A Different Kind of Education Gap: A College Education Professor and a Policy Expert Who Left the Classroom for Other Roles Return to Teaching for a While and Learn Valuable Lessons

When teachers find time to ponder how their work might change because of the latest policy decision Washington or their state capital, chances are good that at least one of them will say something like this: if any of those guys know what really happens a classroom! And they'd be right. Those who have never been educators often base their knowledge of teaching on their many years as students, leading to misconceptions that don't exist professions such as law or medicine. Dan Lortie called this the apprenticeship of observation (1975). For those who have been educators but no longer experience the urgency of the classroom, the environment changes, students change, and memories of effectiveness are seen through the rose-colored glasses that separation allows. The challenges become fuzzier and the successes become greater. That means there's a significant gap between teachers who work with students every day and policy makers who have never been educators or are past practitioners now far removed from students. Even though we know that effective teachers and principals make a significant difference for their students, these effective educators rarely have a voice policy discussions and often don't understand the larger issues state and national debates. As leaders of teachers, we've been able to have these discussions at the local, state, and national levels, but we're also keenly aware that we must not lose our connection to the classroom. Over the past year, we've spent time classrooms. We've observed them, evaluated teachers them, and talked to the leaders of these classrooms--the teachers themselves. Most valuable for us, however, was actually returning to teach public school classrooms. It may be surprising that this isn't required by either of our positions--a professor a preparation program and a leader of teachers the nonprofit world. We hope that it will become common practice for those who have taught and now make decisions that affect teachers and students. Back to the classroom--ANN Having left the after 13 years to work at a state agency focused on recruitment, retention, and leadership programs, I was no longer teaching by the time I became a National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT). Nine years later, when the time came to renew certification, I knew I wanted to do so, especially since I still missed being the even after a decade. My direct connections and conversations with some of the nation's most accomplished teachers--many but not all Board certified--allowed me to vicariously enjoy what originally drove me to choose an education career. Years later, I prided myself on not having completely lost my classroom sense of the realities of teaching. Walking the walk was important to me--and I wanted to directly re-engage with students. At the very least, renewing certification was my chance to maintain some teacher cred. With the help of an NBCT friend North Carolina, I connected with a language arts Orange County, N.C., who was gracious enough to share a class of 28 10th-graders with me for about six weeks so that I could complete the teaching component of my NBCT renewal requirements. I was back in school. And I was revitalized with the familiar high school surroundings. But, as I re-entered the classroom, my self-assurance was quickly challenged. In many ways, I felt like a beginning again, gradually increasing my level of involvement with students from individuals to small groups and finally to whole-class instruction. Having the advantage of teaching only one class was completely wiped away by having a full-time job to focus on when not teaching. Making this schedule work was not easy, but it was definitely worthwhile. Back to the classroom--JONATHAN A strong desire and nagging concern drove me to spend time with 45 5th-grade students. …