Thank you for writing this! During my student teaching I went to the Art educators of MN and the winner of art teacher of the year gave a speech about feeling like a used coffee filter. She also tore the phone off the wall and threw it at one of the student teachers in my cohort. I remember thinking to myself, "If I do everything right I could end up like them? What the hell have I gotten myself into?" At one time I had thought about hiring a handful of influencers to boost my popularity stock to see if I could influence the voting. But we arrive at the same problem, Teacher of the year or even teacher assessment is deeply flawed at best either as a measure or as validation mechanism which is also self serving to the awarding body.
So I took a little inspiration from Andy Warhol and Banksy and made my own award. I ask my sculpture class who has impact and then I sculpt a bust of them, give them a certificate and each time I give the award, the award means more. It's both made up and real. I am both a governing body and just a teacher. Like Schrödinger's cat experiment, I exist in both states that I deem possible. So F*** the system and make your own award. And keep writing. I'm a fan. I would give you an award.
Aw thanks! And I agree - as soon as you start to play in those waters of awards and recognition, you start serving those masters. I can't speak for everyone, but personally, I don't feel I am keeping my independence if I'm "expected" to behave and support the system like the Teacher of the Year should.
Really appreciate this post for speaking to what I know a lot of teachers feel, and the point about "validation" is very true.
Some of my own mixed/complicated thoughts on this:
(1) It is a good thing to celebrate and affirm teachers, just like it is the case in the classroom. The intention is a really good, worthwhile thing.
(2) The work of teaching is nebulous and contextual and subjective, so what makes a "deserving" candidate varies remarkably depending on who you talk to
(3) Add in that these awards are not like sports leagues/MVP's, etc., in that teachers typically win a given award once, which makes the dynamic even more complicated
(4) A lot of times these awards prioritize what is done outside of the classroom (clubs, volunteer work, community programs) rather than the "boring" work of teaching/learning, as that is both more visible but also a better story
(5) I think within any school building, it's important for leaders to consider the question: "do my teachers feel seen and affirmed for their strengths?" If the answer is broadly yes, then TOY awards can be a positive thing! But if it's not, then they sort of trigger a lot of underlying issues.
(6) I also appreciate your point about sustainability and the limits of the job, as it feels important to celebrate those who are thriving within the provided hours/resources more than we typically do.
Again, a messy conversation (especially this time of year!) but a needed one, and more importantly one that speaks to many, I'm sure. Great post!
thanks! Lately, I’ve been listening to The Pleasure of Finding Things Out by Richard Feynman, and toward the beginning, he has a bit to say about teaching, which I’ve found lines up with my own philosophy - have no philosophy, make it chaotic, and use every possible way of doing it, so that something will stick. Tell a story that ties your content to history for kids who dig history, and fold in sports, pop culture, movies, and anime. DO strict “lesson” lessons, and things that only make sense after they’re done. Interrupt now and then to go and collect data for some crazy idea two days away.
None of that fits into any box that my district is interested in.
This one resonated. Well done. As a 30+ year teacher, I've struggled with the same inner conflicts. While I love teaching content, the art of teaching is really building relationships and coaching kids through intellectual struggle, often for those who are not "school kids." Our system hasn't essentially changed in over 200 years. We had a "Chicago Fire" moment due to Covid and could've rebuilt a brand new paradigm. We didn't. Instead, we leaned back hard into assembly line teaching (get your math installed for 60 minutes, then your English...). So I also believe that a Golden Apple award or a Teacher of the Year award also rewards those who really function well in this tired, dated system. Just like the various learning styles (our system only caters to two at most) there are wonderful teachers, deserving of these awards, that thrive in this system. Each of us also brings different talents and strengths to our craft in the best case complementing each other across the entire faculty. I know I'll never be as good as I want to be or think I need to be, but I also know I've had a profound impact on the students I have taught throughout my career-- some more than others. Some show gratitude in the moment, at the end of the year, and some 10 years later. Those are the "awards" I cherish.
You talk about your “Chicago Fire” moment - I described mine as a rocket. That with what we showed we could handle and approach in COVID, we were building the next version of education that was a rocket that could do so many amazing things for us. But - I said, the status quo worshippers are going to come by, take one look at our rocket, and say that it needs wheels. And they’ll come by with some more ideas and suggestions, and our rocket will be turned back into a bus.
Thank you for your thoughts on this topic. I’m curious whether you think it’s possible to design systems that recognises the kind of adaptive, in the moment teaching you describe, or whether that kind of work will always sit just outside what can be formally rewarded.
Your thoughts around standardisation also resonated well, particularly after have written a piece on this topic in the context of performativity and school uniform. I'd be very curious to hear your take on it. Hope you don't mind me attaching a link here: https://samuelkammin.substack.com/p/school-uniform-and-the-performance
Something about this post scratched an itch for me. I'm sure it's the need for recognition that you so aptly put into words, but it also had me thinking about something I read yesterday--about the way students often see us (educators) as one-dimensional...background characters. It's definitely human to want to be acknowledged, but I think it's even more human to want to be seen or known. In secondary classrooms, we spend our days with people who largely don't regard us in those ways. I'm not arguing they should, but I think that type of regard takes its toll. It's hard to avoid the pitfalls of validation when so many of the people I interact with see me as wallpaper.
I don't think I buy that the teachers who win this award are always map followers...or maybe we have different definitions of map followers. Your comments about people who give themselves entirely to the job rang true for me, and, more often than not, those are the people I see winning "teacher of the year" or various other teaching awards in my state. They are sacrificing relationships with a spouse or colleagues or children or family in order to be all to the students in their classrooms. It isn't sustainable. I would rather we spent more time honoring and regarding educators who are consistent--educators who are stable and present and prepared.
It really isn't the award many of us want, though, for the very reasons you outlined. There is a cost to the platform, and there is a significant cost to stepping anywhere that would allow you a place on that platform. And while I would LOVE for the people with whom I interact to know I WANT to be a member on their kid's team, I also understand that even if you lay down for people to walk over you, there will still be people who complain you aren't flat enough.
Ha. You address an important topic well, and its certainly not limited to education, as you mentioned.
I worry we are often becoming an extension of inflated PBIS honors. The spectacle of performative positivity which Alfie Kohn and other leading educators warned us about (for students and teachers) decades ago.
Whatever happened to the inherent joys of learning (where administrators may just earn the much-needed assist)?
You know very well that there are more out there like you, and at least one of them is your friend! I, too, have been nominated several times and will never win. I do the things that need to be done, just like you do. And brother, once I saw what it took to win, I didn't want any part of it. I refuse to be part of the culture of toxic positivity. The thing that still irks me TO NO END, is the future Teacher of the Year telling me, a few years ago, that my juniors didn't actually need calculators for the SAT because they were only OPTIONAL and that he didn't want to get on my "negativity train." I still remember saying that my daughter was sitting in a room five miles away (in another district) with her TI-84 and that he was denying our kids even four-function calculators. I drove to Walmart on my prep and emptied the shelves of two-dollar calculators just so my class would have SOMETHING. And everyone fawned over this guy, saying what a wonderful man he was. I wanted to punch him in the face for hurting my kids. You do the work, Matt. You always do the work. the validation comes from within.
Thank you for writing this! During my student teaching I went to the Art educators of MN and the winner of art teacher of the year gave a speech about feeling like a used coffee filter. She also tore the phone off the wall and threw it at one of the student teachers in my cohort. I remember thinking to myself, "If I do everything right I could end up like them? What the hell have I gotten myself into?" At one time I had thought about hiring a handful of influencers to boost my popularity stock to see if I could influence the voting. But we arrive at the same problem, Teacher of the year or even teacher assessment is deeply flawed at best either as a measure or as validation mechanism which is also self serving to the awarding body.
So I took a little inspiration from Andy Warhol and Banksy and made my own award. I ask my sculpture class who has impact and then I sculpt a bust of them, give them a certificate and each time I give the award, the award means more. It's both made up and real. I am both a governing body and just a teacher. Like Schrödinger's cat experiment, I exist in both states that I deem possible. So F*** the system and make your own award. And keep writing. I'm a fan. I would give you an award.
Aw thanks! And I agree - as soon as you start to play in those waters of awards and recognition, you start serving those masters. I can't speak for everyone, but personally, I don't feel I am keeping my independence if I'm "expected" to behave and support the system like the Teacher of the Year should.
I love this.
Really appreciate this post for speaking to what I know a lot of teachers feel, and the point about "validation" is very true.
Some of my own mixed/complicated thoughts on this:
(1) It is a good thing to celebrate and affirm teachers, just like it is the case in the classroom. The intention is a really good, worthwhile thing.
(2) The work of teaching is nebulous and contextual and subjective, so what makes a "deserving" candidate varies remarkably depending on who you talk to
(3) Add in that these awards are not like sports leagues/MVP's, etc., in that teachers typically win a given award once, which makes the dynamic even more complicated
(4) A lot of times these awards prioritize what is done outside of the classroom (clubs, volunteer work, community programs) rather than the "boring" work of teaching/learning, as that is both more visible but also a better story
(5) I think within any school building, it's important for leaders to consider the question: "do my teachers feel seen and affirmed for their strengths?" If the answer is broadly yes, then TOY awards can be a positive thing! But if it's not, then they sort of trigger a lot of underlying issues.
(6) I also appreciate your point about sustainability and the limits of the job, as it feels important to celebrate those who are thriving within the provided hours/resources more than we typically do.
Again, a messy conversation (especially this time of year!) but a needed one, and more importantly one that speaks to many, I'm sure. Great post!
thanks! Lately, I’ve been listening to The Pleasure of Finding Things Out by Richard Feynman, and toward the beginning, he has a bit to say about teaching, which I’ve found lines up with my own philosophy - have no philosophy, make it chaotic, and use every possible way of doing it, so that something will stick. Tell a story that ties your content to history for kids who dig history, and fold in sports, pop culture, movies, and anime. DO strict “lesson” lessons, and things that only make sense after they’re done. Interrupt now and then to go and collect data for some crazy idea two days away.
None of that fits into any box that my district is interested in.
This one resonated. Well done. As a 30+ year teacher, I've struggled with the same inner conflicts. While I love teaching content, the art of teaching is really building relationships and coaching kids through intellectual struggle, often for those who are not "school kids." Our system hasn't essentially changed in over 200 years. We had a "Chicago Fire" moment due to Covid and could've rebuilt a brand new paradigm. We didn't. Instead, we leaned back hard into assembly line teaching (get your math installed for 60 minutes, then your English...). So I also believe that a Golden Apple award or a Teacher of the Year award also rewards those who really function well in this tired, dated system. Just like the various learning styles (our system only caters to two at most) there are wonderful teachers, deserving of these awards, that thrive in this system. Each of us also brings different talents and strengths to our craft in the best case complementing each other across the entire faculty. I know I'll never be as good as I want to be or think I need to be, but I also know I've had a profound impact on the students I have taught throughout my career-- some more than others. Some show gratitude in the moment, at the end of the year, and some 10 years later. Those are the "awards" I cherish.
You talk about your “Chicago Fire” moment - I described mine as a rocket. That with what we showed we could handle and approach in COVID, we were building the next version of education that was a rocket that could do so many amazing things for us. But - I said, the status quo worshippers are going to come by, take one look at our rocket, and say that it needs wheels. And they’ll come by with some more ideas and suggestions, and our rocket will be turned back into a bus.
And it was.
Thank you for your thoughts on this topic. I’m curious whether you think it’s possible to design systems that recognises the kind of adaptive, in the moment teaching you describe, or whether that kind of work will always sit just outside what can be formally rewarded.
Your thoughts around standardisation also resonated well, particularly after have written a piece on this topic in the context of performativity and school uniform. I'd be very curious to hear your take on it. Hope you don't mind me attaching a link here: https://samuelkammin.substack.com/p/school-uniform-and-the-performance
Something about this post scratched an itch for me. I'm sure it's the need for recognition that you so aptly put into words, but it also had me thinking about something I read yesterday--about the way students often see us (educators) as one-dimensional...background characters. It's definitely human to want to be acknowledged, but I think it's even more human to want to be seen or known. In secondary classrooms, we spend our days with people who largely don't regard us in those ways. I'm not arguing they should, but I think that type of regard takes its toll. It's hard to avoid the pitfalls of validation when so many of the people I interact with see me as wallpaper.
I don't think I buy that the teachers who win this award are always map followers...or maybe we have different definitions of map followers. Your comments about people who give themselves entirely to the job rang true for me, and, more often than not, those are the people I see winning "teacher of the year" or various other teaching awards in my state. They are sacrificing relationships with a spouse or colleagues or children or family in order to be all to the students in their classrooms. It isn't sustainable. I would rather we spent more time honoring and regarding educators who are consistent--educators who are stable and present and prepared.
It really isn't the award many of us want, though, for the very reasons you outlined. There is a cost to the platform, and there is a significant cost to stepping anywhere that would allow you a place on that platform. And while I would LOVE for the people with whom I interact to know I WANT to be a member on their kid's team, I also understand that even if you lay down for people to walk over you, there will still be people who complain you aren't flat enough.
Simply put: the best teachers simply desire meaningful support(s) over any proclaimed recognition.
Wait - I didn't need all my words? :)
Ha. You address an important topic well, and its certainly not limited to education, as you mentioned.
I worry we are often becoming an extension of inflated PBIS honors. The spectacle of performative positivity which Alfie Kohn and other leading educators warned us about (for students and teachers) decades ago.
Whatever happened to the inherent joys of learning (where administrators may just earn the much-needed assist)?
You know very well that there are more out there like you, and at least one of them is your friend! I, too, have been nominated several times and will never win. I do the things that need to be done, just like you do. And brother, once I saw what it took to win, I didn't want any part of it. I refuse to be part of the culture of toxic positivity. The thing that still irks me TO NO END, is the future Teacher of the Year telling me, a few years ago, that my juniors didn't actually need calculators for the SAT because they were only OPTIONAL and that he didn't want to get on my "negativity train." I still remember saying that my daughter was sitting in a room five miles away (in another district) with her TI-84 and that he was denying our kids even four-function calculators. I drove to Walmart on my prep and emptied the shelves of two-dollar calculators just so my class would have SOMETHING. And everyone fawned over this guy, saying what a wonderful man he was. I wanted to punch him in the face for hurting my kids. You do the work, Matt. You always do the work. the validation comes from within.
thanks, brother