It is difficult to talk to fellow teachers about real change in Scottish education without coming across the thorny topic of time. There is no shortage of commitment and no lack of interest in new ideas and new strategies. But that’s not enough, is it?
We can provide as many ideas as we like and create as many resources as we can. Without the time to implement those ideas, however, we will more than likely wander around the edges, more anxious than ever about what we may be missing. Teaching is a series of habits, of learned behaviours, and to change what we do takes commitment and time from all involved.
It is this predicament which frustrates teachers most, I think. We see the wonderful work by organisations like the Scottish College for Educational Leadership (SCEL) and their efforts to get into as many schools as possible, leading the way in new, radical approaches to continuing professional development, but often return to our classrooms overrun with tasks to complete and classes to prepare.
When faced with those pressures, we return to the habits that successfully get us through our day. It’s not that we don’t want to be leaders; we merely find that the space to implement real change is filled with other things we must do. I have always been wary of acronyms in Scottish education. Once we use them, they can become meaningless words; easy to dismiss. However, I’m beginning to see SCEL as the most important one. Whatever your definition of leadership, it would be difficult to argue that taking responsibility for our own development is not part of that.
Money is certainly there: investment in SCEL, in the Pupil Equity Fund, in the Attainment Challenge, in the First Minister’s Reading Challenge. Professional development opportunities have changed completely over the past 10 years. However, our opportunities to benefit from them have not.
Imagine what we could achieve if, instead of a cupboard full of resources provided for our national courses, we were given the more valuable recourse of time. Time to collaborate properly, time to innovate properly, time to embed new habits and transform our classrooms - instead of struggling to cope with what we already have and finding ourselves vilified in the press for our reluctance to change.
There is no greater resource than our teachers. To improve their skills, to improve their ability to teach our young people, we need to give them what they need. Having SCEL is a groundbreaking achievement, but without the time to adapt, we may be missing a massive opportunity. Let’s not do that. Please.
Kenny Pieper is a secondary teacher of English in Scotland
