It's OUR Table

How many of us have heard (or said) some variation of the phrase, "We want a seat at the table." Often as educators, we feel excluded from the decisions being made that have a direct impact upon our ability to teach our students in the way that each learner needs. Policy and decisions are made almost daily about students learning by those who often have never been in a classroom or whose experience is a far distant memory. For educators, it's disempowering and frustrating, leaving us wondering about the direction that education is headed when often student learning is not the central focus of these policies. I think I'm like so many of you. I'm passionate about educating students; every student, regardless of the challenges they may face or the support they may need. That's why I became a teacher, not a politician. I wanted to empower students. So, I began asking for a seat at the decision making table in order to speak up for my students.

Then, my thinking shifted. A lightbulb turned on. I was at a professional learning event in panel discussion on Teacher Leadership. Laren Hammonds (@_clayr_) made the statement that as teacher leaders,  we need to have our own table and invite policy makers to join us. As I reflected up this idea, I realized that somewhere in the past, as teachers, we have been giving up our seats to policy makers. As a profession, we bought into the false idea that we are "just teachers" and that elected officials, and those appointed by them, had more importance than us. We gave up our seats (because we'd rather be in our classrooms), decisions were made without us, we grumbled among ourselves and moved on back to teaching our students. The process just continued to escalate, which drove many teachers away from classroom or education altogether. After all, what could we do? They were elected or appointed and we are "only teachers."

As teachers, there are several things that we need to do in order to claim our table and directly impact the policy that can dictate how we reach our students. We need to realize that we are the one in the trenches with students every day. Our voices, and our students' voices, are the ones that are the most relevant. The elected officials and their appointees are there because we put them there. Let's take the time to educate them about what student learning looks like in 2015. We can send them emails and letters [even in 2015 handwritten makes the most impact] with stories of student learning. Invite them to our classrooms and large learning events. Connect with them through social media by posting photos of the phenomenal learning taking place in our classrooms every day.  If they are not willing to listen to us, then we need to elect officials who will support student learning. The mentality that we are "just a teacher" or "only a teacher" must die within all of us.

We also must realize that while a one-time email, letter, or conversation may lay a foundation, we  need to develop a relationship with policy makers. The repeat contact and follow-up solidifies you as an expert in the education field. Inviting them to join in education conversations held in OUR classrooms and schools at OUR table reshapes their thinking and puts student learning at the forefront of their thinking. In the fours years that I have been advocating for student learning, I have never had a policy maker, committee, or council ever ask me to leave. They may not have joined OUR table, but that doesn't mean that we stop extending the invitation. After all, this is OUR dinner party. We want for them to join the conversation because all of OUR futures are at stake. Leaners are our future's most precious commodity. And without these conversations, we are doing a great disservice to ourselves and future generations.

So let's send out invitations, pull out a chair, and have a seat. It's time we start facilitating these conversation and decisions based on what's best for our learners. The students of today and tomorrow are depending up on us.