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Monday, September 24, 2012

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That’s Not Teacher-Like

I’ve been reading Albert Shanker’s “The Power of Ideas: Al In His Own Words,” the American Educator’scompendium of Al’s speeches and columns, published posthumously in 1997. What an enjoyable, witty and informative collection of essays.
Two columns especially caught my attention: “That’s Very Unprofessional Mr. Shanker!” and “Does Pavarotti Need to File an Aria Plan” – where Al discusses expectations for (and treatment of) teachers. They made me reflect, yet again, on whether perceptions of teacher professionalism might be gendered. In other words, when society thinks of the attributes of a professional teacher, might we unconsciously be thinking of women