We asked the members of our Editorial Board to reflect on Independent Teacher on the occasion of its 10th anniversary. Here are their comments.
Having served on the Editorial Board of Independent Teacher magazine since its inception, I find three things particularly gratifying. The first is the growth. Obviously, the readership has expanded. But what many people would have no way of knowing is how the number of submissions has increased steadily. We used to wonder every issue if we would have enough pieces, let alone ones of real quality. Now we can be much more selective.
That leads directly to my second point of happiness. As both a 30-year veteran and as a parent of two independent school students, I find it affirming when I see how much wonderful work is being done by teachers therein. The work is real, concrete, impactful—the sort that happens when high-quality folks have the freedom to give young people what they need in all aspects of their lives.
In that same spirit, Independent Teacher has filled an important need by serving as a clearinghouse. Independent schools are special places, and independent school teachers tend to have a certain spirit and purpose. They need—and deserve—a journal dedicated to their work. It allows them to connect and to explore and to learn. In doing so, I truly believe we help them become better teachers who better serve their students. What’s more important or fulfilling?
Mark Crotty, Head of School, St. John's Episcopal School, Dallas, Texas
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In my decade on the Editorial Board of Independent Teacher, I've enjoyed watching a fledgling journal assume an identity, a reputation, a groove. There have been many articles I have been proud to help select and edit; we have published some amazingly nuanced, sophisticated, incisive, and witty reflections from teachers and administrators at the top of their game. But the one that pleased me most, I have to say (because, contrary to our proclamations, teachers invariably have favorites), was written by a young woman who was still in her senior year of high school.
In Spring 2005, I recommended to the indefatigable Editor in Chief Stan Izen—whom I would buy a frosty beverage to commemorate a decade holding the reins of this august journal, if we still lived in the same town—that we consider publishing an essay written by Nicole Bedros (St. John's School, Houston). Following the lead of British cultural theorist Dick Hebdige (Subculture: The Meaning of Style), Bedros analyzed the conjunctions of conservatism and radicalism as played out on a daily basis on our campus. I encourage you to read the essay here; it was at once iconoclastic and philosophical, a piece that would have pleased thinkers like Roland Barthes, who encouraged his readers to pay close attention to the dynamics of everyday life. At the time of her essay’s publication, Bedros—now a surgeon in Dallas—saw herself as a “science type,” but she learned through the writing (and revising) process the magic that can attend introspective reflection in the humanities. Perhaps in our second decade, we can open the doors for more independent school students who have something valuable and vital to teach their teachers.
Bart Thornton, English Chair, Collegiate School, Richmond, Virginia
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As an educator who loves to read and write and having served as chair of the Editorial Board of Independent School magazine, I am familiar with the quality publications of NAIS. Now as an Editorial Board member of Independent Teacher, I am proud to support another NAIS magazine written by and for teachers.
I believe that having the voice of the teacher in our professional development libraries is critical to ensuring program excellence in our schools. In my professional development work, teaching teachers, I am often referencing the articles in Independent Teacher. My heartfelt thank you goes out to the many teachers who contribute to this excellent publication. More importantly, though, is teachers modeling the joy of reading and writing for our students; it is the best way to engage their interest in literature and composition, which, as we know, can range from texting and emailing to writing poetry, essays, and reports. One of the best dialogues with students is over a piece that they have written or read. Here’s an idea: share an article from Independent Teacher with your students the next time you are talking about good writing with them. They’ll love it.
Dane Peters, Head, Brooklyn Heights Montessori School (retired), Brooklyn, New York
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When I started teaching in the late 1980’s, I remember being profoundly influenced by my work with the S.E.E.D. Project (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity: http://www.nationalseedproject.org/) launched by Wellesley’s Center for Women and directed by Peggy McIntosh. Dr. McIntosh and her colleague, Emily Style, shared the useful metaphor of “windows and mirrors” as an important way to think about our literature choices in our classrooms. As educators, we need to present and share many windows into other cultures and experiences for our students in order to encourage insights into a world beyond the familiar, and, of course, we also need to provide mirrors, or ways that our students can see their own experiences reflected in the texts they read.
In my 10 years as a member of the Editorial Board of Independent Teacher, I have often reflected on this metaphor while reading draft articles. Stan Izen, our editor, routinely sends out several possible articles for the Board to review and edit prior to publication. The topics vary widely—from creative uses of technology and effective approaches to teaching literature to innovative school programs that are worth sharing—and the articles are written by teachers from all disciplines and across all grade levels. This is one of the aspects that I appreciate and admire most about Independent Teacher: We bring together the very best combination of thoughtful, relevant articles written by K-12 teachers nationwide. While many of the articles include outside research, most are about personal experiences in the classroom and specific institutional best practices. Independent Teacher combines the best in what’s happening today in teaching, in learning, and in our schools. Every time I preview or edit an article for publication, I am struck by the growth mindset of our contributors. They are deeply committed to their schools and to finding the best ways for students to thrive. As we continue to grow and evolve in our next decade, we will most certainly continue to provide that effective reflection on what we do well, and, perhaps more importantly, we will push forward with even more opportunities to open up new windows into how our schools might become even stronger and better than they are today.
Crystal M Land, Academic Dean, The Head-Royce School, Oakland, California
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A relatively new member of the Independent Teacher Editorial Board, I’ve so far had the privilege of reviewing just a handful of articles — a dozen at the most — and editing only one or two. But it’s been easy to leap in (Stan, you make the process simple) and I’m thoroughly enjoying the work. For starters, I like the glimpse into what folks “out there” are thinking and doing — working as I now do as an administrator in a non-school setting, I find myself missing that firsthand connection with students and teachers, and this puts me a step closer. As well, it feels like a process of discovery, growth, and inspiration, because it’s taking me beyond the Montessori world that is both my area of work and my passion, and reminding me of all the creativity and smart thinking that’s taking place in other disciplines, and how we can all learn from one another. Finally, it’s a thrill to know that I’m helping to facilitate a process that’s bringing all these good words to a larger community of enthusiastic educators.
Marcy Krever, Senior Director of Marketing & Communications, American Montessori Society
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I first encountered Independent Teacher when I was a new division head trying to find meaningful and authentic professional development for a talented but uninspired faculty. When I came across IT, I found myself forwarding the articles to my colleagues and then watching their inspired responses both in print and in action. The feedback I've always received about the effect of this journal is pretty simple: articles written for teachers by teachers just make sense and have instant credibility. Even now as a head of school, I find myself most interested in seeing our faculty try their hands at what IT authors have executed in their classes and written about in our “pages.” Bravo on 10 productive and progressive years!
Mark Carleton, Head, Presbyterian School, Houston, Texas
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I have been with Independent Teacher for only a short time, but reading and editing the articles from my fellow colleagues around the country have been enlightening. As teachers, I think one of the most valuable resources we have is each other. Teachers should share and collaborate constantly, across disciplines and age groups, and Independent Teacher helps foster that collaboration.
Yesterday I met one of my new English department colleagues for the first time on his second day at my school. Only minutes after we had formally met and shaken hands, we were exchanging ideas about books we teach, activities and lessons we have found successful, and strategies for engaging the students. As teachers, we spoke the same language instantly. Just from those few minutes, I know he will be a welcome addition to our department. I have been a mentor to younger teachers in past years, and one of the values I have tried to instill in these fresh minds has been the idea of sharing and working together to promote the greatest success from our students.
Independent Teacher allows for this collaboration and creativity across all disciplines from teachers around the country. I am excited to be part of the board, and look forward to reading more about all of the interesting and exciting things happening in all sorts of classrooms across the country.
Vlastik Svab, Upper School English Collegiate School, Richmond, Virginia
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The idea of an online journal written by teachers for other independent schoolteachers drew me straight in: “This is great! Speakers and conversations with teachers from all over the country, right here at my desk.” A few years later, my first face-to-face meeting with Editor in Chief Stan Izen was like a reunion of colleagues, despite our different schools and subjects. Our presentation on the journal at an NAIS annual convention confirmed that our editing and email conversations had taught us how to collaborate as if we worked together daily. Thanks to Stan’s leadership and efforts, NAIS later became our online sponsor.
Working on the editorial board became itself an exciting tool for learning. My upper school teaching experience had included English, American history, philosophy, and media literacy. I found myself reading across age divisions and department lines. I found ideas for my own classes from middle school teachers sharing a project, from science teachers sharing the process of creating student-driven research and experiments, from art teachers encouraging their students to paint in response to a poem. A colleague from the math department and I began to think about team-teaching a math and philosophy class on logic.
For 10 years, our journal has demonstrated that teachers can help other teachers, regardless of subject matter or students’ ages. Creative ideas with good explanations of process and examples of results have also helped us all to take risks, even to discover that a stumbling block in one piece of the plan can open a path to something better. We all want our students to be lifelong learners. Our journal, Independent Teacher, will continue to celebrate teachers who are lifelong learners, who stimulate others to explore new ways of thinking, to involve students as partners, to share questions and ideas. Each new issue has offered something to me, and the archives are also truly worth exploring.
Barbara F. Graves, Greenhill School, Addison, Texas (retired)
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10 years! If, in the beginning, I had ever thought about the future, which I did not, I could never have imagined that Independent Teacher would still be publishing 10 years later. In large part, our success and longevity are due to the unflagging support and hard work of the Editorial Board. Despite demanding “day” jobs, no one ever said no to commenting on another submission or to one more editing job. Bravo to them!
Ten years of Independent Teacher is also a testament to the urgent need independent educators, all educators really, have to communicate with each other, to share ideas, to talk about successes, and to commiserate over disappointments. From the start, Independent Teacher was meant to be a platform for teacher/writers to share thoughts on curriculum and pedagogy. I am particularly proud of the work our Board does in helping first time authors write the best essay they can. That's why we became teachers, right?
Stan Izen, Editor, Independent Teacher