Opinion
Education Letter to the Editor

For Quality, Give Teachers Role in Curriculum Reform

November 27, 2007 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

To the Editor:

The McKinsey & Co. report “How the World’s Best-Performing School Systems Come Out on Top” was described well in your article “Teachers Seen as Making Difference in World’s Top Schools” (Nov. 7, 2007). The report argues for the importance of teacher quality, saying, “The quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers.”

Teacher quality, however, is a necessary but insufficient condition for an effective education system; teachers also need to be delivering their part of a coherent pre-K-16 curriculum. Even great teachers will be ineffective, and frustrated, if they teach curricula that are inconsistent with what came before or what will come after.

Both issues can be addressed by making teachers integral to curriculum reform, promoting coherence while attracting stronger individuals to teaching. Making teachers the central players would raise their level of respect, a focus of this report.

Programs that promote teacher leadership and effectiveness while empowering teachers to drive the reform of education are the key to continuous improvement. Meaningful communication and consensus building among teachers at all grade levels are essential to this process.

Robert Goodman

Ridgewood, N.J.

Related Tags:
Opinion

A version of this article appeared in the November 28, 2007 edition of Education Week as For Quality, Give Teachers Role in Curriculum Reform

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Assessment Webinar
Reflections on Evidence-Based Grading Practices: What We Learned for Next Year
Get real insights on evidence-based grading from K-12 leaders.
Content provided by Otus
Classroom Technology K-12 Essentials Forum How AI Use Is Expanding in K-12 Schools
Join this free virtual event to explore how AI technology is—and is not—improving K-12 teaching and learning.
Mathematics Webinar How to Build Students’ Confidence in Math
Learn practical tips to build confident mathematicians in our webinar.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: April 16, 2025
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Quiz ICYMI: Do You Know What 'High-Quality Curriculum' Really Means?
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Image of curricula.
iStock/Getty
Education Quiz ICYMI: Lawsuits Over Trump's Education Policies And More
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Image of money symbol, books, gavel, and scale of justice.
DigitalVision Vectors
Education Quiz ICYMI: Trump Moves to Shift Special Ed Oversight And More
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
President Donald Trump signs an executive order on TikTok in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington.
President Donald Trump signs an executive order on TikTok in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington.
Evan Vucci/AP