Jobs in Education Are Undoable. Can We Redesign Them?

How do we get teachers ready for one of the hardest jobs in America? By giving them inadequate training, throwing them into classrooms, wishing them luck and hoping for the best. Many conclude they can’t do it and quit. These same patterns play out with principals and superintendents. Across the spectrum, role expectations outstrip what is realistic for a single human being to do. What if all the jobs in education are undoable, and in some cases, approaching impossible? It’s time to rethink the way we design roles in education before all the adults have left the building.

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photo of Lindsay Whorton
Lindsay Whorton

The Holdsworth Center