York Times Columnist Thomas L. Friedman devoted his Sunday column to one of the critical challenges facing America today: Our need to continue innovating our way to the future.

His column, Do You Want the Good News First, focused on the gap between available jobs and qualified applicants in Seattle.  As Friedman observed, “Never have individuals been more empowered, and we’re just at the start of this trend.”

We need to equip our students today with the skills they will need to participate in this revolution. Yet, we still don’t have a consensus on what’s right with public education and where we want it to go as a nation. The single most urgent questions facing American public schools today are: What do we need our children to learn? How are we going to make sure they all have an opportunity to learn that? And how do we know how much they accomplish?

As Friedman points out, getting an answer to that question is going to be one of the biggest challenges we face in this century. Except that we don’t have a century, or even a couple of decades, to get it right.  We’re inventing a whole new class of skills and jobs in America at a breathless pace.

So how do we get to the finish line faster? By engaging classroom teachers in the conversation.

If we need to innovate our way to our economic future, then we need to innovate our way to higher quality, more effective public education today. That means allowing teachers the freedom they need to be innovative in their own classrooms. And it means letting them tell us what they—and their students—need to succeed.

As one teacher from Massachusetts commented as part of an Idea Exchange: Parents are always asking her opinion about what their children need to succeed. Why don’t education policy makers have the same faith in her professional expertise?

Do we need structural reform in public education? That’s been an engaging topic of discussion on LinkedIn this week. The general consensus is “yes” but the prescriptions don’t add up to much.

The robust conversation follows two disheartening media reports this week. On May 14, Teach for America teacher Eli Hagar wrote a piece about racial segregation in the Mississippi Delta’s schools.  A day earlier, a giant article about the re-segregation of New York City schools occupied more than two pages of the Sunday New York Times.  These are painful, powerful stories to read and I urge you to take a look if you haven’t yet.

But if we listen carefully, American public school teachers are giving us an even more powerful and alarming message: Our social fiber needs structural reform.

We at VIVA Teachers believe passionately that classroom teachers are the voice of authority in public education.  I also think that public schools are the canary in the coal mine for American civic society. And, the warning bells are ringing loudly.

The Massachusetts Teachers’ Union is currently partnering on a VIVA Idea Exchange about the state’s troubling achievement gap, especially in those many cities that aren’t Boston.  Chicago’s VIVA Teachers had all kinds of wisdom about how to broaden the narrow lives experienced by too many children in Chicago. Even in Minnesota, teachers point over and over again to the need for a new kind of cultural literacy amongst principals and teachers.

The common thread: Our country is as segregated as it ever was.  We haven’t yet reached that mountain top.

A New Dialogue Needed

We can, and should, celebrate the end to the worst ugliness of violent racism, prejudice and discrimination that was part of the bedrock of our country through the 1960s. The heroism of those who stood their ground against injustice inspires me everyday and is an example we should all heed.

But, take a look in our schools.  We are not providing every student a fair or equal opportunity to learn.  Sure, there are probably some really lousy teachers out there.  And fewer amazingly gifted teachers than we all wish for.

But, the problem isn’t teachers. The problem is us. We tolerate division, inequity and yes, racism, way too often. Maybe now we tolerate it by refusing to acknowledge inequity rather than through outright hostility.  But the ill results are the same.  Exactly the same.

So, let’s open a new kind of dialogue with teachers, amongst the most important public servants in our country (and I’m NOT just being rhetorical here).  Let’s talk about how we can use our education system to overcome racism and prejudice, not just perpetuate it with a different strategy.  That’s what VIVA is here to do.  Join us.

Please forgive me for being the Grinch of Teacher Appreciation Week.

It’s not because I never had a great teacher in my life. I have had three: Wayne Brasler, Mark Grady, and Mrs. Pratt. High school, law school and third grade.

Those three people taught me things I use every day at work and in life. (I’m 49 now so that’s a lot of days!) I revere them for their passion, intelligence and the way they pushed me. They gave me the courage to believe in myself and the skills to justify the belief.

So why would I appreciate them for only one week a year?

In fact, a mere week of appreciation depreciates the value of an educated citizenry, something all Americans should celebrate with gusto and regularity.

Instead, we should be elevating the profession on a daily basis. We should value teachers’ expertise both inside and outside the classroom. We should ask them what they need to succeed versus telling them how they will be punished when they fail.

That is real appreciation.

How would that work?  At VIVA, we’re asking teachers to take responsibility for big picture problems, to work together to come up with solutions that work for students, teachers and the system overall.

Classroom teachers in places as disparate as Chicago, Minnesota and Arizona have responded. They have delivered their ideas to public officials who have responded by forging a new kind of partnership with classroom teachers, one in which policies are forged based on teachers’ classroom expertise.

That is how we believe teachers should be appreciated.

So, yes, this week I send a special shout out to Mr. Brasler, Mr. Brady, and Mrs. Pratt.  But, I’m thrilled to have the chance to work with extraordinary, ordinary classroom teachers week after week after week.

VIVA Teachers is all about teacher appreciation. My wish for Teacher Appreciation Week is that we all listen more closely and appreciate much more what teachers have to say. Every week of the year.

Massachusetts Teachers Association member and fifth grade teacher Kathleen Sullivan talks about the challenges of teaching in a low-income community with a big achievement gap and why teachers should take the opportunity to share their ideas for improving education policy.

By Kathleen Sullivan

I feel strongly about teachers letting their voices be heard. I believe that teachers are afraid to speak out.  Many times, teachers will read the ideas of colleagues but are resistant to putting their name with any ideas of their own.  As you know, teachers, especially in Gateway communities, are under fire publicly and politically.  The movement is to push urban schools toward charter models and many believe the reason is to break unions.

It’s interesting, teachers in Gateway communities face some of the most difficult challenges due to higher populations of English language learners, poverty, low parent involvement, larger class sizes, higher SPED populations, and high student turnover rates, yet these same teachers are demoralized and devalued because their scores don’t match more affluent communities.

All of those factors affect student achievement significantly.  Often local urban charter schools  educate only one sector of the neediest populations and their student enrollment is more or less set in place a year in advance through a lottery system.  In my community, the morale of many teachers is very low because they feel demoralized and devalued as professionals even though we are making gains and showing progress against some very difficult challenges.

But ultimately, this is our profession to which we have dedicated our lives.  I do feel that the statement, “If you don’t vote, you can’t complain,” holds true here as well.  If we don’t put our ideas out there for others to hear  now, then we can’t say that no one ever listens or asks for our opinions.

Education is changing rapidly.  It’s very important that teachers take part in these changes which will shape our profession and the methods of instruction for our students.

Classroom teachers who work in Massachusetts’ Gateway Cities currently are sharing their ideas about ways to close the achievement gap. If you teach in one of those cities, join the VIVA MTA Teachers Idea Exchange. The exchange will be open for only a short time.

By Wade Sutton
VIVA Minnesota Teacher-Leader and co-author of the Minnesota report on principal evaluation

“Those who educate children well are more to be honored than parents…”- Aristotle

“What do you think?” – My Dad

My parents made me an educator. I see this when “the fishing grandpa” (my dad) spends time with my children. When choosing a lure, my son asks my dad and receives a question in return. “What do you think? What do bass eat? Where do they feed?” He stops to listen to my daughter sing. He encourages my youngest to tell stories. He draws out of his grandchildren the knowledge and curiosity of the world. He leaves voids for them to fill. Constantly.

I am realizing that my father treats them exactly like he treated me. When he prods their potential out of them, I see how I was raised. I see myself. My children treat each other the same way. They ask questions. They guide each other through discovery. They are educating. Whatever career they choose, they will be educators.

The first line for the defense of education is the parent. Without parents there is nothing the government or private enterprise can do to fix our education system. Parents not only hold the power and authority of the vote, but they wield this on behalf of their children. They are invested more heavily than itinerant politicians or tenured teachers. Parents are committed allies to reform education.

Our American education system needs help. Do not wait for an inefficient Federal Department of Education, bureaucratic educator unions and administrators, inclusive universities or tenured teachers to stop the decline. These do not bear the heaviest burden for our failure nor will they be our salvation. That is too easy.  Above these, there is one group in America that holds both the authority and the most responsibility for the quality of our teachers: parents.

Because parents raise educators.

Without the foundation from home, studying pedagogy imitates but does not create a teacher. We can study Socrates, Jesus, Confucius, Rousseau, Gardner, Maslov and Montessori — these are all worthy. But what we need are homes that ingrain learning. It starts at home. My parents guided me to be a natural educator before I attended university or was given a license by the state. The state can’t make me an educator. This is impossible.

The truck drivers, senators, mill workers, teachers, musicians, accountants — these are the parents who must give their children the tools to study the great educators of the past and recognize themselves in them. Schools alone cannot do this. Universities alone cannot do this. Government cannot mandate this.

Parents can. Parents should. And parents do.

It is parents who are on the front line raising the solution to our educational crisis. It has always been this way. They also caused the demise. Parents are responsible for the education of their children in a far deeper way. They are responsible for raising educators.

By Elizabeth Evans
Founder, New Voice Strategies and VIVA Teachers

If only fixing education was as easy as pitching a perfect game.

The Chicago White Sox is my team; grinder ball is my inspiration.  Work hard, aim for the best, but win the game no matter how.  So, imagine how my heart soared when Phil Humber threw that perfect game on Saturday–only the 21st time in league history a pitcher pitched a perfect game.

We haven’t had quite the same success in education reform in Chicago, but VIVA teachers here are batting .500. By education reform standards, that very nearly equates to a perfect game.

Like my beloved White Sox, whose marketing motto this year is the decidedly uninspiring “appreciate the game,” we had little more than high hopes going into our work with CPS. The result has been as wonderful and inspiring as Phil Humber and crew.

That’s because a group of ordinary CPS teachers who have the same grit and determination as the White Sox showed the same determination to play by the rules, and achieved something extraordinary.  And they made their mark, just like Phil Humber and the guys.

VIVA Teachers asked CPS classroom teachers to tell us what they thought about time in school—how CPS could do better by students and what they as teachers needed.  Their ideas were as amazing as that perfect game—six big ideas and 49 specific suggestions for how to use time in school better.  To date, the school system has adopted three of those big idea recommendations:

1. Have students attend school on revered school holidays, including Pulaski Day. (Who’s Casimir Pulaski, you ask? A hero to Chicago’s huge Polish population. If you want to know more, look here or here for a start.)

2. Alter the school year schedule to give students a six-week summer break, more uninterrupted time the rest of the year, and intersession offerings for deeper work.

3. Give all children–even the ones who attend underperforming schools–time for unstructured free play every day. After all, they said, the research shows it helps kids learn and, besides, recess should be a human right for children, darn it.

In a world where many expect teachers to ask for less time in school, their stand is as bold as Phil Humber and his teammates who worked together to make a perfect game happen. Equally bold, CPS CEO Jean-Claude Brizard and Mayor Emanuel heard what these busy classroom teachers were saying. They listened. And they made changes.

Like Phil Humber and the White Sox, these awesome Chicago Public School teachers made the unimaginable real.  That’s why I love baseball and that’s why I am so proud of our work at VIVA Teachers.

By Elizabeth Evans
Founder and CEO, New Voice Strategies

“Whose side are you on?”

“Students and their teachers.”

“Yeah. But whose side are you really on?”

I’ve had this exchange many, many, many times since my colleague and I launched New Voice Strategies with VIVA Teachers in late 2010.  In fact, we constantly returned to our answer to make sure it was achievable when we were dreaming up New Voice Strategies and VIVA Teachers in 2010.

It’s the truth:  At New Voice Strategies, we’re on the side of students and their teachers.

 We agree with everyone who thinks American public education isn’t living up to our ideals.  With everyone who thinks the greatest gift we can give our children is the gift of knowledge and the skills to use it wisely.  With everyone who believes in the dignity of work, the vitality of excellence and the huge role teachers play in our lives and our country.

So, why do I constantly have to answer the same question about VIVA Teachers?  Why does my honest, simple, accurate answer fail to satisfy?  Because we live in times of uncertainty and mistrust.  Of specialization, polarization and, sadly, demonization.  Because we’re all caught up in a torrent of information and an endless stream of words but no longer take time to listen or reflect.

Amplifying All Teachers’ Voices

And that’s exactly what we want to do: Give teachers a chance to listen, reflect, think and be heard.  Give teachers what they crave: time to work through a problem together and come up with solutions that pull on their professional judgment and the actual realities of their students.

We want to be everywhere classroom teachers are because we want to elevate teachers’ ideas. Because way too many public officials need a reality check.  Because parents need a better way to partner with teachers. Because we need to use our public money in better ways– to actually help teachers and students in their classrooms for the long haul.

VIVA Teachers exists because it’s how we can help achieve an American public education system that is really, truly, yes-we-mean-it, for sure, on the side of students and their teachers.  Want to talk about it with me? Send me an e-mail at eevans@vivateachers.org.  We’ll set up a call or arrange to grab a cup of coffee.

I can’t wait to hear what you have to say.