Fixing What Ails Us Is Just A Mirror Away

Sharing ideas works if the district and administrators nurture this kind of environment.  If teachers are evaluated for unique ideas, they tend to keep these ideas to themselves.  I have worked in both environments.  A team spirit is awesome, but when a principal shows favoritism, some teachers tend to do their own thing.  Also, teachers have to have a comfort level about learning from other teachers.  Personally, I believe that the administrators need to foster this kind of environment.  

I have been in schools that turned into what I think of as competitive teaching.  Teachers did not want to share ideas because they wanted to be praised and recognized for coming up with the idea in the first place.  Part of this can be blamed on principals that look for a dog and pony show during teacher evaluations.  Teachers don't share because they want the principal to be impressed while observing the lesson for the first time.  I have also been in schools where administrators looked for positives from all teachers and encouraged sharing.  Cognitive coaching was allowed in our district for a short time period.  Teachers were paired with other teachers and spent time in each others' rooms.  It was awesome.  We helped each other so much and felt comfortable asking for advice with difficult situations or lessons.  It's all about the atmosphere of the school, and I think the administrators set the tone.