Urgency and Response

Teachers typically feel an urgency to be prepared and to do a good job by every student. Sometimes those distanced from the classroom may not feel the same urgency since they are not working with 25 students a day. They may not realize the time it takes to prepare 25 sets of materials for the learners and the time it takes to respond to and analyze the responses of 25 students. They may forget the prep time it takes to prepare for parent conferences and to create substitute materials when a teacher is attending a professional development event. The distance between a professional and the work of teaching and learning is an important consideration when we think about school systems and decision making processes. In my opinion, it's best that most people in schools have direct responsibility for students so that the decisions made, responses, and sense of urgency connects well to the work we do. Do you agree?