Teachers should be the ‘agents of change’

”

Op-Ed: We should make teachers the ‘agents of change’

The founders of Educators 4 Excellence speak up about the importance of giving teachers a voice at the policy level.

Original op-ed in TakePart by Evan Stone and Sydney Morris.

Each and every day, hundreds of thousands of teachers make important decisions that impact the lives of the children inside their classrooms. They try to engage and inspire students so that each can learn at his or her own pace and own level. They are entrusted with educating the next generation of leaders, thinkers, and entrepreneurs.

In most classrooms, educators have large amounts of autonomy and control to help them meet these goals. Yet outside the classroom, they traditionally have had little say in the decisions that impact their own profession and its evolution.

We’ve experienced this dichotomy, first hand. Working as teachers at P.S. 86 in the Bronx was a dream come true for both of us. Each day was more stimulating and challenging than the last, and the personal and professional rewards we felt when our students met or exceeded expectations were fulfilling in ways we never imagined. But even as we celebrated the small victories we had with our students, we also increasingly felt stifled within an education system that simply wasn’t doing all it could for teachers and their students.

To read the complete op-ed, visit TakePart.

“