MCEA Vice President and NBCT Chris Lloyd provided the following remarks:
Broadcast Journalist Dan Rather said, “The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called ‘truth.’ “ For those of us who teach, who are entrusted with the care of this community’s children, we indeed have days where we tug to help move a child along…where we push in order to bring a level of confidence in the unseen…and where we lead to new learning, often through difficult and challenging lands. Indeed the schools we all attended are no longer reflections of the schools that exist today.
Being a teacher is soulful, passionate, and artful work – that too often goes unrecognized and yet always has a profound impact on a community and its children. So this afternoon is indeed a wonderful occasion, because we recognize accomplished teaching – and in doing so, recognize the complexity of the craft. President Doug Prouty and I are proud of you, the work you do, and this certification. We applaud you, and the difference you are making with children.
Being a National Board Certified teacher is all about being a reflective practioner. You have demonstrated that through a rigorous professional process, to which you voluntarily “subjected” yourself. This past year I’m sure was one filled with all kinds of emotions. But you persisted, carried on, and can now join the ranks of 634 NBCTs here in MCPS. You are examples of teacher leaders.
If you’ve been subjected to me long enough, you’ve heard me quote Peter Senge. He’s a systems thinker…and a great mind. Senge writes that, “Leadership is the capacity of the human community to shape its destiny, and to sustain the significant processes of change required to do so.” I love this quote, because not once does it frame leadership in terms of position. Leadership is about vision, and moving the arc of history, and sustaining through some really tough times.
And if ever we face tough times, and we need leaders – it is now. Make no mistake, the stakes are high on so many fronts. We have a state superintendent who believes that evaluating teachers is as easy as looking at a test score, which doesn’t honor the complexity of our craft. We find it to be a simplistic and frankly demeaning look at the work of our 12,000 members. The National Board standards and propositions we know so well – they honor that craft.
And in these tough economic times we need leaders – we need advocates for children. Any influence I have as an NBCT is magnified over 600 times with all of you and our colleagues around the county, and we need to make our voices heard now.
Catherine Ryan Hyde wrote a book called “Pay It Forward.” It was made into a movie, and the premise is quite simple. The character chooses 3 people, does three good deeds, and then asks those people to do the same – resulting in 9, and 27, and 81 good deeds – and so on – in an exponential pyramid of good will. If ever a book described what we do as teachers, this is it…30 children, who will impact hundreds more, who will impact thousands more.
I challenge you this afternoon to “pay it forward” to National Board candidates as yet unseen. Recruit them, become involved, support them, coach, and guide. See yourself not just as a leader in your classroom, but as a leader in our system, in our community. The profession of teaching demands nothing less. There is a moral calling right now that we must heed. Education is at the end of the day about social justice, and National Board certification is not the end of a journey, but a beginning. Congratulations to each and every one of you on this accomplishment, so richly deserved, so humbly accepted – Doug and I thank you for all of the work you do each and every hour, as leaders bending the arc of history.
Find more information on National Board certification.
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