Education Now: How Do We Improve the Workplace for Teachers?

Job satisfaction and morale are reported to be at a 50-year low for teachers, and the state of the profession has been described as a "cause for serious national concern." With expectations and scrutiny at an all-time high, what are the steps any school or district can take to better support teachers in their classrooms and their careers?

Guests:

• Jill Harrison Berg, Leadership Coach, School Improvement Consultant, and Researcher; author of Leading in Sync: Teacher Leaders & Principals Working Together for Student Learning
• Patrick Harris II, Middle School English Teacher and Dean of Students at The Roeper School, Detroit, Michigan; author of The First Five: A Love Letter to Teachers
• Susan Moore Johnson, Jerome T. Murphy Research Professor in Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education; author of Where Teachers Thrive: Organizing Schools for Success

Host:

Pamela Mason, Senior Lecturer on Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education

Key takeaways:

• Recognize​ that teachers need to live life to the fullest, which allows them to come to the classroom being the best version of themselves they can be.
• Encourage​ teachers to be clear about their "why" and what they really care about and then to find a school that values the same things. 
• Protect​ time during the school day so that teachers can collaborate with one another and work on their own leadership skills.

Resources:

• The Project on the Next Generation of Teachers
• The Rise and Fall of the Teaching Profession: Prestige, Interest, Preparation, and Satisfaction over the Last Half Century
• Reframing How to Think About Change in Public Education
• Let's Talk Up the Profession
• Leading Alongside New Teachers of Color
• Toward Deliberately Distributed Leadership
• Typology of Teacher Leadership Programs
• The Power of Inclusive Leadership