Teachers Should Not Have to Lie

I overheard a group of teachers on the elevator this afternoon talking about calling in “sick” in order to attend this amazing conference (NAEYC 2004 – see previous blog entries). Why? Because their school administrators don’t support this type of continuing education. And we wonder why our education system is failing! How is a teacher supposed to learn new teaching strategies and techniques without surrounding him or herself with other professionals who are experts in their field? In other words, teachers need to attend conference and professional development seminars just as doctors, lawyers and other professionals do. Let me go out on a limb here and guess that your doctor, dentist or lawyer doesn’t have to lie to anyone in order to attend a conference. Professionals don’t have to lie to further their education in order to better serve their clients. Hmmm? Maybe we might want to start treating teachers like professionals and stop complaining when they ask to attend a conference.