“What do you do?”, I was asked.
“I am a public educator.”
“What does that mean?”, he continued.
Declaring oneself to be a public educator is not a common response to “what do you do?”. From a person working in education, one more commonly hears “I am a teacher”, “I teach math (or 2nd grade or children with special needs)”, I am a high school teacher”, “I coach basketball”, “I am a school counselor”, or “I am the principal at…”. Those asked usually provide a more precise answer by stating their employment assignment. Seldom is “public educator” given in a response to “what do you do?”.
“As a public educator, I prepare each high school graduate to be an informed, inquiring, skill-based young adult citizen ready to be a productive member of our society.”
Is the concept of public important? Not so much and then very much.
Teacher preparation is what and who we teach.
PI 34 or Chapter 34 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code is the “bible” for teacher licensing in our state. Licensing programs are tactically written to validate a teacher candidate’s understandings and provide evidence of the candidate’s proficiency in each standard prescribed by PI 34 for a particular teaching license. Successful candidates are endorsed by their college or university to receive a DPI license to teach a curriculum supported by the issued license. That is to say, the job of a teacher has fences around it – the grade levels and the specified content of the license issued. The term “silo” is applied to a variety of descriptors about teaching. Teachers work within their licensure silo; they are content and grade level specialists.
Our local school is a confederation of these specialist teachers. We display our faculty roster by teacher name as well as by teaching assignment. When we advertise a teaching position, we do not list the simple word “teacher” but clearly state the specific licensure we seek. Our mosaic of teachers is very effective in causing all our students to achieve success in their schooling. Without failure, when asked “what do you do?”, our specialists will correctly identify their teaching license, their silo of expertise within our school’s faculty.
As a mosaic, take out any one of the many specialist pieces and our school fails to teach all children the curricula they need to learn. We build a synergy of teaching by uniting all our specialists to our school’s mission and high-performance standards.
Public Education is why we teach.
Chapter 34 does not include the word “public” in its definitions or in its statutory requirements for the establishment of teacher preparation programs or the endorsement of a person as a licensed educator. It determines what and who we teach, not why we teach.
https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/code/admin_code/pi/34/iv/012
In contrast to Chapter 34’s licensing teachers as specialists, Chapter 118 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code, General School Operations, provides the “public” to public education. The chapter states the purpose, goals, and expectations of public schools. Section one tells us “Public education is a fundamental responsibility of the state” and there is a “… common understanding of what public schools should be and do…”. The “be and do” is “Each school board should provide curriculum, course requirements and instruction consistent with the goals and expectations established under sub (2) with … the development of academic skills and knowledge is the most important goal for schools…”. This is the why statement of public education: to create an educated citizenry.
The specifics of public education, the goals and expectations of our state government for the education of all citizens, are detailed in the chapter’s subsequent sections. The legislation describes the minimal education of the public in our state in the areas of
- academic basic skills
- vocational skills
- citizenship, and
- personal development.
I cherry pick statements from each to demonstrate the breadth of what a public education in Wisconsin is supposed to “be and do”.
From academic basic skills –
- “Analytical skills, including the ability to think rationally, solve problems, use various learning methods, gather and analyze information, make critical and independent judgments and argue persuasively.”
- “The skills and attitudes that will further lifelong intellectual activity and learning.”
From vocational skills –
- “An understanding of the range and nature of available occupations and required skills and abilities.”
- “Positive work attitudes and habits.”
From citizenship –
- “An understanding of the basic workings of all levels of government, including the duties and responsibilities of citizenship.”
- “An appreciation and understanding of different value systems and cultures.”
- “At all grade levels, an understanding of human relations, particularly with regard to American Indians, Black Americans, and Hispanics.”
- “A commitment to the basic values of our government, including by appropriate instruction and ceremony the proper reverence and respect for and the history and meaning of the American flag, the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, and the constitution and laws of this state.”
From personal development –
- “The skills needed to cope with social change.”
- “Ability to construct personal ethics and goals.”
- “Knowledge of morality and the individual’s responsibility as a social being, including the responsibility and morality of family living and the value of frugality and other basic qualities and principles…”
- “Knowledge of effective means by which pupils may recognize, avoid, prevent and halt physically or psychologically intrusive or abusive situations which may be harmful to pupils, including child abuse, sexual abuse, and child enticement.”
https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/118/01
One graduating class at a time
School boards, according to the statutes and in real time governance, are responsible for the education of children on their pathway to becoming adult citizens. Boards do this one graduating class at a time. Although graduation requirements are a list of course requirements, they speak to the totality of what a student learns in elementary and secondary school. A 4K-12, chapter 118-based curricula is both broad and deep, requiring attention to foundational and well-scaffolded skill sets. An education is not achieved by learning or becoming proficient in one academic subject, but by learning the necessary content and skills of a broad array of subjects.
Although students complete annual grade level and course content curricula, most of the outcomes of a public education are not known until well after a graduating class leaves school. Looking at the mandates of Chapter 118, we don’t know how well students understand and can apply knowledge of vocational skills until they do so in their post-high school life. And, some outcomes, such as citizenship, are exercised continuously in adulthood. The quality of a public education is not assessed in our statewide testing systems but is demonstrated by each graduate in their post-high school years.
The mandate of public education is a monumental task. The role of public educators is to constantly keep our school boards and their educational programs focused on annual achievement goals that, in the aggregate, contribute to a well-educated public. A person who identifies as a public educator takes a 360-degree view of a 4K-12 education, using achievement data to ensure students are on track to meeting the goals of Chapter 118. While a teacher focuses on the test data of the content/skills the teacher teaches, a public educator examines a wider swath of data. Math and reading test data indicates proficiency in math and reading. Daily attendance data indicates commitment and persistence to being educated. Student disciplinary data indicates abilities to work and achieve within social and organizational guidelines. Problem-based and project-based experiences indicate abilities to set goals, analyze information, and strategize problem/project solutions. Participation in school life indicates healthy socio-emotional dispositions. Public educators monitor and adjust a multitude of factors that assist children to grow towards successful life as adults.
The graduation handshake
One of the joys for a superintendent and school board member is a handshake with each high school graduate. In our smaller school districts, the administrator and board member knew each graduating senior over the years of her 4K-12 education. When the graduate’s name is read, a panoply of memories of the student’s in-school experiences rises as she walks across the graduation stage. Giving a diploma with one hand and a handshake with the other is a wonderful symbolizing that the goals of a public education will be met in the graduate’s future.
Given the privilege of time and opportunity, we get to check the verity of that confidence in interactions with our local school graduates when they are residents, homeowners, gainfully employed, and often parents of children enrolled in our schools.
A public education begets our next community.