So Relaxed

For teachers, summer is more than just a vacation. This is the time to reflect, to review, to plan, to devise new strategies, to discover new methods, to imagine new ways. As I was sitting in my tiny room at the MIST (Mental Institution for Secondary Teachers), I came across Netflix's corporate culture slide presentation. Netflix believes that by treating its employees like adults and by trusting their judgment, it obtains better results. One thing it sees as completely counter-productive is top-down management. I could not help to compare that to the way teachers are seen by our administrators.

When I entered the profession, the main attraction (other, of course, than the freedom to spend some time in a mental institution during the summer months) was that I was given a clear goal (to teach a specified curriculum to a number of students), and that I could then devise my own ways to reach that goal. Teaching is an art, so teachers are aware of their imperfections and constantly strive to perfect their art. Today, teachers are told what to do on every level, on every little detail, on a daily basis. Our creativity is replaced by "data-driven" point charts. The fun is gone, as we are made to feel like robots delivering pre-packaged, freeze-fried, standardized, tasteless, and odorless content. Children feel it as well, as they have become the recipients of that uniformity as well as having been reduced to simple performers of THE TEST.

It is now time for my supervised stroll in the park outside. Enjoy the slideshow.