A Different Documentary Idea

I watched part of Teach and I couldn't take it. I didn't like the "solutions" of K12 and the Khan Academy. I was bothered, too, by the fact that the NEA is suddenly super-cozy with the Khan Academy and the ideology that personalized programmed instruction is the solution to our current education issues. The tone was condescending and very Hallmark-like. After an exhausting and yet productive day, I didn't want to be "inspired" by B actors talking up their teachers. Moreover, I didn't want to see the Superman narrative played out for me again. When I was a kid, I didn't want Superman. I wanted Mr. Darrow and Mrs. Smoot, who were both very human and humble and kind enough to help me navigate project-based learning. Instead of a documentary called Teach, I would love to see one called Just Let Me Teach. It would be about great teachers battling it out against bad interpretations of data, rigid curriculum maps, increased time spent on standardized tests and school cultures that don't trust teachers. It would prove what I see on a regular basis - that we don't need to be martyrs to be great. We need the freedom to do what's best for kids. It would, on the surface, feel a bit like Office Space. I'm pretty sure we could find an uptight teacher who constantly loses a red Swingline stapler. But right in the midst of this gritty bad-policy reality, we would see something emerge: hardworking teachers quietly refusing to be compliant. We'd see thematic units hacked out of poorly-constructed curriculum maps. We'd see blogs and visual prompts instead of working out of a canned curriculum. We'd see real science experiments and true problem-solving and debates and Socratic Seminars. And this theme would emerge: that autonomy and professional respect is not the problem with education. It's the solution.