The rock star label when applied to educators always irritates me. It brings to mind individuals who are showy and quirky and rebellious. Do such characteristics translate into student achievement? Does one have to be entertaining and popular to be effective? Are educators who simply have a deep understanding of the content they teach and are capable of communicating it effectively undervalued given the rockstar mindset? If schools had the luxury of hiring for rockstar characteristics would school effectiveness improve if such individuals made up the entire staff? I spent most of my career in higher education and the equivalent at that level was student ratings. An issue with student ratings was that while the surveys contained many questions administrators and merit committees tended to really on a single item asking for a summary judgment. So much additional data in this environment was available - items on the survey and possibly important covariates such as the average grade awarded, but such variables are very seldom actually used. The definition of quality instruction is seldom actually defined or more importantly evaluated.
Oh, I remember (with horror!) being a first year teacher and having this argument with a 30 year veteran teacher (who also happened to be my mother in law). She made the same arguments you do here and it still took a few school years and a few principals to convince me. How embarrassing.
Heck yes, ALL teachers need tenure and unions! Teaching well takes time to master, so many “rock star” teachers probably are in the upper levels of the salary schedule. Successful teachers become expensive, so they can be expendable because newer teachers are cheaper. Yup, who cares about expertise or the kiddos if the “bottom line” is the only concern? In a departmentalized school, teachers often work in teams. Who wants to be the supporting staff for the superstar? Successful schools need teachers who cooperate for the betterment of their students, and whose continued expertise, training, and years of service don’t lead to being penalized to balance the budget. I served under five superintendents and seven principals over twenty-four years, several of whom were more interested in their resume than the well-being of the local educational community.
The rock star label when applied to educators always irritates me. It brings to mind individuals who are showy and quirky and rebellious. Do such characteristics translate into student achievement? Does one have to be entertaining and popular to be effective? Are educators who simply have a deep understanding of the content they teach and are capable of communicating it effectively undervalued given the rockstar mindset? If schools had the luxury of hiring for rockstar characteristics would school effectiveness improve if such individuals made up the entire staff? I spent most of my career in higher education and the equivalent at that level was student ratings. An issue with student ratings was that while the surveys contained many questions administrators and merit committees tended to really on a single item asking for a summary judgment. So much additional data in this environment was available - items on the survey and possibly important covariates such as the average grade awarded, but such variables are very seldom actually used. The definition of quality instruction is seldom actually defined or more importantly evaluated.
Oh, I remember (with horror!) being a first year teacher and having this argument with a 30 year veteran teacher (who also happened to be my mother in law). She made the same arguments you do here and it still took a few school years and a few principals to convince me. How embarrassing.
Great article, as always.
Heck yes, ALL teachers need tenure and unions! Teaching well takes time to master, so many “rock star” teachers probably are in the upper levels of the salary schedule. Successful teachers become expensive, so they can be expendable because newer teachers are cheaper. Yup, who cares about expertise or the kiddos if the “bottom line” is the only concern? In a departmentalized school, teachers often work in teams. Who wants to be the supporting staff for the superstar? Successful schools need teachers who cooperate for the betterment of their students, and whose continued expertise, training, and years of service don’t lead to being penalized to balance the budget. I served under five superintendents and seven principals over twenty-four years, several of whom were more interested in their resume than the well-being of the local educational community.