Walch Education

I read with interest the news (Washington Post, Nov. 20, 2009) about The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s $335 million grants to improve teacher effectiveness.

The article cites a conference call in which, Melinda Gates, co-chair of the foundation, said she and Microsoft founder Bill Gates had discovered that innovation takes long-term commitment because school systems are often "entrenched" in their ways and teachers "siloed in their classrooms."

"We have been in this work for almost a decade" she said. "We've learned a lot about what works. . . . Let's focus on the thing that actually matters the most, which is the teacher." (Gates serves on the board of the Washington Post Co.)

Of course, we all agree that the individual teacher is critical. What we lose sight of, however, is the importance of foundational systemic changes which can raise the performance of teachers as a group.

The Frameworks Institute just published some very important research on the perception of the general public with respect to education.

"Teachers were seen as having the ability to motivate students and informants saw teacher caring as a particularly important trait. For a majority of informants, the focus on caring teachers being good teachers overwhelmed, overshadowed, and obscured the importance of teacher knowledge and training, characteristics that were not frequently connected with being a “good teacher.” Also missing from the interviews were discussions and explanations of the importance of school leadership, organizations, and other factors related to the school setting and environment".

It’s critical that we not lose sight of the needs for tools and systems that give teachers the resources and guidance they need to succeed with our children. Even (or perhaps especially) the best teacher is overworked and over-tasked these days. At Walch, by uniquely providing teachers with targeted materials that improve their efficiency and focus, we help remove some of these burdens, and help them spend time on what they are best at- teaching.

-Al.