No More Bad Coffee: Professional Development That Honors Teachers: Sheryl Chard at TEDxABQED

Summary

This script narrates the speaker's grandmother's choice between continuing her teaching career and accepting a marriage proposal in 1926. It contrasts the personal decision with the modern financial burden of teacher attrition, estimated at billions annually. The speaker advocates for a reimagined professional development that fosters collective inquiry, creativity, and respect for educators' expertise, emphasizing the importance of honoring teachers to retain talent in the classroom.

Takeaways

• 🏫 The speaker's grandmother taught in a one-room schoolhouse in 1926 and faced a choice between continuing her teaching career and accepting a marriage proposal.
• 💍 She chose marriage, which led to her retiring from teaching at the age of 20, illustrating personal life decisions' impact on a teaching career.
• 📉 The script discusses the high financial costs of teacher attrition in modern times, with estimates ranging from millions to billions of dollars annually.
• 🧮 It emphasizes the loss of wisdom, expertise, and potential when experienced teachers leave the profession, which is not accounted for in financial estimates.
• 📚 The cultural conversation about education has become overly focused on standards, testing, and accountability, neglecting the essence of teaching and learning.
• 🎨 Teaching is described as a fine art that requires a balance of knowledge, imagination, rigor, and tenderness, suggesting the complexity of the profession.
• 🌟 The Sofia Center for professional development is presented as an example of a place designed to meet the needs of teachers and school leaders through meaningful work.
• ☕️ A teacher's desire for 'great coffee' symbolizes the need for professional respect and recognition in the teaching community.
• 🤝 The script advocates for professional development that fosters collective inquiry, shared expertise, and inspired conversation among educators.
• 🛠️ It suggests redesigning professional development to be more like collaborative design studios and less like a series of disconnected meetings.
• 🌱 The importance of maintaining a connection with the vision and hope that initially drew teachers to the profession is highlighted as essential for their retention and satisfaction.

Q & A

What significant event occurred in 1926 that the speaker mentions at the beginning of the script?

In 1926, the speaker's grandmother began teaching in a one-room schoolhouse near Gothenburg, Nebraska, at the age of 18.

What dilemma did the speaker's grandmother face after a few years of successful teaching?

The speaker's grandmother faced a choice between accepting a contract to return to the schoolhouse or accepting a marriage proposal.

What advice did the speaker's grandmother's father give her regarding her decision?

Her father advised her to remember that marriage lasts a lifetime and to make her choice considering that she was young and in love.

Why did the speaker's grandmother retire from teaching at the age of 20?

She retired from teaching to marry the speaker's grandfather, as she chose marriage over continuing her career in education.

What is the estimated financial cost of teacher attrition in New Mexico according to one study mentioned in the script?

One study estimated the cost of teacher attrition in New Mexico to be over 12 million dollars a year.

What is the estimated national cost of teacher attrition according to another study mentioned in the script?

Another study estimated that the national cost of teacher attrition could be as much as seven billion dollars a year.

What has the speaker identified as being lost in the cultural conversation about education?

The cultural conversation about education has been reduced to a focus on standards, testing, and accountability, losing the essence of teaching and learning, such as imagination, creativity, wonder, and possibility.

What does the speaker believe teaching well involves, beyond content mastery?

Teaching well involves a complex balance of knowledge acquisition and imagination, rigorous work and tenderness, and is considered a fine art.

What was the Sofia Center for professional development envisioned to be by the speaker?

The Sofia Center was envisioned as a place where educators from across the community could come together to do meaningful work and engage in collective inquiry, shared expertise, and inspired conversation.

What is the speaker's suggestion for improving professional development for teachers?

The speaker suggests making professional development more like design studios, with time and resources for teachers to work on innovative projects, and including seminars and workshops with local experts as professional colleagues.

What does the speaker believe is essential for professional development and why?

The speaker believes that professional development should be essential and not require huge sums of money. It should be defined by large and spirited inquiry, engagement with complex ideas, and the centrality of teachers' voices.

How did the speaker's grandmother influence the speaker's view on experiential learning?

The speaker's grandmother modeled the love for both the outdoors and books, showing that experiential learning can be a part of everyday life, and this influenced the speaker's understanding of the importance of such learning.