Discussion: Teacher Leadership: Objects and Strategies

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posted by: Cheryl Pilatowski on May 22, 2003 at 3:10PM
subject: Reasons for Resistance

Our union has been very supportive of our program. Our program was
included in the past contract negotiations as a model for good
professional development! Our union is very much behind peer coaching,
building it into the math and reading initiatives under development in
our district.

The main crux of the problem is trust and the lack of encouragement to
collaborate with each other. Another issue is if a teacher has some
control problems, she does not want anyone to see that she does not
have complete control. Finally, if they are a little unsure of their
knowledge in science, they do not want anyone to see their
shortcomings.

The peer coaches in math and reading, as well as science, have
experienced some of the same reluctance on the part of the classroom
teacher to being receptive to their help. This may be due to the lack
of confidence the new teachers have as they enter the classroom for the
first time. A survey of some peer coaches indicates that possibly new
teachers feel unsure about their abilities to teach because of a less
than complete preparation during their teacher training.
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