Teaching Tips & Tricks, Uncategorized | Jun 11, 2010
Switching grades: teacher needs vs. school needs
By Angela Watson
Founder and Writer
Switching grades: teacher needs vs. school needs
By Angela Watson
8 little words can invoke panic in the heart of almost any teacher: “You’re moving to a different grade next year.”
Changing grade levels is a big topic of conversation in June. In some schools, nothing’s been decided yet, so the rumors are flying and everyone’s unsettled. Other principals have already dropped the bomb: I’ve heard of one school in which a kindergarten teacher is being moved to 7th grade, which means the 7th grade teacher is being moved to 4th, so that teacher’s moving to 2nd, and the 2nd grade teacher’s going down to kindergarten.
Why the huge shuffle? Because one teacher is the weakest link, and the principal’s playing a game to make sure he inflicts the least amount of damage on students.
Situations like that infuriate me. It’s one thing when a drastic move is necessitated by budgetary reasons; for example, when a position must be cut due to decreased enrollment or funding. I can also understand moving a teacher into his of her field of expertise or preference. However, causing a chain reaction of switches for no reason other than to shuffle an incompetent teacher is a tragedy.
I’m amazed at how often this happens. Sometimes the principal is trying to run the teacher off or force early retirement (and it often works). But many times it’s a matter of placing ineffective educators in non-standardized-testing grades, as if children who don’t get scored by the state one particular year are of any less value or don’t deserve a top-quality education.
Another grade-switch reasoning that bothers me: This teacher’s been in the same grade for too long. He’s getting stale and stuck in a rut. I’ll move him up two grade levels and he’ll have no choice but to change with the times!
Wrong, wrong, wrong. He DOES have a choice: to get really angry, shut down, and try even less. He has the choice to take his frustration out on the kids and everyone around him. And chances are, if he’s the kind of teacher who refused to try new things in his former position, he’s not going to be too excited about learning to work a SmartBoard now that he has a whole new curriculum to figure out.
I’m not excusing the laziness and incompetence of certain teachers. I’m ascertaining that moving ineffective teachers to another grade level doesn’t fix the problem by itself, and it can make things worse for everyone else affected.
Most teachers have an increasingly limited amount of autonomy in their jobs, and I believe that choosing the age level or subject area they’d like to devote their career to teaching is a reasonable expectation. An unhappy teacher is never going to be as effective as a happy one, so shouldn’t a principal honor a teacher’s wishes whenever possible?
Not everyone agrees with me on this, I know. Whether you do depends on your feelings about a few fundamental questions:
- What is a legitimate reason for forcing a teacher to switch grade levels?
- Are administrators obligated to make any switch that will benefit the maximum number of students? If so, how can those potential benefits truly be gauged in advance?
- Is it worth making a few teachers unhappy if it’s advantageous to the school as a whole? And when we refer to the benefit of the ‘school’, do we really mean the faculty, the students, or the test scores?
We can all agree that the purpose of school should be to meet the needs of children, but teaching is a professional career choice. I don’t think anyone should be stuck teaching something they’re not passionate about.
So what’s more important in your perspective, the good of the ‘school’ or the good of the teacher?
Angela Watson
Founder and Writer
Discussion
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I really believe that teachers should have more of a say in the matter of switching because they are the ones who have the largest impact on student learning. This was my first year of teaching straight out of college. I really wanted an early childhood position in a preschool or kindergarten classroom at my school. I was given a second grade position with the principal’s word that if a lower grade level position opened up I would be moved down. This sounded great, because with the current economy any job is better than nothing. I had a wonderful first year! Then I was told that next year they needed me in third grade because the strongest teachers needed to be in the grade where state testing is given. 2 weeks after I was told this 2 preschool positions opened up, I approached the administrators again about really wanting that position. They jotted down notes about my request and then nothing happened. I found out that I was still moving to third when the board minutes were released and I saw 2 people hired for the open preschool position. And come to find out one of the teachers they had previously fired from 2nd grade at a former school they were the administrators at, was hired for that position. It really infuriates me that they have so little belief in early education. Research is all about the impact that a foundation in quality care/education at a young age can have on children and yet they would rather wait to have children meet a quality educator in the grade level where testing will begin instead of giving that child a great beginning. It makes no sense!!! I know that I am a much better teacher in early childhood and yet my administrators are never going to know this because they only see the importance of test scores.
I’ve found that in some schools, once a teacher has established him/herself as someone who can get high test scores, the chances of being moved down are slim to none. At one point in my career, I tried for several years to get out of third grade (not because I didn’t like it, but because I was burned out with test prep, and also wanted to have some experience in other grade levels). I had two principals during that time period and neither would move me down. Transfers to second grade were reserved for teachers who were pregnant (going out on leave soon), suffering from physical ailments and missed a lot of work, were about to retire or take a leave of absence mid-year, or who were just not able to get the high test scores in the older grades. I’m sorry you’ve experience that, too. How sad that you know your expertise is in early childhood but you aren’t allowed to teach in that area. 🙁
It really is a bummer. Well, maybe that maternity thing will work out for me. That’s part of our plan in the next couple of years. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for that!
Sounds like a GREAT plan! 🙂
It really is a difficult situation for principals, I suppose. They are under pressure too. However, being moved because other teachers are incompetent will only breed anger and resentment. I know I have been very frustrated over the years when I’m told I’m getting more of the tougher students because “you can handle these kids better”. I get very tired of being punished because I’m doing a good job. If the other teachers “can’t handle” a grade or their kids, they should be getting extra help so they can improve. There’s not really much incentive to do a good job when it results in you teaching a grade or subject you don’t want to teach. I agree that happy teachers are going to do a better job and have happier students.
Donna, I agree that many times the best teachers are burdened with unwanted teaching assignments and a disproportionate number of challenging students. It’s an okay temporary fix in the sense that there’s no point in giving difficult kids to teachers who won’t be able to help them experience success, but are you really servicing those kids properly if they’re altogether in one chaotic group instead of spread out amongst other classes? Giving all the tough kids to one teacher is not a permanent solution year after year. I know a school with 5 first grade teachers and for the past six years, one incredible veteran teacher has had outrageously difficult classes EVERY YEAR. There has to be a point in which the other teachers are trained and supported in behavior management so the challenging kids can be evenly dispersed.
It was very nice to read your thoughts on this topic. I have been one of the teachers that were involuntary moved. I have taught Kindergarten for six years and love it. I have to agree with what you said that administrators do not know exactly what goes on in the younger grades. I am being moved to fourth grade. My administrator told me all reasons this will benefit him and nothing for me. I taught fifth grade for one year and that was six years ago. I said a lot of things have changed in those six years in state testing and requirements. I told him that I would love to end up in a second grade position or a first grade job or stay where I am in Kindergarten. As you can see I am still working through the shock and feeling of betrayal. I do feel like I have to go through the steps of grief. This has taken away a small piece of my passion and my light and that hurts. I love my job but feeling like I am being punished because I do my job and love doing it. As I said it was nice to hear your article to know it is not just happening here. I have to take day by day but I will get there. Thank you!
“As you can see I am still working through the shock and feeling of betrayal. I do feel like I have to go through the steps of grief. This has taken away a small piece of my passion and my light and that hurts.”
I’m glad this post made you feel that you are not alone in these feelings. I’m sorry that you’ve experienced them. I hope you’ll be able to rekindle that passion in your new grade level. It’s a big jump for you, I know. If it’s any consolation, 4th grade is one of the best to teach, in my opinion–I think you’ll find that most of the kids are still very sweet and cute most of the time, and the level of independence they exhibit will allow you to try all kinds of new things you couldn’t have done with your kindergartners.
Thank you ! I will do my job 120%. In my 11 years of teaching there has been little bumps in the road and that has not stopped me. I love teaching this is just a big bump in the road I will get past it too. I have had a lot of support and that makes it a little easier. I can feel a little of the spark has returned when I was told that fourth grade will have a Promethean board in the room. I love technology. Again thank you for writing the post. Have a great summer !
A Promethean board? Yep, that’s definitely going to sweeten the deal! Awesome–enjoy!!
Hi Angela,
These are some great comments. This needs to be emphasized… switching grade levels is inefficient! I think you said in your book that teaching a new grade level takes about 20% more time. This means a teacher has to work Saturdays to catch up.
Hey, exhibit a, it definitely takes a lot more time when you switch grade levels. I used to nearly double my normal working hours in August/September whenever I changed grades. Ugh!
Hi Angela,
Looking for research and data about the effects of involuntary grade level assignments on teachers. Wondering where to find this (if there is such a thing!)
I am a certified teacher for math grades 7-12 and elementary K-6. I was hired 7 years ago to teach high school math at my small school. I loved every minute of it and was very effective. I had great test results, great relationship with parents, and a good raport with the remedial math “crowd”. There was another teacher in the math department who at the time was having a very difficult time….making waves every where….and no end in sight. So the plan became this….they abolished my position due to ???? and because I was certified K-12 they had me fill an elementary position where a teacher was retiring….that saved the district $$ because they got rid of a position and still didn’t hire a new teacher. Okay…fine nothing I can do about that …so terrified I worked my tail off and went down to primary thinking this would be my new home because that is what I was told. I worked night and day on lesson plans and units….and again I succeed. I did very well even though it wasn’t my comfort zone. At the end of that year I got a surprise phone call that I would be moving to the middle school the following year because a teacher there was having issues…and they would “affect” the least amount of children in the elementary verses middle school. So again I packed up, moved, and worked day and night on lessons plans etc. This year I get a call, I will be moving back to elementary school. They are cutting back in the middle school, and again I will replace a retiring teacher. Very frustrating indeed….I am a good teacher….but I have not been given the opportunity to become a master teacher because I moved every year under the guise of budget, ineffective teachers, downsizing, or whatever else they can come up with. And it makes me very sad that these decisions have been made every time without what seems like any thought to the students or learning.
WOW. Just wow.
You know, when I first wrote this article, I almost took it down. I felt like it struck a critical tone and wondered how many teachers would really be able to relate. Reading your comment confirmed that this article needed to be written. These practices might not be the norm (and I really hope they aren’t!) but clearly they’re affecting some teachers in really deep and disturbing ways.
I hope that eventually, you are allowed to remain in one grade level so you can truly become not just a good teacher, as you put it, but a master teacher. Your ability to succeed with so many different age groups speaks volumes about your talent and the level of effort you put into your work. Well done. 🙂