The Inherent Interdependence Of Teachers

• Published in: Phi Delta Kappan Vol. 89; no. 10; pp. 751 - 754
• Main Author: Horn, Ilana Seidel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA Phi Delta Kappa International, Inc 01.06.2008; SAGE Publications; Phi Delta Kappa International; Phi Delta Kappa
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; After School Education; Algebra; Classrooms; Collaboration; College Readiness; College students; Colleges & universities; Collegiality; Conferences; Cooperative Planning; Education; Educational Change; Educational Research; Grade 10; High school football; High school students; High Schools; Interprofessional Relationship; Mathematics curricula; Mathematics Curriculum; Mathematics education; Mathematics Instruction; Mathematics teachers; Parent Teacher Conferences; Professional Autonomy; Professional development; School Buildings; Secondary school curricula; Secondary school mathematics; Secondary school teachers; Social Support Groups; Teacher Collaboration; Teacher education; Teacher Empowerment; Teachers; Teaching Load; Teaching methods; TEACHING: A DEVELOPING PROFESSION; Teamwork; Tutoring; Urban areas; Urban Schools
• ISSN: 0031-7217; 1940-6487
• DOI: 10.1177/003172170808901013

Despite the norms of privacy that pervade teacher culture and the assumptions of behind-closed-doors independence, teachers actually "need" their colleagues, whether they like it--and them--or not. Teachers are inherently dependent on one another since no one of them alone constitutes their students' education. Students move from teacher to teacher, and it is up to them to make that movement coherent. Acknowledging this interdependence is especially urgent when they consider issues of equity. In fact, that is exactly what educational research has increasingly shown. Given the organization of the school as a workplace, it is not surprising that the collective dimension of teachers' work is often overlooked. In high schools, teachers' preparation time is usually organized to optimize students' choices, not to support teachers' conversation and collaboration. Teachers working in the same subject area or grade level may or may not be housed in similar parts of the school building. They are seldom given paid time to work together to develop a common vision or to discuss shared challenges. Occasionally, teachers are called on to work collectively. Teachers who want to meet and collaborate with their colleagues often do so at great personal expense. Frequently, they end up donating hours before and after school or sacrificing their scant preparation time. Even in places where teachers' interdependence becomes an explicit part of their work, it is seldom adequately offset by any reductions in other time-intensive job duties. (Contains 7 endnotes.)