There are many ageist beliefs that I’ve seen at work, but the idea that older teachers are more conservative in their methods than the younger ones is a pet peeve of mine. Perhaps you’ve seen it in your job, where the younger employees assume that the older ones are out of touch and backwards? They’ll be comments like, “We’ll be able to move ahead when a few more of the older ones retire.” It’s the assumption that older employees are preventing progress.
Older Teachers Led The Way
I can think of many teachers who were older than me and ran dynamic, student-centred, forward-thinking programmes. There were some good reasons why the older teachers were some of the most progressive educators in a school. The way the Ontario education system was structured in the 1980’s and 90’s allowed for teachers to have regular paid professional development, and more time to focus on expanding and developing their teaching skills. The school day was longer (lunchtime 1 1/4 hours, recesses 20 mins) and they had less extra responsibilities. This allowed more time for teachers to learn and grow by interacting with their colleagues.
The System Stopped Supporting Innovation
Because teachers have gradually been expected to take on more non-teaching duties, there is less time for them to develop progressive skills. Classroom teachers used to have free support from Board specialists, and adequate funding for classroom materials. The special education paperwork used to be done by a special education support person. Stock used to be ordered centrally for the whole school. There used to be a school nurse and the guidance of a school psychologist. Student records were updated and filed by office staff. Now the classroom teacher has little professional support and is expect to do all these extras, and more… and teach.
Weary Becomes “Out Of Touch”
New teachers often bring energy and fresh ideas from their teacher training in university. Over time some teachers get worn down by the combination of pressures from the job, personal health challenges, and family situations. Once someone is chronically weary, they tend to be the ones to stop learning new ideas and they resort to “traditional” paper-and-pencil tasks. I’ve seen this happen to many teachers of different ages and levels of experience, over the years. Burnout doesn’t correlate with age.
Work/Life Balance Is Key
As with any intense workplace, teachers need to keep a close eye on their work/life balance to avoid burnout. With less support, less time to grow, and more expected of them, some teachers are restricting the work that they do to their “contract” hours. That means that they only read and reply to emails during the school day, are strict about leaving work at a set time each day, and do not take piles of marking or planning home to do in the evenings and on weekends. Teachers can also create support for themselves by taking advantage of programmes that still exist such as four-over-five leaves*, and personal days off. Better balance means consistently using their benefits package to support themselves with psychotherapy, massage and holistic health visits. Without work/life balance, the new teachers may soon become as “traditional” as they assumed the older teachers to be. Innovation can’t exist in a system that creates burnout.
In your workplace, what has effected professional growth and innovation? Comment below.
* Working for 4 years at 80% of your salary and then taking the 5th year as a leave of absence. It’s a great opportunity to rest and recharge.
Retired, And Now What? 