Resolving "CRTs are lesser teachers" with the potential to be a top-class educator.

For a while now the main theme of the Wodonga Network's blog and YouTube channel has been the professional identity of casual teachers.

As we all are aware after having worked as a casual teacher for a few months, the opinion of CRTs in many schools, and indeed entire education systems, can be pretty low.  The "standard" view is often "lesser teacher" or, at it's worst, "glorified babysitter".  Over the years I've come to understand that this is a culturally ingrained view.  I need to strongly stress that this cultural view is held by both sides of the fence.  It's not just Schools and government authorities who are the issue here, it's us too.

It doesn't take long for many enthusiastic graduates to have that enthusiasm taken away when they step into the role of CRT.  Evolutionary psychology describes our minds as "a set of information-processing machines that were designed by natural selection to solve adaptive problems faced by our hunter–gatherer ancestors".  Our evolutionary reflex is to adapt to our surroundings and often the easiest way to do this is to accept the mantle of "lesser teacher".  To forget that we are university trained to be professional educators and adopt the role that's expected of us.

Of course, like our student's coping mechanisms, this has the negative side effect of actively blocking the growth of high class knowledge and skill, preventing you from developing a strong and valuable professional identity.  The key is to accept the situation but not accept the cultural expectation as truth.  This sounds counter-intuitive to many but it provides you with a solid position to effect change.

By accepting the situation you become far more aware of the ways in which to deal with it.  By refusing to accept the moniker of "lesser teacher" as truth, however, it opens up a vast array of pathways to growth because you come to understand that how you need to act is not who you are or what you want.  You know where you are and where you want to go and you can start systematically removing the barriers between you and your intended destination.

I'm a CRT.  In fact I identify myself as a "career CRT" which raises a lot of eyebrows.  The one thing I've never done is that I've never accepted myself as a "lesser teacher", only the fact that occasionally I need to act like one to meet the expectations of classroom teachers and schools.  Of course that's a little meaningless without describing where it's gotten me.

Well, I have teachers who specifically ask for me to replace them because they respect my skill as an educator.  I have classroom teachers stopping me to discuss struggling students because I'm considered a skilled colleague.  I hold two non-school Leadership positions as VIT CRT Network Coordinator and even though these are voluntary positions I am accepted as a teacher with leadership ability by schools.  I've become a skilled and effective literacy tutor and also a provider of professional development workshops for teachers.

None of which says "just a CRT", "lesser teacher" or "glorified babysitter".

Avoid accepting second best from yourself even when that's all the rest of the world expects from you.  When everyone else expects a lesser teacher?  Change their expectations, not your own.

Regards,

Mel.