My favorite college professor of all time used to say you can do whatever you want once you close your classroom door. I don’t think she meant that you can go to sleep or show videos all day. What she was talking about was the restrictions that teachers often feel operating within a school structure that places an emphasis on whatever it is they want to place an emphasis on. There are really no restrictions placed on a teacher once they close their door and go to work. I have felt no more freedom in any job ever than when they bell rings and the period begins. That 40 or so minutes I spend with those students each day are my show. Nobody sets the agenda or restricts my performance. They really don’t belong to the nation, state, or district. I am the professional has been hired to teach. If someone knew exactly what I was supposed to do or what was best for me to do in that period it would be already laid out. But it’s not.
As teachers, we can’t feel trapped by the system. We can acknowledge the system, smile once in a while at it and even wave as it goes on by. Every teacher must decide what they believe, based on sound research, and then put that into action each day in his or her classroom in a meaningful way. We can’t settle for the excuse that the school won’t let us do that. If real authentic change is to take place it must come from behind those closed classroom doors led by teachers who are willing to take the risk and teach like they know they should.
This New School 
What do you think?