We Can Do Better

Image Credit: https://www.nrel.gov/workingwithus/partnership-opportunities.html This week I’ve been thinking a lot about teacher autonomy and the joys and challenges that come with it.  From where I sit as an instructional coach, I’m constantly seeing examples of how rewarding it can be to have the option to exercise your professional judgement, but also how excruciating it can be for people to make decisions when they don’t feel confident in their knowledge and skills. It’s gotten me thinking about my own teaching experience and how my thinking about autonomy evolved over the years. I had never heard the term, “autonomy” until my first year teaching.  It was a pretty big buzzword in my district at the time, and it was spoken with reverence, as a gift, something to treasure.  As a 22-year-old who had just graduated, hearing the term had the opposite effect on me than it did my colleagues; it struck fear in my heart.  At the time, it meant that I had to...