Members of the private and non-profit sectors, be they
mechanics, electrical engineers, accountants, zoologists, fundraisers,
marketing specialists, or a host of other professions, have the potential to be
excellent teachers. The most salient issue is the extent to which they
demonstrate those aforementioned characteristics of successful entrepreneurs.
It is of course incumbent on schools to provide the
necessary support for these new teachers, ideally in the form of mentor
teachers and clinical supervisors. It has always been my belief that every
school in New Jersey should have a clinical supervisor on staff, charged with
the sole responsibility of providing this specific brand of supervision to the
faculty. As for remuneration, that would of course be up to each school district,
but I would suggest something akin for crediting these new teachers with up to
one year on the salary scale for each year of experience they bring to the
classroom.
Now as for college students, it is time for the state to
incentivize the process of bringing students with degrees other than education
into the profession. I believe that having a system of performance pay and
performance ladders are an attraction for those with the entrepreneurial spirit
I seek. Providing professional support in the manner I suggested above will
help draw prospective teachers; it will certainly help insure that these new
teachers stay in teaching rather than “flee” to the private and non-profit
sectors.
But of course the most direct way to attract these college
students is to offer some financial inducement such as signing bonuses or the reduction
or elimination of student debt. The burden of debt is growing more severe each
year, so giving new graduates the opportunity to start their professional lives
with little or any debt is incredibly appealing. I would like nothing more than
to staff my school with entrepreneurial minded graduates with degrees in a
multitude of disciplines.
It is critical at this juncture to try anything and
everything we can to develop a knowledgeable, passionate faculty of individuals
ready to meet the challenges of teaching. These entrepreneurial educators will
provide the foundation for schools that teenagers look forward to attending.
Assume tat no teenager MUST attend school, and devise a school program and
curriculum that they WANT to attend.
It starts with a quality faculty, but even the best of
faculties will stumble and fail if it is not supported by entrepreneurial
administrators, professionals dedicated to creating a culture of learning in
the school and willing to put in the time and effort necessary to secure the
involvement of critical stakeholders, namely the parents and members of the business
and non-profit communities. It is through the involvement of the community that
students will receive the support and enrichment they need and deserve.
In a future posting we will turn our attention to the
management of a school staffed by entrepreneurial minded teachers. It Is this
management that will provide the “infrastructure” for our community of teachers
and students and the extrinsic motivation to elicit exemplary work from both.
The challenge of creating inner city schools with the
potential for high quality learning like that found throughout New Jersey’s
suburbs is an enormous undertaking; these communities are hampered by a dearth
a dearth of resources and demographics that do not align with those evident in
our successful suburban districts. It is up to those who run these urban
schools to find creative ways to compensate for those missing ingredients. But
it can be done. Frankly, it must be done.
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