Exploring Issues of Power in Schools
Earlier this week, I guest blogged over at Joel’s blog, and quite a discussion is taking place. Check it out and join in. Here’s an excerpt of my original post:
Power. I can’t stop thinking that it is all about power. This thought surfaced after reading the article, “Why Content Literacy is Difficult to Infuse into the Secondary School: Complexities of Curriculum, Pedagogy, and School Culture.” The article is a bit dated, 1995, and thank goodness I read it amongst a community of learners. It was a challenge to get through. It is less what the article says, and whether I agree with it or not, and more about the conversations that grew from the collaborative reading process.
In secondary schools, sub-cultures grow out of the separation of content areas and a sense of hierarchy is created through this separation. This, along with the structures within a school, help create this inequity of power. As long as this separation and hierarchy exist, school change will be difficult. In fact, I wonder whether those changes that do happen can be sustained if they exist in a culture and structure that contradicts them.
And from my comment in the discussion . . . But, for me right now, it is this term–content area teachers. Who does it include and who does it exclude. And what does this term say about those who aren’t included in this group? Do they have no real content to teach. These are the issues of power in schools I’m trying to explore.
So, here’s a question I have for teachers out there. What does power look like at your school? Who holds it? Who doesn’t? How does it effect the school culture–educationally? I’d love to hear from you. And, I’d love for you to invite more teachers into this conversation. Spread the word.
Filed under Classroom | Comments (4)4 Responses to “Exploring Issues of Power in Schools”
First of all — cool that you were a guest blogger. Way to go, Susan.
Power and equity of decision-making are important issues and I was thinking of my school when I read your post.
Our principal really works hard to shift decision-making into our hands, as much as possible, and he has been using the PLC term quite a bit. I think he really does believe that change happens at the classroom/networked level, and not from the top-down. And yet, he has things imposed on him which he must impose on us, and that is the reality he is working with.
At our elementary school, we do notice that when change comes to our district, the elementary schools get hit with it first and the middle/high schools get a reprieve (new math initiative is a good example, as is the push for a standards-based report card). There “appears” to be more power in the upper grade levels of our administrative structure, but that could just be a perception and not reality.
Your section on music education hit home with me, as it is often the art, music, PE and library that get hit hard when it comes to the budget, when officials must lay out a pyramid of importance. It’s hard to argue that class size isn’t at the top of the list but it’s just as difficult to stomach the loss of the arts, as we all know how important that is not just to learning, but to life.
Thanks for another thought-provoking post.
Kevin
I really like your blog! Keep up the good work.
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