Teacher Learning

The concept that teachers learn informally by parenting their own children (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000) reminded me of Brenda Snyder, a friend from high school, who subsequently became an elementary school teacher. Brenda was amazing. In addition to excelling academically, she was the captain of the cheerleading team, the prom queen, and she had a great personality. After being graduated, Brenda completed her undergraduate degree in three years and immediately found employment as a fourth grade teacher at a local school district. Initially, Brenda was enthusiastic about her job. She designed lesson plans based on what she had learned in college. However, these plans also reflected the creative teaching style of Harry Lake, the excellent teacher who I discussed previously in this blog. Brenda eagerly anticipated providing her students with the similar opportunities that she had experienced with her role model, Mr. Lake.

Her students loved her. Unfortunately, the school administration and the students’ parents were not as enthusiastic about Brenda’s unconventional teaching style. Furthermore, pressure from more conservative teachers began to influence Brenda’s teaching style. Eventually, Brenda’s lesson plans became more conventional. Consequently, she became increasingly frustrated with students’ growing lack of enthusiasm and lack of compliance with some of her requirements, such as timely completion of their skill-and-drill homework.

After five years, Brenda started a family and stopped teaching in the public school system. Once her children finished primary school, Brenda decided to restart her career. However, this time it was different. While, she had lost some of her youthful cheerleader-prom queen effervescence, she had gained maturity, experience, and a new perspective. By the end of Brenda’s first year, I realized that she seemed more content, satisfied, and secure with her job that she did during her initial foray into teaching. When I asked her about it, she told me that my observations were correct. She explained that she was able to interact more effectively with administrators, teachers, students, and their parents. She credited her recent success on her parenting experience.

Since Brenda had been a model student, during her first teaching experience, she could not understand noncompliant students until she witnessed similar phenomena with her own children. For example, despite being creative, bright, and eager to learn, her daughter often struggled with schoolwork. Brenda learned by raising her own children that some people learn differently from others. Additionally, by trying to convince educators of her daughter’s unique educational needs during parent-teacher conferences, she had a greater understanding of parents’ perspectives.

Overall, Brenda’s parenting experience made her a better teacher. While I do not think that teachers have to be parents to excel, I do agree with the authors that parenting can be a valuable experience for educators. If research indicates that this is true, perhaps teachers should receive continuing education credits for raising their own children.

Reference:
Bransford, J., Brown, A., & Cocking, R. (Eds.). (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. (Expanded ed.). Washington: National Academy Press.