Topic: Educational Criticism

Topic: Educational Criticism

10-second review: One purpose of educational criticism is to observe excellent teachers at work, to describe what they do: “The achievements of skilled teachers are made most visible through informed accounts of their work.”

Title: “Educational Criticism as a Form of Qualitative Inquiry.” DJ Flinders and EW Eisner. Research in the Teaching of English (December 1994), 341 – 357.

Comment: One of the possible negative outcomes of rewarding excellent teachers is the unwillingness of these excellent teachers to give away their secrets.

I supervised the English/language arts in a K-12 district, Treddyfrin-Easttown, in Berwyn, Pa. It continues to be one of the most respected school districts in Pennsylvania, and maybe, in the country. One of its secrets of success was the willingness of all the teachers to share their ideas in resolving problems in teaching. That “culture” of sharing is at risk with awards to excellent teachers.

Just before I retired, I saw some signs of this reluctance to share ideas during a workshop to construct a  writing curriculum for primary grades. This reluctance produced a sub-standard product. The curriculum was revised when several participant in the workshop said they would not put their names on the initial document.

Think carefully before pinning the label “excellent” on individual teachers. The entire staff needs to work together to succeed with the district’s children. If teachers labeled “excellent” will not help others to improve their performance, a majority of children will not be affected by the few “excellent” teachers.