I keep talking with public school teachers who are miserable. They\u2019re all looking at their bank accounts trying to figure out when they can retire.<\/p>\n
The purpose of the school system is to educate students, not to make its employees happy. Students come first. But it\u2019s hard to imagine that students are getting the best possible education when their teachers show up each morning feeling beaten and dispirited.<\/p>\n
They say it\u2019s because of testing \u2013 too much testing, too little time to teach, testing results applied to their evaluations in ways that they say are unfair or illogical. Some complain about Common Core standards, but testing is still the primary theme.<\/p>\n
They are echoing a common complaint of unhappy employees. Employees are unhappy, it\u2019s said, when they have no sense of control over their work, when they think things are being done wrong but they can\u2019t do anything about it, when they don\u2019t trust management and believe management won\u2019t listen to them. That\u2019s the classic formula \u2013 virtually guaranteed to produce low morale.<\/p>\n
Having a demoralized teaching force, all over the state, is not something we should tolerate.\u00a0\u00a0 If they are stuck with all this testing \u2013 and apparently, for now, they are \u2013 there has to be another way to give teachers back their dignity, morale and sense of purpose. (We can\u2019t simply say if they don\u2019t like the job, they should leave; the job is essential, their experience is valuable, and we don\u2019t have replacements.)<\/p>\n
Maybe we need a Happiness Planning Committee for staff in every school, I said to one of my unhappy teacher friends.<\/p>\n
Nobody in the schools has the nerve to propose such a thing, my friend replied. \u201cYou do it,\u201d she said. So here it is.<\/p>\n
One school has started such an initiative. They\u2019ve held a few Friday afternoon social gatherings, off campus, and similar activities to increase friendliness and mutual support.<\/p>\n
Then there\u2019s the Quality (capital Q) movement.<\/p>\n
The Quality model is a method for achieving excellence in organizations of all kinds, through a process in which — to oversimplify hugely — everybody is required to listen to and respect everybody else.\u00a0\u00a0 In a Quality organization, activities and processes are modified based on feedback that shows what works. Employee morale is a factor.<\/p>\n
Quality New Mexico organizes conferences, trainings and the chance to win awards for excellence. \u00a0QNM was originally sponsored by Senators Pete Domenici and Jeff Bingaman as one of their many efforts to spur economic development. It appears to be still going strong. My former state agency participated for a decade (I was deeply involved) and won a couple of those awards.<\/p>\n
My favorite line from all those conferences was a quote from an employee of a hotel that won the top national award.\u00a0\u00a0 The judges had interviewed employees to learn how well the Quality attitude had permeated the company. One person, asked to describe his job, replied proudly, \u201cI am a Quality engineer in the dishwashing department.\u201d<\/p>\n
If Quality can do that for a dishwasher, there ought to be a way to improve the morale of thousands of New Mexico teachers.<\/p>\n
I mention QNM not to suggest that this process is right for every school (it isn\u2019t), but for a different reason: the honorary chairs of QNM are Gov. Susana Martinez and all five members of our congressional delegation. So let\u2019s assume that the governor endorses its principles. And that if teachers start forming committees to improve their work environments, it will be regarded from above as a positive step and not an insurrection.<\/p>\n
The current demoralization is bad for New Mexico in every way you can name, including our economic future. Even if we\u2019re stuck with testing, there must be a way to fix this morale problem and give teachers back some sense of empowerment. The new year is a good time to explore possibilities. Our children deserve this.<\/p>\n
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