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Townhall.com…
School Choice Offers
Opportunity for the Teaching Profession
By Gary Beckner
2011 is gearing up to be the year for education reform in America. With
the education debate making headlines daily, it’s clear that we will be
seeing major changes in the year to come. School choice, the call for
an education system that allows parents to choose the learning
environment that is best suited for their child, has become the
cornerstone of the education reform movement in the modern era.
Often times, policymakers and education reformers are making the
decisions that directly affect teachers in the classroom without proper
input from those on the front lines who are implementing new policies.
At the Association of American Educators, the largest national
non-union teachers association, we recognize that teachers are uniquely
positioned to add to this debate in a positive way. That’s why AAE,
along with its members across the country, are joining hands with the
other professional associations and groups of teachers, parents, and
students in supporting school choice during National School Choice
Week, January 23-29.
We all know that students learn differently, so a one-size-fits-all
learning environment is mostly counterproductive. Parents must have the
choice of where and how to educate their individual child. To that end,
educators must recognize the possibilities for advancement and positive
growth in the profession through school choice.
As technology changes and evolves, the world of education and teaching
will undoubtedly change. Teachers across the country must stay ahead of
the curve.
Although some teachers and the unions see school choice as foreboding
for the public school outlook, school choice encompasses empowerment
for the parent to choose an environment that employs teachers in all
arenas. A new era has been ushered in for education. Once limited to
rigid traditional school terms and schedules, teachers are employed in
traditional public schools, charters, private schools, religious
schools, and online schools just to name a few. Educators will in turn
have choices themselves when deciding when, where and how to teach kids.
This should not be seen as a threat to teachers, rather an uprising
that promises unlimited potential for the profession. The future of
education is choice and technological advancement, and as primary
stakeholders in the conversation, we must rise to the occasion.
A committed educator who cannot adhere to the strict schedule of
traditional public school should not have to leave the profession. As
the system evolves, we continually hear success stories of teachers
setting their own schedules through online schools and non-traditional
charter schools.
In Florida, for example, the Florida Virtual School served over 97,000
students in the 2009-2010 school year and is growing by leaps and
bounds each year. In 2009, the FLVS hired more than 300 new full-time
teachers and currently has a 1200 member faculty who reside in Florida
and beyond. This could be the new norm of modern-day teaching with
school choice in play.
Educators are uniquely positioned to join the conversation and make
sure our voices are heard in this debate. By joining this network of
organizations and individuals, we can directly affect policy that will
have a profound impact on improving and modernizing education. We urge
all parents, students, and teachers to express their support for school
choice. Working together, we can change what has become an ineffective
system.
It is my hope that through AAE’s endorsement of school choice, we can
educate and inspire other teachers across the country to make their
opinions known. Teachers should not be the ones to stifle advances in
education, rather embrace those policies that will ultimately bring
opportunity and flexibility to educators.
2011 will be the year for education reform. Let us unite in calling for
a system that spells success for students and potential for educators.
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