b. Providing tutors so that each student can have 9. The sharing of institutional rewards seems to be more easily accomplished in elementary schools because children are with the same teacher all day. The teacher consequently can mete out recognition and reward more equally. For example: a. b. c. Each student's birthday can be recognized. Each student can have his turn at being on the safety patrol or the clean-up squad, at being the classroom monitor. Each student can participate in the Christmas pageant, If secondary schools were smaller--small enough so that all students and teachers were known by all others--similar celebrations and routines could be established for older students. Institutional rewards might be more easily shared if school schedules were different. For example: 10. a. b. Wednesdays were designated activity day so that all Various all-school festivals were scheduled during the Summary: Given the assumption that symbols, norms, ceremonies, and rituals can be introduced into school societies and cultures, a number of suggestions have been made for pilot projects including: (1) team orientation in assessment of achievement, (2) use of helping trios, (3) the school confrontation ceremony, (4) the adversary advocate exercise for resolving conflict, (5) the writing of a school credo, (6) the observer squad, (7) the wearing of uniforms, (8) the furnishing of costly "extras" to all students, (9) cultural expression days, (10) ceremonies expressing differences and common goals, (11) student name signs, (12) development of teacher professional classroom manner, (13) provision of tutors, (14) recognition of birthdays and personal occasions, (15) turns at special duties, (16) participation in pageants, (17) designation of special days for festivals and activities. Many other ideas could have been suggested which when tested might assist the personnel of a school in achieving agreed-upon school goals. REFERENCES Bidwell, Charles E. In J. G. "The School as a Formal Organization." March (Ed.) Handbook of Organizations. Coleman, James S., et al. Equality of Educational Opportunity. Washington, D. C.: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1966. Coleman, James S. The Adolescent Society. New York: The Free Press, 1961. Davis, Allison. Deep South. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1941. Gordon, C. W. The Social System of the High School. The Free Press, 1957. Glencoe, Illinois: Grambs, Jean Dresden. Schools, Scholars and Society. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1965. Havighurst, Robert J., and Daniel U. Levine. Havighurst, Robert J., and Hilda Taba. Education in Metropolitan Adolescent Character and Personality. Henry, Jules. "A Cross-cultural Outline of Education." Jackson, Philip W. Life in Classrooms. Winston, 1968. Current New York: Holt, Rinehart and Johnson, Davis W. The Social Psychology of Education. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1970, p. 216. Kneller, George F. Educational Anthropology: An Introduction. New York: Wiley, 1965, p. 4. Lewin, Kurt. Field Theory in Social Science. New York: Harper, 1951. Mallery, David. High School Students Speak Out. New York: Harper and McClelland, David C., and David G. Winter. Motivating Economic Achievement. New York: The Free Press, 1969, pp. 39-92. McLuhan, H. Marshall. Understanding Media. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1964. Mead, Margaret. Culture and Commitment. New York: Natural History Press, 1970. Reich, Charles A. The Greening of America. New York: Random House, 1970. Sapir, Edward. New York: "Symbolism." Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, Vol. XIV Macmillan, 1937, p. 493. Sarason, Seymour B. The Culture of the School and the Problem of Change. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1971, p. 86. Simpson, Elizabeth Leonie. Jossey-Bass, 1971. Democracy's Stepchildren. San Francisco: Toffler, Alvin. Future Shock. New York: Random House, 1970. Turner, Victor. The Forest of Symbols. University Press, 1967, pp. 29-30. Ithaca, New York: Cornell Waller, Willard. The Sociology of Teaching. New York: Wiley, 1932, pp. 6-11. Warner, W. L., and P. S. Lunt. The Social Life of a Modern Community. Chapter 9 THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT OF TEACHERS by Elaine J. Chisholm Harvey Public Schools, Illinois This essay will address itself to the role, skills, and working environment of America's teachers. We will examine here their importance in the whole area of the educational process and discuss those items which are of vital concern to the teacher. The reason for questioning these three areas is the concern focused on today's inner-city schools. Skill of Teachers Recently there has been criticism of the performance of teachers in our schools. Strident charges have been leveled because America's inner-city schools have not prepared the poor and minority group children for their roles in a technological society which no longer uses race, class, and sex as barriers to the social goals of equality of opportunity. The schools are not meeting the need of the populations they serve. They have become sieves for the restive young and their sorely harassed keepers, the teachers.1 Teachers, administrators, and supervisors often blame the colleges for inadequate training of the teaching staff. Too often people believe the myth that when one graduates from college, he should be prepared to function in the classroom. In Because Who then should assume the blame for ineffective teaching? it the teachers, the schools or the colleges? The teacher attends college, graduates, and is then abandoned by the institution. his place of employment he is thrust into a number of roles. of this, the school where the teacher actually works has to accept the responsibility of providing the teacher with a constructive educational environment in which to develop professional competencies. How then can teachers best prepare themselves to maintain a high level of professional standards and avoid the disillusioning experiences that they and their students must go through? Teacher 1John F. Check, "Dissatisfaction in Teaching," Educational Forum (January 1971), p. 175. 551-37374-16 preparation should include curriculum methods, psychology of child The bureaucratic structure and its procedures tend to cause the teacher to change or forsake what she has learned in her preservice education. The teacher education institution, as well as the public school's inservice programs, must be prepared to invest a major portion of its expertise and efforts in programs for the teacher. Becoming a teacher is an enormously complex process. Changes in teacher preparation are not as likely to effect significant changes in the education of inner-city school children as would reforms within the institutional framework in which the teacher must operate. However, improved preservice programs would help the teacher to enter the job at a high level of preparation and anticipation as well as greatly strengthen his capacity for growth once on the job. One of the most promising new program approaches for improved training is the teacher center as proposed by David Selden and David Darland in their paper Teacher Centers: "Who's in Charge?" The teacher center would be run by the teachers, funded by Federal, local, and State governments and adequately equipped with resources and available data to answer the teachers' specific needs. I believe that the teacher center would be a big step in the direction of improved teacher effectiveness. The model teacher center as proposed would be funded on a continuing basis. Located as closely as possible to those who will utilize it, the teacher center would be equipped with the latest technological equipment and would have a large amount of resource materials. It would be operated solely by the teachers and staffed by teachers and their representatives. This proposal is based on the fact that, to date, inservice training has been relatively unsuccessful. If teachers take a major role in their own professional development, the gap between ineffective and effective teaching will be lessened. Role of the Teacher Another reason teachers cannot function adequately in school is because they are expected to play too many roles and are generally asked to accomplish miracles that are far beyond the capacity of a |