Having read Schon's article again, I think much of what he is saying regarding professionals is true. Over the course of many years we have seen the proliferation of the 'professional', particularly due to the status and monetary value that these careers deliver. As a result, careers regarded as 'non-professional' are undervalued, as are the people who are employed in them. If, as Schon says, 'professionally designed solutions to public problems have unanticipated consequences, sometimes worse than the problems they were designed to solve', is it any wonder that there is now a crisis of confidence in professional knowledge. When we see heads of banks utterly failing in their jobs, social workers utterly failing 'at risk' children, and scandals regarding doctors killing their patients, the crisis is understandable. However, as we all know there are wonderful professionals who are highly committed to the work that they do, and for these individuals it is unfortunate that they are 'tarred with the same brush'.
With regard to teachers, I've often heard it said that they just want to teach, to to the job that they trained to do, and love to do. But, complaints of being 'bogged down with paperwork' are common, and I feel that the conflicts of values, goals, purposes, and interests are particularly experienced by them due to the control and demands placed on them by the powers above. They are not free to teach what they want to teach, free to do what they want to do in the classroom, and this leaves little room for true creativity and freedom.
This leads me on to the question of artistry - I think that many individuals are naturally 'artistic' in their work, but if they are so, they are considered to be in some way, out of the norm. They are recognised as being different from others in their approach, which in turn is a reflection of the prevailing model of professional knowledge.
Canisp's vision for the future....part 2
17 years ago
Interesting comments about artistry...but I slightly disagree, I think everyone has the potential to practice professional artistry'. If it's about thinking on your feet and responding spontaneously to a situation then isn't it possible we can all work that way?
ReplyDeleteI agree that teachers, for example, now feel constrained by burocracy, and the confines of the curriculum - but there is a good reason why these were introduced. If teachers had performed better in the past, and children had left school better prepared for work/further study, they could have been allowed to exercise more autonomy. Things may have gone too far the other way, but I think we need to strive to find a balance, rather than give professionals free reign to do things entirely their own way again.
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree that there needs to be balance. Standardisation, I suppose, is useful so that methods don't drop below that set standard and so now child is being deprived of their right to a certain quality of education.
ReplyDeleteHowever, there should be no reason to stop teachers (and advisers) to exceed the minimum standards and allowing them then to use there creativity and 'artistry' to deliver appropriate and well tailored lessons to the individuals that they may know best.
I think people engage much more easily with spontaneous delivery (to a certain standard!) than they do to prescribed or routinely delivered material.
I agree with what you are saying regarding teachers. My experience of lessons at school was of material delivered (in most cases) routinely. Only one teacher displayed some imagination and artistry, and consequently I went on to have a real love of the subject (French) - incidentally, the teacher was French. She taught with a real passion for the language and really wanted us to share in that passion. That was a long time ago, but only the other day my son was comparing his French lessons with the way in which the other class was taught and it reminded me so much of my own experience. I think it is a real shame that this happens. Perhaps there should be more reflective practice in the teaching profession?
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