Does courtroom experience matter when hiring a prosecutor? Would we hire a plumber who had no experience fixing pipes? Would any of us want a phlebotomist who was drawing blood for the first time? Nope, nope, and NO! Then, why are we hiring people into administrative positions in education who have little or no academic teaching experience in the classroom?
Firstly, administrators who have little to no academic classroom experience have zero idea what they are doing as an instructional leader. Most have never delivered a single lesson. They don’t understand the challenges of pacing guides. They have no idea what it is like to score a paper with a rubric. In fact, they have never created a rubric. Yet, they are responsible for countless walk-throughs where they are evaluating academic teachers on how well they deliver a lesson. Folks, admin who don’t have teaching experience have never sent home a single, report card. They don’t understand the immense difficulties associated with gap closure. They don’t even know how to handle a mad parent effectively – usually involves throwing somebody under the bus. Most have never had to develop a classroom management plan for student behavior. Eventually, they will learn, but they will always lack the foundation needed to make sound decisions.
I believe that one of the most significant issues facing education today is that under-experienced administrators are hiring gobs and gobs of teachers into our school systems. Without teaching a single, lifetime hour in a classroom, they are allowed to hire people into academic classroom positions. It is mind boggling that this is occurring.
So, what do we do about the growing problem of principals/admin with no academic teaching experience infiltrating our learning institutions?
The problem is huge, but the answer is simple. I think my first advice is don’t hire them – ever. There need to be board policies in place which prevent this. In other words, principals and district admin should be required to have a set number of years teaching in an academic classroom. Secondly, don’t work for them. They will very possibly wreck your career. Always, always do your homework if you are a teacher looking at a prospective school or district. Read everything you can get your hands on related to your potential new job. You do not want to work for people who don’t know what they are doing and who lack significant experience in the field they are administering.
Honestly, I am astounded at the number of people who work in educational administration who have never had to manage a classroom. It is like being given a driver’s license without ever having driven a car. Sure, eventually you may learn to drive, but you are highly likely going to cause a lot of damage before becoming proficient. As a profession we need to self-police this, and stop this practice. This is a growing and significant problem in education.
And to answer the original question, “Does previous classroom experience matter when selecting administrators in education?”
Emphatically, yes!!!
Pro Tip: So if a bad system will be beat a good person every time what can you do? You have to focus not on trying harder within the current system but on changing the system so that success is built into the system. Relying on heroic measures is a poor way to manage.~ W. Edwards Deming
