cmillerteach

            As teachers, we are familiar with the policy issues facing education. From rigid teaching guidelines to an outdated curriculum and lacking mentor programs to socioeconomic inequality, teachers handle it all. We are aware that the issues need to be addressed, but how much do we really know about the issues? What can we do to fix the issues? As teachers, it is time for us to stop sitting on the sidelines and become the teacher leaders who advance, research, and advocate for education to see real changes that affect the classroom, student learning, and teacher development. We must know and understand education policies and become the teacher leaders our profession needs. Policy Issues             Over the years in education, many policies have been made to help students succeed and retain teachers. Unfortunately, most of these policies, although created with good intentions, were not created with classroom teacher input. Administrators may have once been classroom teacher