Coaching for Self-Advocacy, Not Surrendering
“A radical transformation of the education system can never take place unless society itself is transformed.” -Paulo Freire
All too often, factors outside of the classroom or school (structural racism, historical inequalities, curriculum decisions, testing, stress, policy decisions, the pandemic, and so on), significantly impact the experience of school for both students and teachers. When these decisions and factors have a negative impact on students and teachers, teachers feel isolated and powerless.
Unfortunately, the “norm” has become teachers consistently feeling stressed out, and even on the edge of surrendering to burn out. While the majority of my work around coaching focuses on what teachers can control in their classrooms, coaches can plan an important role in developing teachers’ self-advocacy to make changes beyond their classrooms.
It is with the goal of transformation of education at large that coaches support teachers in transforming not only their own classrooms, but the system of education, and society as a whole.
One of the most critical elements of my remaining in education for nearly 18 years is the sense that I could speak up about an issue and there would be work towards a resolution as a result. One of the often cited reasons for teachers leaving the profession is a lack of respect or feeling like their opinions don’t matter. To support teacher retention and effectiveness, teaching teachers to be self-advocates is an important task for coaches.
Teacher self-advocacy can take any number of forms. This may include teachers' social justice engagement, growing critical consciousness, setting healthy boundaries with work, professional and political advocacy and agency, and community engagement through living and being in the community where they work.
When we see teachers who are nearing burn-out, express frustration for things that are unchanged or injustices in the education system, these are flags that coaching around self-advocacy could be helpful.
Strategies to Support Teacher Advocacy
Coaches may have only engaged in one or a few of these strategies themselves, but offering tools and partnership to teachers who want to explore other strategies is still a powerful process. Here are several strategies for supporting teacher growth around self-advocacy. Selecting the strategy to use should align with the need that you are hearing from the teacher or seeing in the school or community.
Work boundaries: One of the most basic ways a teacher may need to advocate for themselves is by setting more clear boundaries for how and when they work. There is an endless amount to do in teaching, but finding a balance in order to be well is important. Support teachers with a clear time they leave work each day, how much they are grading, taking a (real) lunch break, when they respond to emails or lesson plan, and what they can delegate or collaborate on with a colleague to do more efficiently.
Share concerns with school leadership: When teachers have a legitimate concern about how an expectation is negatively affecting them or their students, they should be able to share that concern with the leadership team at the school. Teachers may need to practice with you the best way to present their concerns. In some schools, clear systems exist for listening to teachers and leaders appreciate the feedback. In other cases, teachers feel disrespected by the leadership and no space exists to provide feedback. In these cases, support the teacher in asking the leader for office hours, sharing a concern in writing, or identifying another member of the leadership team who may be most receptive to the teacher’s concern.
Form a school-based teacher action group: Depending on the issue, forming a teacher action group to tackle a challenge collectively may be the most effective strategy for teachers.
Write an op-ed: Has your teacher identified an injustice or an opportunity to make schooling more equitable? Are there particular insights the teacher has as a result of their classroom teaching experience that merit being heard outside of your school? Consider researching with and encouraging your teacher to identify local opportunities for writing op-eds in newspapers, magazines or online publications.
Apply for a grant or fellowship: Especially if a teacher is struggling to find support from other teachers or leaders in their building, applying for a grant or fellowship is a great way to find community and momentum for the issue they are trying to tackle. 4.0 Schools is a good example of a fellowship paired with a grant, but many other opportunities at the state and local level can be found with a little research.
Attend organizing events in the community: Connect with local libraries, community organizations and houses of worship to identify where movement is already happening in the community around the issues teachers are facing.
Join local and national advocacy organizations: For teachers grappling with unequal funding, access to resources, poverty, curriculum or other issues of justice, joining up with a local or national organization to support educators in political advocacy could be powerful. For example, Teach Plus offers a policy fellowship, and Educators for Excellence offers a number of ways for teacher advocates to get involved.
This list is just a start! When teachers make their voices heard and join with others to advocate for important issues, change is possible not only to avoid surrendering to burn out, but also for the well-being of students and teachers in your community.