TEACHERS’ PROFESSIONAL FREEDOM

BECAUSE teaching methods are developed by educational experts with degrees in education policy and education research, and

BECAUSE too often these experts have never taught in the classroom or they have failed while teaching in the classroom, and

BECAUSE the research used to support the methods advocated for classroom instruction have often been proven flawed or manipulated, and

BECAUSE the methods teachers must use in the classroom are often determined by school boards, educational experts, and administrators, it is unreasonable to hold the teacher primarily responsible for the failure of those teaching methods as strategies, and

BECAUSE teachers are typically highly trained and care deeply about the academic success of each child, they deserve to be respected as professionals, and

BECAUSE a positive environment that invites teachers to embrace accountability in their profession is essential,

THEREFORE teachers must have the professional freedom to select the teaching methods and strategies which are most appropriate for the students in their classroom.