Flipped Hierarchy

By Ariel Sacks

1/31/13

I often dream of a flipped hierarchy in education, where at the top of the pyramid
are the classrooms with teachers and students, and below us are all of the
other people in supportive roles, holding up the most important work we do.  

Slide1

If you are not a teacher, but you're looking at this image, thinking, "Yes, that's exactly how it is," then you should try talking to some teachers.  

I'm fortunate to feel supported at my school by colleagues, school leaders, and parents, but that's not necessarily the norm.  And there are still outside forces that threaten these conditions.  Do teachers feel recognized and supported by the people/organizations that influence and govern their profession?  The answer, by and large, is no.  And when teachers aren't supported, students aren't either. 

If we are really most important, then let's flip the hierarchy!

Your rating: None Average: 4.6 (7 votes)

Comments

Schools are no longer factories

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 2013-02-02 14:36

As a society, we must move from the ‘school as a factory’ perspective to ‘school as a complex adaptive system’ perspective. This paradigm shift is crucial in order for our schools to become more responsive to the diverse people we serve. This is necessary in order to eradicate GERM (the current Global Education Reform Movement, coined by Pasi Sahlberg from Finland) – a movement that is more of the rhetoric that has plagued educational reform for over 100 years.
As a world, we need to begin to see schools as complex adaptive systems that mimic nature. It is imperative that schools move away from an antiquated, hierarchical model devised during the Industrial Revolution to an approach that is more reflective of the current complexities that exist in our highly multifaceted world. Educational researchers and practitioners decry the current model of school, but have to date not yet offered up an alternative theoretical framework. The complex adaptive systems (CAS) theoretical framework is a new way to reconceptualize how schools work and a new way to change schools.

Trusting Teachers with School Success

Submitted by Kim Farris-Berg (not verified) on Wed, 2013-06-05 08:40

Ariel,

My colleagues and I mention the very same concept in our book, Trusting Teachers with School Success: What Happens When Teachers Call the Shots. We looked at 11 schools where teachers have autonomy to collectively make the decisions influencing whole school success, and the book reports our findings.

Check it out at www.trustingteachers.org

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.