Teaching Ahead, an interactive project jointly developed by Education Week Teacher and the Center for Teaching Quality, was designed to bring greater exposure to the ideas of standout classroom educators on the future of their profession. Each month, selected teacher panelists were asked to respond to and discuss key issues in education policy and instructional practice. The discussions were intended to help inform the national conversation on the direction of public schools. This blog is no longer being updated.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Give Teachers More Input Into Colleagues' Evaluations
Maura N. Henry, a teacher from New York City, wants to bring back peer observation into the teacher evaluation process.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Schools Must Encourage Sharing of Best Practices Among Teachers
One teacher learning alone without support is not an ideal condition for professional learning, Cheryl Redfield says.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Teachers Need More Feedback From Other Teachers
Schools need to consider structures that provide teachers with opportunities to observe one another more frequently, Ali Wright argues.
Teaching
Opinion
Cast Out the Consultants and Give Teachers More Input
If we want great teachers to continue to be in the classroom and shape school and curriculum decisions, then the district must equip them to take the lead from the classroom, Evin Shinn writes.
Teaching
Opinion
Embrace Hybrid Roles to Keep Effective Teachers Grounded in the Classroom
Teacher experts with big ideas worth trying are out there; it's up to district leadership to recognize their untapped potential, Paul Barnwell says.
Teaching
Opinion
To Collaborate and Lead, Teachers Need District Help
Teachers need to be able to collaborate with their colleagues and step into leadership positions, but, Brittany Austin says, that's almost impossible without more institutional support and time.
Teaching
Opinion
It's Not 'Planning Time' If Teachers Are Told How to Use It
It's not just that teachers need more time for professional learning, Ilana Garon says. It's that they need more control over that time.
Teaching
Opinion
With All This Time Spent Managing, Who Has Time to Teach?
When teachers spend their time being task managers, it takes away from their ability to improve their instruction, Brison Harvey says.
Standards & Accountability
Opinion
With Common Standards, Focus on Excellence, Not Negativity
By maintaining a focus on excellence, schools and teachers can navigate the negative publicity associated with the common core, Anitra Butler says.
Standards & Accountability
Opinion
Taking a Long View on the Common Core
The future of the common core depends less on today's opinion polls and more on efforts to address implementation challenges and to support the next generation of teachers as a natural part of their professional identity.
Standards & Accountability
Opinion
Abandoning the Common Core Would Be a Disservice to Students
If we step back from the standards, we will be doing our students a disservice, writes Jessica Keigan.
Standards & Accountability
Opinion
Making Sense of Common-Core Resistance
When teachers are not given the necessary support, time, or freedom to explore standards implementation in their classroom, the result is tangible frustration—which hurts teachers and students alike.
Standards & Accountability
Opinion
The Common Core's 'Image Problem' and Your Bad Boyfriend
We can say that the standards has a growing image problem, or we could say that teachers and parents are having a growing problem with the reality of the standards, Peter Greene says.
School & District Management
Opinion
Shared Power Creates School Success
Teacher-led schools provide students with meaningful learning opportunities while creating great working conditions for teachers, writes charter school teacher Carrie Bakken.