
students, how to make all students
feel like they have a voice in the classroom, "
Kielma said.
" When we were shut down, there
was a lot of learning that was difficult
to accomplish because I couldn't
make those connections with my students,
and I couldn't do the humor and
couldn't have those personal relationships
that are so important in order to
get the learning done, " she said.
Kimberly Radostits, 8th-12th grade
Spanish teacher at Oregon Junior/
Senior High School in Oregon, Ill.
" The reality is that we just came out
of a collective trauma as a society. To
see teachers coming together to give
their best to their students after something
that was extremely traumatic is
a really wonderful thing to watch, "
Radostits said.
She's equally excited to see what
this collaboration brings next.
" I think we are doing a really great
job of getting through recovery and
starting to think about next steps and
how we can grow and how we can
reimagine education to take it to the
next level. "
Jermar Rountree, health and
physical education teacher at
Washington, D.C.'s Center City
Public Charter School,
Brightwood Campus
Asked what he sees as the best
thing happening in K-12 education
"
The reality is that we just came out of a collective trauma as a society. To see teachers coming together to give
their best to their students after something that was extremely traumatic is a really wonderful thing to watch.
KIMBERLY RADOSTITS
Spanish teacher, Oregon, Illi.
EDUCATION WEEK | March 15, 2023 | www.edweek.org | 11
Jermar Rountree, Washington D.C.
Carolyn Kielma, Connecticut
Kimberly Radostits, Illinois
Rebecka Peterson, Oklahoma
Harlee Harvey, Alaska
right now, Rountree said: " The
collaboration piece. We [teachers]
are continuing to put our heads together
to create a common goal for
our voices to be heard, for teachers
to be seen. "
Seeing the positive effect that
being heard and seen is having on
teachers, Rountree aims to create
similar opportunities for his students.
" I
listen to my students. I care
deeply about not only what's happening
in our school community,
but also in our students' lives, "
Rountree said. " I want to make
sure they understand that I am
here for them, I am listening to
them. "
From these thoughtful responses,
it's clear that these award-winning
educators care-about one another,
their students, and the teaching profession
in general.

http://www.edweek.org

Education Week - March 15, 2023

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