The Fourth Way

The Path of Autocracy

"In the Path of Autocracy, "letting go: is seen as a sign of weakness, a kind of moral incontinence. Stopping to think, gathering others' opinions, and making midcourse adjustments are viewed as reprehensible failures to hold fast or get a grip when faced with doubt or difficulty" (Hargreaves 27-28).

This quote really frustrates me because it highlights exactly what is wrong with the world of education...don't go against the norm, don't ask the opinions of others, don't stray from your plans...it is so upsetting. These are all things that we as educators should be doing on a regular basis, and they surely should not be seen as failures.

The Path of Technocracy

"Achievement gaps reflect economic and social status gaps that exist around the world. Increasingly, though, teachers and schools have been made solely accountable for the persistence of these gaps" (Hargreaves 29).

Alas! One of the cruel realities that teachers are faced with. We are held to so much accountability for student achievement on student test scores that we do not have the ability to focus on new technologies or creativity. We have students that come to school every day with no food in their bellies, the same clothes on every day, and other painful realities that we cannot imagine. Instead of focusing on helping students with these kind of situations, government officials focus on blaming teachers for these students not succeeding.

The Path of Effervescence

"In a carnival of collegiality, this path solves the motivation deficits created by top-down standardization and market-based reforms by stimulating and spreading increased professional engagement and interaction. Teachers interact with teachers, schools learn from schools, and the strong help the weak. This is not only an empowering and effective way to approach improvement, but it's also lots of fun" (Hargreaves 41).

WE have all been there, I'm sure. The professional developments, the faculty meetings...we all get together and brainstorm the secrets to fixing our schools and helping our students. The problem is that in most cases, nothing ever leaves the room. We all make lists and set goals, and then we leave and go back to what we were doing before. In order to truly start implementing new strategies, particularly technology strategies, we have to start making intentions become more than that.