Survey says: Teachers like their jobs on The Murfreesboro Post

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Survey says: Teachers like their jobs

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By: LAURA THORNQUIST, Tennessee News Service

Posted: Wednesday, May 4, 2011 9:40 am

NASHVILLE - Most teachers in Tennessee are giving the state a passing grade when it comes to their jobs and workplaces.

In the first-ever statewide survey of educators, more than eight out of 10 say their school is a good place to work and learn. Most feel they have the resources they need to effectively plan and teach, and nine out of 10 say they've been encouraged to try new things.

Gera Summerford, president of the Tennessee Education Association, thinks the state will gain valuable insight from the results when decision makers see parallels between the teacher survey and other measures of performance.

"If we see those kinds of correlations, then we can learn from the schools where everything looks very positive and good, and we can hopefully use that to help the schools that are needing more support."

About 77 percent of teachers and administrators - about 57,000 people - responded to the "TELL Tennessee" Survey. That's a better turnout than for similar surveys in other states, Summerford says.

Educators will be able to see the results by school, Summerford says, which should help individual schools and the state better understand what's working and fix what needs improvement.

"This is a very valuable tool, and the challenge now is to use it in appropriate ways, particularly when we have so many other issues going on for teachers in this reform movement."

The data will also be used to help create a system to assess teachers' professional development.

Survey results are online at telltennessee.org.

Tagged under Schools, State, Teachers

Member Opinions:

By: cmac on 5/4/11
Teachers are the heart and soul of society. They give much and demand little. The way we treat them reflects our true values. Real teachers are not made, they are born. Universities can offer courses in teaching and testing, but they cannot "train" anyone to teach. Teaching is a gift like music, art, science, and poetry. Our teachers reflect all of the above. To allow politicians to control teachers is to allow politicians to control society. The only road to freedom is education. The only road to education is our teachers. Protect them from the whims of politics.

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."
- Albert Einstein