Today, I discovered that someone else wrote the blog I’ve been itching to write.
Susan Graham, a member of the Teacher Leaders Network, penned the article “Why We Need Teachers at the Policy Table” in Teacher Magazine.
I am bound to keep my response to this article short, in hopes that readers will click the link to Ms. Graham’s original piece. Her insights are thoughtful and even-handed. Her analysis is true and exact. Most importantly, her straightforward vision (or agenda) for action is a veritable response to the gaps in the Education policy process.
I admired the article because each sentence rang true, as I am sure the reader will discover upon clicking the link above.
I also, however, was drawn to the article because it resonated with me on a personal level. This article cast a spotlight on my own shortcomings as a participant in the policy process.
I recognize a gap in my blogs. It is the same gap that Susan Graham recognizes in the Education policy process at large—the absence of teachers.
The absence of a teacher’s voice in my blogs is paradoxical, as I am a teacher. I have hesitated to include my professional identity and my personal experiences in these blogs for a host of reasons. But, Susan Graham has forced me to atone for this mistake and to encourage the inclusion of the personal in the political.
As members of Roosevelt, we possess the traits that Graham praises. We are ‘On The Ground Researchers’ because we gravitate to policy arenas that stir us emotionally or impact us personally. We have credibility by virtue of our first hand experiences. We are cautious, because we recognize the long-term interests of our generation. And, we are altruistic in our youthful vision (may we never grow out of it).
This is not to say that we, as Roosevelters, should allow the idiosyncrasies of our personal experiences to direct our efforts. Rather, that our personal histories serve as the core of our efforts. They fill the shell of our broad vision with a heart, a soul, and an energy.
I am a teacher in an at risk school in south central Los Angeles, and I think it is time that I start expressing my policy vision as such.
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