Teachers don't have a lot of power in public schools, to be honest. When teachers step into the classroom the curriculum they have to teach is already prepared. The only power teachers have in schools is how they teach what they are supposed to teach. Teachers can use creative and innovative ways to teach the curriculum. It's the responsibility of the teacher to inspire and motivate children to learn, and if teacher's fail to successfully educate a child, then the teacher hasn't used all of his/her power. All students in a classroom will be very different in terms of previous academic success and cultural background, but the teacher should incorporate things from each child's lifestyle to make the learning experience well-rounded and unique. While teacher's don't have a lot of say in the material that has to be taught, they do have a great deal of power in how they execute the curriculum to meet the needs of all students.

I agree that there are many curricular restrictions on what teachers can teach in the public school system. The guidelines must be followed closely for the sake of standard testing and also to maintain their jobs. Yet outside of the curriculum, teachers have a great amount of power in shaping the students' minds. Teachers are some of the most influential people in children's lives. The way that they structure their classroom and enforce issues such as morals and work ethic can have a great impact on the way that students then carry out these habits for the rest of their lives. So while the curriculum may be limited in terms of what to study and when, there is great power in teachers' hands when it comes to life skills that will be needed for many years.

I do not think that teachers have much power in public schools. Teacher's have lost all passion and now just teach towards the curriculum. It is because of test that teachers no longer have any power. Teacher's focus too much on what standards and the curriculum say that students have to know and do not really focus on the student and how they need to learn. Teachers see that there is one way for students to learn material best for a test and only teach this way. For teachers to start having power in public schools we need to take away all the rules and curriculum's and be passionate about students learning. We need to let students have a say in what they want to learn and how they learn.

I don’t think that teachers have a lot of power in public schools at all. I believe that teachers are scared that if they teach the way that they want or say what they truly feel that they will lose their jobs. I feel that teachers are controlled not only by their principals but by parents; and I feel like that teachers get manipulated into doing things that they do not want to do because they are scared that their job is at risk. Also, I believe that people judge teachers about everything. I think that there is so much pressure on teachers about tests that it takes their heart out of teaching.

I definitely agree that teachers have lost "power" in the classroom. They are told what to teach and they just teach to those guidelines. In ways it has lowered levels of classes or teachers that enjoy being at school, and participating in its events. Also I think that the guidelines, in a small way has helped. For the few teachers that are in public schools that do not like teaching, in a way it may have made them become better teachers. Since, unfortunately, all people are worried about is the final "product" that comes out of the education progress, these teachers have had to step their game up, and the students in return do not suffer as much as they might without the guidelines. In return some of the teachers that do not want to be there have turned to cheating as their way of getting out of it, and that makes the student suffer in more way than just not teaching them.[/i]

I do not think that teachers have enough power in the school system. They have to constantly watch what they say and be cautious of every move they make in order to not break rules and not anger parents. I think that it is frustrating to teachers and will be something hard that we will all deal with when we enter the classroom.

Teachers do not have near enough power that they should be able to have. Teachers know all the things they can or cannot say along with what materical they have to teach regardless of what they think. Most teachers will not tell the principal or a students parent what he/she really thinks or feels because of how fast they can loose their job. Tests bring so much pressure on teachers that their heart of teaching becomes lost and focused only on test. Even though teachers have a lack of power in many areas, their power of creativity and fun can be as much as they want in the classroom.

Although public school teachers have numerous guidelines to follow and plenty of administrators to please, I believe they still have power. Teachers have as much power as they allow themselves to have. They have the power to mold the minds of their students as well as the power to influence young people in positive ways. Public school teachers lose power when they let rules and regulations overshadow their main purpose; educating. As long as teachers realize they have the power to bring knowledge to those in need, other menial restrictions shouldn’t be a major concern. I absolutely think teachers should abide by curriculum guidelines and their administration’s wishes. However, don’t be afraid to think outside of the box. Administration can be questioned. Teachers are more than puppets on strings. They have a voice that will be heard. Power is a word that can be interpreted in many ways. Teachers are the foundation in every school and without them schools would be futile. That fact alone gives teachers a huge amount of power.

I don't think teachers have enough power in the schools. The requirements on the curriculum are very strict and most of the time teachers are teaching to the test. Standardized testing has taken out the creativity and passion of teaching. Teachers learn so many ways to use creative and innovative activities in the classroom in order for their students to learn, but with the pressure of standardized testing, teachers are required to spend most of their time on teaching to the test. For teachers to have more power in public schools, we have to bring the passion of learning back into the classroom and take away some of the emphasis on testing.

I do not think teachers have much power in schools. I feel that the curriculum is much to strict and it restrains the teacher from fully teaching the students everything she/he finds important. I believe that while curriculum guidelines are important to some extent a teacher should be able to choose her/his own topics to teach, topics that he/she finds interesting and can really expand on. I do not believe that a student can learn properly if a teacher cannot be passionate about what he/she teaches. While testing is important in assessing a students knowledge I do not think it is the most important thing by far. The anxiety of students hinders them from learning. Teachers do not have much say in any of this. However teachers do control their classrooms and they have the power to make things exciting and interesting for the students. While this may not be exactly what teachers would like, it is all they have and they have the ability to run with that and make learning as fun and fulfilled as it can be.

Teachers have limited power inside of the classroom. This power is upheld by curriculum restrictions as well as parent and administration limitations put on teachers. With this being said teachers can get around this battle and can find leeway in the way they teach the curriculum, as long as what is required is taught. One of the exciting aspects I hope to be able to accomplish in my classroom is the hands on learning environment. We have all had classes where we are placed in front of a book, read what is written and then are required to perform the task we read. I hope as future educators we can teach are students to look outside of the box and experience hands on learning.
Although teachers have limited power in the classroom there is not a reason they cannot question decisions made or come up with new ideas regarding how to handle business taken care of inside or outside of the classroom. For instance if a teacher wanted to create a new club or had a alternative to the way students came into school each day I would hope as future teachers we would present our ideas and suggestions to administrators to help the learning environment become a better place. Finally I believe that teachers had restrictions put on them that limits their power, but there are also ways to allow exceptions and leeway to better the learning environment.

I do not think that teachers have much power in public schools. They basically must follow the curriculum and there is not much more time in the year to do anything else. The power that they do have is to inspire others because they certainly cannot pick and choose what to teach, especially if their class has a state-sanctioned exam at the end. They will get found out quickly if they have an exam and they have not taught what will be on that test. It is sort of unfortunate, because many teachers can't touch on lots of things that they deem important just because it is not on the curriculum.

I feel that teachers in public schools do not have very much power over what they teach because much of it is mandated by the state. But, I feel that teachers have the power to teach in the style they want to and to be as creative as they want to. I feel that much of what I teach will be according to what the state says the children must learn at that grade level but I am looking forward to developing my own style of teaching and forming creative ways to help children better learn the curriculum. Teachers can have lecture methods or hands on methods or any different kind of method they choose as long as children are learning the curriculum. So I do believe teachers have freedom to teach the way they want to just not nessacarily what they want to.

I just completed reading our assignment on "Bitter Lessons", and I think that article was right on. First off the part where they compared teachers to surgeons was great, because its so true that most professions can make there own decisions. However, when we are teachers, in order for us to make decisions we have to go through the head of the department, then vice principal, principal and maybe even further to the board of education and so on. We will not have the freedom to do what we want in the classroom, because of so many restrictions that are placed on us. I think this article is inspiring because we should be striving to be different school teachers; ones who really embrace the students instead of pushing them through. We need to become teachers that really inspire students instead of just making them do only the required work.

I feel that teachers do have some power in the classroom, but maybe not as much as they should. Teachers have to watch what they say and do at all times while in the classroom because someone will be there to report you if you make one little slip-up. Although in some cases this may not always be a bad thing. I am a Physical Education major and we also have to go by a curriculum, the State and NASPE Standards; however I feel that we will always have some freedom in the activities we choose. You just have to be creative and come up with new ways to engage your students as they learn, while taking your curriculum and standards into account. This is not as easy as some might think but it is obtainable. So even though teachers don't have near as much power as they did in the past, I feel that some power still exist today.

Teachers need more power in schools! Teachers already have a pre-planned curriculum and have to prepare their students for standardized tests. Can standardized testing REALLY test the knowledge of our students? What about those students who do not test well? who have testing anxiety? who have a learning disability that prevents them from being able to read the test on their own? A teacher's entire life revolves around preparing students for these kinds of tests. It is difficult to make learning fun when you are forced to teach a strict curriculum so your students can do well on a test, making you look good as a teacher.

I have to agree with Martha on this one. Being an English Secondary Education major, I am currently participating in an internship where I observe a local high school English teacher at work. Watching her has changed my entire outlook about teaching. I used to think that it was unfair how little power teachers have and that I would never be able to have the freedom I wanted. But the teacher I observe takes the material she is given and makes it her own. She is passionate about what she teaches and is creative in her lesson planning. This makes her students passionate about learning.

As teachers, we have to work with the hand that we have been dealt. The education system is just like any other system in our society: the higher ups make all the decisions. But even if as teachers we are considered nothing more to them than minions, we can still make the best of what we have and give our students an excellent learning experience.

Does it stink that teachers don't have much power? Yes. Should we try to find a way to deal with and still be great teachers? Absolutely yes.

I feel like teachers do have a lot of restrictions in the classrooms, but the power of influence and being a good role model is very strong. The challenges of being a teacher are not the obstacles that teachers encounter, but how they deal with the obstacles.

I know it’s easier said than done, but when you're put in the corner you have to fight your way out. One of my teachers once told me that sometimes you got to fight by joining the opposing team and changing it from the inside out.

I feel that teachers are limited to a certain degree when it comes to what the teacher can teach in the classroom. But I feel that teachers are extremely powerful in the classroom threw the eyes of the students. I'm sure everyone can remember what school was like for them and which teachers had the biggest impact on them. I remember which classes were my favorite and it had to do with the teachers who taught them and not the subject. Even some of the classes that I did bad in I still liked attending the class because the teacher made it fun or made an effort to really work with me to help me understand it better. My reasons for teaching are to impact the students not for power. I think there is a difference between power and allowance to do more things in the classroom.