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Teacher Education Quarterly, Spring 2010

The Culture of Learning to Teach:The Self-Perpetuating Cycle

of Conservative Schooling

By Peter Smagorinsky

Inhisconsiderationofthedevelopmentalconsequencesofeducation,Cole(2005)takesacross-culturalandhistoricalperspectivethatleadshimbacktotheearliestclassroomsofIndo-Europeancivilization.Toconsiderthehistoricaldepthofeducational traditions,he infersgreatstabilitybasedonhisconsiderationofthearrangementofaSumerianclassroomintheancientcityofMari,Syria.1Thisclassroomlikelyoriginatedinthecity’ssecondgoldenageundertheAmoritedy-nastythatlastedfromroughly1,900BCEthrough1759BCE,whenthecitywassackedbyHammurabi,sixthkingofBabylon. Colesurmisesthatthelast4,000yearshaveseengreatcontinuityineduca-tionalpracticeinanumberofregards.Asthephotographreveals,studentssatin

Peter Smagorinsky is a professor of English education in the Department of Language and Literacy Education of the College of Education at the University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia.

rows—here,fixedinstone—facingtheteacher.Thistemplate, in spite of other developments in teach-ingpractice,hasservedtoguideinstructioninmostWesterneducationalsettingsfromSumerianciviliza-tionthroughthepresent.Studentsoccupieditsseats1,400yearsbeforeNebuchadnezzarIIisbelievedtohavebuilttheHangingGardensofBabylon.Itisasoldastheideaofformalteachingandlearninginthehistoryofhumansociallife. Otherwaysofteachingandlearninghavebeendevelopedoverthemillennia.Over1,500yearsafter

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studentsnoddedthroughtheir teacher’sSumerianlessons,Socratessteppedoutfrombehind the lecternand taughtbymeansofcross-examiningand typicallyrefutinghisstudents’assumptions,revealingtheirsophisticalreasoningthroughthedialoguesthathemanipulated.Whetherhedidsoasameansofinquiryorasabullyremainsopentoquestion(seeWhite,2001).Inthelate18thandearly19th

centuries, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi formulatededucationalvisionsthatcenteredonthelearner.RousseaupioneeredtheRomanticconceptionofthe(male)childaslearnerandtheadultasguideandcompanionineducationalexperiencesratherthandirectorandauthority,anideathathasenduredinmanyformsinWesterneducation,iflargelyonthemarginsofthepursuit. InhishistoryofEnglisheducation,Applebee(1974)notesthatanumberofpedagogicaltraditionsareavailabletoteachers,includingthosethatcenteronthelearner,yetmostrelyonateacher-and-text-centeredapproachthatcouldeasilyhavefounditshomeinancientMesopotamianclassroomspaces(cf.Cuban,1993).Whilethestudents’seatsarenolongermadeofstoneandonlyrarelyremainboltedtothefloor,theytypicallystayfixedinonelocation,facingforwardsothatstudentsmayconcentrateon the teacherundistractedby thechatter and shenanigansoftheirclassmates.TheimagepresentedinFigure1ofmyaunt’selementaryschoolclassroominBrooklyninaround1920sharessimilaritieswithboththeSumerianclassroomdescribedbyCole(2005)andtheUniversityofCalifornia,SanDiegoclassroominwhichIpresentedaversionof thispaper (Smagorinsky,2008) inwhichthechairswereindeedboltedtothefloor.

Figure1:Brooklyn, New York, USA elementary classroom, circa 1920 (from author’s family collection).

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Alternativepedagogiesoriginatinginthe20thCentury,whileoftenalignedwiththeviewsofSocrates,Rousseau,andahandfulofothers,tendtobebasedinsomewayonDewey’sprogressiveviews,whichgenerallyemergefromthefollowingtenets:

[D]emocracymeansactiveparticipationbyall citizens in social,political andeconomicdecisionsthatwillaffecttheirlives.Theeducationofengagedcitizens,accordingtothisperspective,involvestwoessentialelements:(1).Respect for diversity,meaningthateachindividualshouldberecognizedforhisorherownabilities,interests,ideas,needs,andculturalidentity,and(2).thedevelopmentofcritical, socially engaged intelligence,whichenablesindividualstounderstandandparticipateeffectivelyintheaffairsoftheircommunityinacollaborativeefforttoachieveacommongood.Theseelementsofprogressiveeducationhavebeentermed“child-centered”and“socialreconstructionist”approaches,andwhileinextremeformstheyhavesometimesbeenseparated,inthethoughtofJohnDeweyandothermajortheoriststheyareseenasbeingnecessarilyrelatedtoeachother.(JohnDeweyProjectonProgressiveEducation,2002;emphasisinoriginal)

Such learner-centered,activity-oriented,inquiry-driven,andsocially-mediatedmethodshavehadmanyincarnationsovertheyears.Fromtheschoolsfoundedby ItaliansMariaMontessori inRomeandLorisMalaguzzi inReggioEmilio,toKilpatrick’s(1918)projectmethod,tothearts-orientededucationalinitiativesemergingfromHarvardUniversity’sProjectZero,tonotionsofauthenticassessment(Wiggins,1993),tootherstudent-drivencurriculathroughouttheworld,educatorshaveattemptedtochipawayattheedificeofauthoritarianschoolingformanyyears,establishingimportantprogramsandcreatingalternativestoplacingstudentsinpas-sive,receptive,mimetic,andstationaryroles.Inspiteofthepossibilitiestheyhavedemonstrated,theseapproacheshavelargelybeeneithertheprovinceofspecializedschoolsortangentialpracticesexistingonthemarginsofmainstreamschooling.Meanwhile,teacher-and-text-centeredinstruction—referredtobyHillocks(1986)as“presentational”andbyGoodlad(1984)as“frontal”teaching—reiteratesandreifiesthedominantinstructionalpracticesofatleastthelasttwo(Cohen,1989)orfour(Cole,2005)millennia. Manycommentatorsbelievethatsuchpersistenceisaconsequenceofteachers’lackofawarenessofmoreprogressivealternatives.Ifonlytheywereexposedtobetteroptions,saythecritics,theywouldembracethem.Deweyhimselfinitiallyfeltthatteacherscouldleapthechasmbetweentraditionsifsufficientlyschooledinnewmethods:

BothThe School and Society[1900],andThe Child and The Curriculum[1902],twoofDewey’smostpopularbooks,depictwhathecalledthe“oldeducation”astheresultofmisguidedideasaboutlearningandteaching.Intheseandotherwrit-ings,Deweyseemstoassumethatonceteachersunderstandwhathesometimescalledthe“lawsofpsychology,”theywouldbeinapositiontosetthingsright.This impression is reinforcedby theaccountoffered in[Mayhew&Edwards,1966].ThebookrevealsthatDeweyandtheteachershadnoideahowdifficultit

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wouldbetoteachashewished.Deweyconfirmsthisinmemorandatotheauthors.(Cohen,1989,p.79)

Basedonmyreading,research,andexperiencesasbothaclassroomteacherandteachereducator,IacceptDewey’sultimaterecognitionthattheproblemisnotsimplythatteachersareunawareofalternativestoschoolingasusual,andthatbetterteachereducationisthesolutiontomakingschoolsthesitesofmoreactivelearning.Iwillargueinsteadthattheissueisafunctionofthecultureofschool-ing,acultureembeddedin4,000yearsofstoneandseeminglyimpervioustoreal,systemicchange.

Beginning Teachers and the Self-Perpetuating

Cycle of Conservative Schooling Inowturntohowmythinkingaboutteachereducationfromacultural-historicalperspectivehasbeeninfluencedbymyexperiencesasaU.S.highschoolEnglishteacher from1976-1990,asa teachereducatorsince1990,andasa researcherstudyingteachersastheymovefromtheirteachereducationprogramstotheirfirstjobs.ThisresearchprogramwascarriedoutunderthesponsorshipoftheNationalResearchCenteronEnglishLearningandAchievement(CELA)anddesignedwithmycolleaguesPamGrossmanandSheilaValencia(seeGrossman,Smagorinsky,&Valencia,1999).Theresearchwasplannedtofocusonthepedagogicaltoolsthatteacherslearntoemployinthemultiplesettingsoflearningtoteach,particularlytheir teachereducationprogramsandthesitesoftheir teaching, includingboththeirstudentteachinginternshipsandtheirfirstjobs. ThestudiesIhaveconductedundoubtedlyprovidealimitedbasisfromwhichtolaunchagrandhistoricalnarrative,giventhateachisacasestudy.WhatIhavefoundfromworkinginthismanneristhatcasestudiesareusefulinseveralways,althoughrarelyconclusivegiventheirnarrowscope.First,theyprovideadetailedlookataparticularperson’sorsmallgroup’sexperienceandsomayeithercomple-mentstudieswithlargersamplesormakesingularpointsoftheirown(seeBloome&Bailey,1992;Valsiner,1998).Perhapsmore importantly, theyhaveasortofgeneralizabilitythatIfindveryuseful:thatoftypifyingakindofexperience.Afinalattributeofcasestudiesisthattheymayprovidedetailedinformationaboutcounter-examplesthathelpexplaindiscrepantortypicaldatainlargerstudies.Andsowhiletheydonotallowforgeneralizationstothepopulationatlarge,theydohelptoexplainwhytypesofpeoplehavetypesofexperiences.Aslongasinfer-encesarelimitedtosimilarpopulationsinsimilarsituations,theyareamenabletoqualifiedgeneralizations. The studies I have done through CELA lend credence to the widespreadbeliefthattheinfluenceoftheuniversityprogramoftenquicklygiveswaytothevaluesofschoolsites.ThecentraltraditionofU.S.schools,asIhavereviewed,isonedesigned toconserveeducationalpracticeas teacher-and-text-centeredand

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thusauthoritarianinnature.IncontrasttoDeweyanprogressivism,theemphasisisonthesubjectmorethanonthechild,onknowledgeasfixedratherthanasonconstructed,ontheauthorityofthetextovertheconstructionsofthelearner,onrotelearningmorethanondiscovery,onpassivityratherthanonactivity,andsoon.Ofcoursethisdichotomyoverlooksmuchinbetweenandoutsidetheconfinesofthesetwoextremes.YettheyprovidewhatIseeasthecentraltensionfacedbybeginningteachersastheymakethetransitionfromtheiruniversityprogramstotheirfirstjobs.Asiscommonamongteachersatlarge,theteachersIhavestudiedlearnsomeversionofaprogressivepedagogyinuniversitiesthattheyfinddifficulttopracticeintheconservativesettingofschools. Inextreviewhowawholecycleofabeginningteacher’sexperienceswithschoolandcollegecontributetoaconceptionofeducationalpracticethat,asCohen(1989)andothershaveargued,makesitdifficultforaprogressivepedagogytogetaninitialfootholdandthenestablishastrongerpositionintheU.S.K-12educa-tionalsystem.IconsultmyownCELAstudies,otherresearchIhaveconductedinsecondaryschoolclassrooms,andresearchcarriedoutbyotherstodescribetheself-perpetuatingcyclethatfollows.

K-12 Apprenticeship of Observation Lortie(1975)hasreferredtoaperson’sexperiencesasastudentasanapprentice-ship of observation.Hischoiceoftermsispropitious,giventhatwhatmoststudentsdothroughouttheirschoolingisobserve;or,ifnotobserve,daydreamwhiletheirteacherstalk(Bloom,1954;Csikszentmihalyi&Larson,1984;Csikszentmihalyi,Rathunde,&Whalen,1993).Byallaccountsstudentsdonottalkordoagreatdealinclassrooms.Rather,moststudentsgothroughschoolexperiencingroteinstruc-tioninwhichtheirroleislargelysubordinateandmimetic. Justassocializationintogenderrolesmaybegininthecradle,asfoundbyRubin,Provenzano, andLuria (1974), students’ socialization into authoritarianschooling may begin as soon as children toddle through their first classroomdoor.Althoughher story is nodoubtparticular toher situation inmanyways,theinsightofPenny,aCELAresearchparticipant(Smagorinsky,1999),suggestshowschoolsoftenservetocreatedeepimpressionsinchildrenregardinghowtheinstitutionfunctions.Penny’steachereducationprogramhadastrongorientationtoconstructivistpedagogicalpractices.Whilediscussingthedifficultiesshewashavinggettingherfirst-gradestudentstothinkcreativelyandconstructivelyabouttheopen-endedtasksshewouldprovideforthem,Pennyrealizedthatherstudentshadalreadybeenprofoundlyconditionedtoregardschoolasaplacewheretheirrolewastofollowinstructionsratherthanframeandsolveproblemsrelatedtotheirownviewsoftheworld:

Q: Fromwhatyou just toldme,what’sdifficult for the children is notwhat’scognitivelychallenginginthematerialortheassignments,butalmostasocialfitwiththepacingor—

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Penny:No,no,see,they’rereallygoodatthat.It’sunpacingthemandunstructur-ingthemiswhat’shard....MostofthemhavebeeninKindergarten,Transitionat[theschool],sothisisinactuality,forstudentsthisistheirthirdyearthere.SoImean,you’vegotallthisstructuregoingonforthreeyears,whichis,gee,halftheirlives,sotothensaywhat’sunstructured,they’rekindalike,“What?”

“Transition”referredtotheschooldistrict’spolicyofallowingstudentstodelayentryintofirstgradebyattendingayearofschoolbetweenkindergartenandfirstgrade.ThefactthatmanystudentshadbeenenrolledinaTransitionyearandthushadalreadybeensocializedforhalfoftheirlivesintothetraditionalstructureoftheschoolmadeitdifficultforhertooperatewithadifferentpace,onethatallowedformoreexplorationofideasandpersonalconstructionofknowledge. Eveninfirstgrade,then,manystudentshavealreadybecomesoenculturatedtoauthoritarianschooling—followinginstructions,movingwithinrigidchannels,remainingseatedandsilent—that“unpacingthemandunstructuringthem”becomesdifficult.ThestudentsdescribedbyPennywereinschoolbeforeGeorgeW.BushmandatedtheNoChildLeftBehindAct,whichsuperimposesastandardizedtest-ingsystemthatinstitutionalizesauniformsetofexpectationsonallstudentsandconsequentlyonallteachersattheprimaryschoollevel.Administeredtop-downandestablishingorthodoxconceptionsofliteracylearning,NCLBfurthernarrowsthechannelsthroughwhichstudentsmaynavigateschoolthroughtheimplicationthattherearespecificallyrightandwrongwaysinwhichtoanswerquestions,andfewifanyopportunitiestoaskquestions(Gall&Rhody,1987). Asschematheoristsmightsay,thedeepprocessingofstudents’conceptionofschoolingisestablishedearlyandthuspowerfully(Craik&Lockhart,1972).AndifCole(1996)isrightinsayingthatfromacultural-historicalperspective,schemataareculturalinnature—thatis,learnedaspartofengagementwiththeactivitiesofaparticularcommunityofpractice,inthiscaseschool—studentslearnearlyinlifetoexpectandactwithinanauthoritariansystemineachsubsequentexperiencewithschool,especiallyastheschemabecomesreinforcedwithcontinualexperiencesofthesametype.

Secondary School Apprenticeship of Observation Iffirstgradehasalreadyinvolvedconsiderablesocializationtotheculturalnormsofauthoritarianschooling,bythetimestudentsreachmiddleschooltheyhavespentthebulkoftheirlivesinroteeducation.Thereislittleevidencetosuggestthatschoolsbecomemoreflexibleastheytakeonthesecondhalfoftheircompulsoryeducation.Manyaccountsofthesecondaryschoolexperiencecharacterizeitas,touseGoodlad’s(1984)term,a“flat”experience(p.108):onethatinvolveslittleactivityoraffectandlittleengagementwiththetasksofmemorizationthattypifyit. Evenwhen teachersdepart from lecturesand leaddiscussions,classroomsoftenremainhierarchical.Englishteachers,forinstancetendtolead“discussions”inwhichtheysteerstudentstowardconventionalinterpretationsofliterature,in

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spiteofclaimstobeseekingopen-endedexchangesthatareakintomusical“jamsessions.”AsdescribedbyMarshall,Smagorinsky,andSmith(1995;cf.Nystrand,1997forsimilareffectswithalargersample),teachersrantheirdiscussions“to‘getsomewhere,’especiallytoasharedandconventionalinterpretation.”Further,

Insteadofthestudent-centereddiscussionsthattheteachersenvisioned,teacherscontrolledtheflowofthediscussions.Onaverage,theirturnsindiscussionsweretwotofivetimeslongerthanthoseofthestudents.Thenatureoftheirquestionsdeterminedthenatureofstudents’remarks.Inaddition,theteacherstendedtoprovide the context in which students’ remarks became meaningful.Teacherswouldtypicallyweavethebriefinformativestatementsofstudentsintoacoher-entdiscourse.Students’turnswereintelligibleonlybecauseofthecontextthatteachersprovidedforthem.

Given that literary discussion is among the most interpretive aspects of aschoolcurriculum,itislikelythatinotherdisciplines,thestudents’roleisevenlessagentivethaninthemarginallyactivemannerfoundbyMarshalletal.(1995).EveninEnglishclassliteraturediscussions,classroomepisodesasbriefasafewminutesarecelebratedassignifyinghopeformoredialogicpossibilitiesinliterarydiscussions(Christoph&Nystrand,2001).Thenorm,incontrast,isforteacherstodominatethroughlectureorteacher-centereddiscussions.Thispatternhasbeenwell-documentedasthe“I-R-E”pattern(Mehan,1979),inwhichtheteacherinitiatesatopicwithastatementorquestion,astudentprovidesabriefresponse,andtheteacherinturnevaluatesthestudent’scommentorelaboratesonit,leavingstudentsprimarilyintheroleofslottingbitsofknowledgeintotheteacher’spreconceivedview.Studentsrarelyposequestions(Gall&Rhody,1987),andthequestionsaskedbyteachersmostcommonlyhavepredeterminedcorrectanswers,ratherthanbeingopen-ended,idiosyncratic,stimulating,orengaging—whatNystrand(1997)callsauthenticquestions. Ofcourse,notallteachersaresodoctrinaireintheirinstruction,asMarshalletal.(1995)find.Undoubtedlytherearemanyexceptionstoschoolingasusual,asoutlinedandadvocatedbyeducatorsovertheyears(see,e.g.,thecontributorstoChristenbury,Bomer,&Smagorinsky,2009).Yetthesingularinstructiondocumentedinsuchstudiesis,byallaccounts,amongtheminortraditionsthatApplebee(1974)hasfoundinthehistoryofEnglishasadiscipline.WhatmakesitexceptionalistherelativeabsenceofsuchteachinginthebulkofU.S.classrooms.

University Apprenticeship of Observation Withsuchmethodscomprisingthebulkoftheirexperiencesasmiddleandhigh school students, prospective teachers then enter college. If they attend alargestateuniversityofthesortthatprovidestheprofessionwiththemajorityofK-12teachers,theyspendtheirfirstfewyearstakingclassesinlargelecturehallswheretheirroleistolistenandtakenotes,andthenbeassessedthroughmultiplechoiceexams.InthedomainofEnglish,whichprovidesthesiteformyresearch

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on beginningteachers,inupperlevelEnglishcoursesthenormisforprofessorstoemphasizetheirownapproachtoliterarycriticism(Addington,2001;Marshall&Smith,1997).Thestudent’sroleistoadoptaspecificcriticalperspectiveforapproachingliterarytextsbyattendingcarefullytotheprofessor’slecturesandthewisdomofprofessionalcritics.Indeed,inU.S.universitiesmostclassesareknownasalectureandtheinstructor’sroleistoprofess,hardlytermsthatsuggesthighlevelsofstudentactivityorprofessorialattentiontolearningprocesses. Andrea,aCELAparticipant,articulatedtheexpectationsofuniversityEnglishcourseworkwell,saying:

Ifeelthatwhenyoucometocollegeyouhaveacceptedacertainpathofeduca-tion,sayingyouaremorewillingnowtobeareceptacleandmoreindependent.WhenIshowedupto[English]classes,Igotandexpectedlectures.Ishoweduptohearthoseprofessors’opinionsofwhatwashappening,andIwouldstillfeelthatwayinacollegeclass.Iwouldn’tobjecttotakingaclassthatsomebodytoldmetheyweregoingtoteachinanewway,butIdon’tfeelresentmenttowardanyonethattheyaregoingtoteachitinalectureformat....Thestudentatthatpointchoosestostudyasubjectthattheyarebetterabletostudy,andthereforetheycandealwiththefactthatitisnotpresentedtotheminaneasy,ornotaneasierformat,butisn’ttailoredtostrivingtohelpthemunderstandit.Bythetimetheyhavereachedcollegeeducationtheyareinchargeofmakingsurethattheyareunderstandingwhatishappening.

Andrea’scommentsreflectthefindingsofAddington(2001)andMarshallandSmith(1997),whoconcludethatlearningprocessesandidiosyncraticreadings(andthusopen-endedwriting)receivelittleemphasis in theDepartmentsofEnglishoflargestateuniversities.Rather,theroleofstudentsistoattendtoasetofmas-ters—literaryauthors,literarycritics,andliteratureprofessors—whoseviewsandmodelstheyareexpectedtoadoptinordertoachievedisciplinarycompetence.

Teacher Education Program Ultimately, thosewho takea traditionalpath toa teachingcareerenroll ineducationcoursework.Whilesuchprogramsvarygreatlyfromuniversitytouni-versity,mostoftentheyinvolveenrollmentincoursesinsuchareasaseducationalfoundations,technology,adolescentdevelopment,andexceptionallearners,fol-lowedbyinstructioninateachingmethodsclass.Typicallythiscourseworkincludessomesortofpracticumandconcludeswithstudentteaching.Priortoenrollmentintheseclasses,theyhavetaken8-15coursesindepartmentsofEnglish,whichtendtooverwhelmtheirrelativelyfeweducationclasses,describedbysomeasa“band-aid”attheendoftheprogramwhichisexpectedtoerasetheprior15yearsofexposuretoauthoritarianteachingandreplacethatconceptionwholesalewithaprogressivevisionofeducation(seeWideen,Mayer-Smith,&Moon,1998). Eventhepracticaandstudentteaching,believedbymanytoserveasthecorner-stoneofeffectiveteachereducation(Graham,Hudson-Ross,Adkins,McWhorter,

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&McDuffieStewart,1999),canservetoreproduceratherthanchallengeschoolnorms.Consider,forexample,afourth-gradeclassroomIstudiedtaughtbySharon,auniversity classmateofPenny’s (seeSmagorinsky,Cook, Jackson,Moore,&Fry,2004).Intheclassroomthathostedherinternship,notonlywerethestudentsallowedlittlelatitudeintheirlearning,thestudentteacherherselffeltsoconfinedthatshedeclaredatonepoint:

Idon’tknowifIamgoingtobeableto[useaconstructivistpedagogy]withinthisclassroom.Idon’tknowhowmuchleeway[mymentorteacher]isgoingtogiveme.AndIknownottosteponhertoes.Shewilldefinitelybopmebackinline.Thatisprettyevident.Shedoesn’t—Imean,shethinksthatIshouldbetheretolearnfromherandnottoinanywaytakeoverherclassroom.

Gettingboppedbackinlinecanoccurinmanywaysandcandiscouragebothstudentteachersandbeginningteachersfromviolatingtheestablishedpracticesoftheschoolsinwhichtheyteach.Sharonarticulatedthisconcernwellwhenshestatedinaninterview,“WhatIamconcernedaboutis,Ithink,thatthroughoutthissemester,beingwithmy[cooperating]teacherasopposedtobeingat[theuniversity],IjusthopethatIdon’ttotallyswitchtoherside.”Sharonherereferstoherownprecariouspositionasastudentteacher,ratherthantoherstudents’experiencesinhermentorteacher’sclassroom.Yetitwasclearfromtheresearchthatherstudentswerealsoconcernedaboutgettingboppedbackinlineshouldtheystepoutsidethelinesthatcircumscribedtheirsocialoracademicbehaviorinthisclassroom.Sharon’sconcernthatshemight“totallyswitchtoherside”reflectsacommonexperienceforbeginningteachers:thatthepressuretoabandontheuniversity’sprioritiesisgreatandthatthesocializationofnewteacherstotheschool’snormsremainsaprimaryfocusofthementoringofstudentteachersandteachersintheirfirstjobs.

Back to the Future: Returning to the Culture of Schools Withsuchpreparation,teachersthenreturntotheschoolstobegintheircareers.AsLortie(1975)observes,thetypeofpeoplewhodecidetobecometeachersoftenchooseteachingasaprofessionbecausetheyhadveryhighcomfortlevelswithauthoritarian instructionwhile students, and return to schools for their careersbecause theywish to becomepart of authoritarian institutions.Faculties, then,tendtoreproducethemselvesbyhiringpeoplewhowillperpetuatetheirvalues;andthepoolfromwhichtheydrawtheircandidatesisfilledwithpeoplewhoareinclinedtooblige.Asaresult,beginningteachersfindthemselvessurroundedbycolleagueswhoadheretothesamepracticesthattheyexperiencedasstudents.Inmanycasestheypreferhierarchicalinstructiontoprogressivepedagogiesandsoaregoodfitswithschools(Feiman-Nemser&Buchmann,1985);andevenwhentheywouldprefertakingaprogressiveorconstructivistapproachtoinstruction,theyruntheriskofgettingboppedbackinlinebytheirseniorcolleagues. Therelianceonauthoritarian,fact-orientedinstructionisfurtherreinforcedby

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externalfactors,particularlytestingmandates.Assessmentpracticesareinstitutedatavarietyoflevels,virtuallyallofwhichemphasizecontentcoverageand,ifwritingisevaluated,form-orientedwritingexpectations.AsnotedwithNCLB,suchassess-mentsarenotattentivetoprocess-orientedlearningorconstructivethinking.Andsodistrict-widetestsstressthememorizationofinformationfromthecurriculumandsuggestthatteachingshouldfocusonemphasizingthefactsthatwillappearontheseassessments(see,e.g.,Smagorinsky,Gibson,Moore,Bickmore,&Cook,2004;Smagorinsky,Lakly,&Johnson,2002).Statewritingteststypicallyrequirefittingideasintorigidformssuchasthefive-paragraphtheme,oftenregardlessofdomain,sothatevenwhenpromptscallfornarratives,thescoringrubricsevaluatethewriters’proficiencyintermsofafive-paragraphpresentation(Hillocks,2002).Suchassessmentssuggestthatteachersshouldemphasizetheproductionoftheformratherthanthegenerationofideas,anapproachcompatiblewiththegenerallyauthoritarianvaluesofschools(seeSmagorinsky,Cook,&Johnson,2003). Theinstitutionsofschoolandteachereducationprogramsthusinvokedifferent,andopposing,traditionsfortheirconceptionsofqualityinstruction.Caughtinthemidstofthistensionarebeginningteachers,whomustpleaseeducationfacultyforhighgradesyetalsosufficiently impress the schooladministratorswhoaretaskedwithhiringfacultyanddecidingwhomtoretain.Thesetensionscanmakelifemiserableforbeginningteacherswhoarealsotryingtocopewithmanyotherlifeadjustmentsinvolvedintransitioningfromthewomboftheuniversitytotheresponsibilitiesofadultlife:movingtoanewcommunity,establishingaresidence,maintainingfriendships,andsoon(seeMcCann,Johannessen,&Ricca,2005).

Discussion Weshouldperhapsnotbetoosurprisedthatteachersareconflictedastheyarecaughtamongcompetingtraditions,andbesurprisedonlythattheydoactuallyex-periencesomedegreeoftension.Asmallconsolation,yetperhapssufficientgiventhepreponderanceofexposuretheyhaveoverthecourseoftheireducationtotheteacher-andtext-centeredtraditionthatfocusesonthemasteryofwhatDixon(1975)calledtheculturalheritageperspectiveagainstwhichCollegeofEducationfacultyoftenpositionthemselves.Beginningteachersreturntoschoolsperhapspredisposedtoembraceconventionalschoolingpracticesandaresurroundedbyfacultyandad-ministratorswho,likethemselves,feltcomfortableenoughintheclimateofschoolsthattheymadeaconsciousdecisiontodedicatetheirprofessionallivestoteachinginsuchasetting.Oneofmypreserviceteachersreporteduponreturning fromajobinterview,afterhehaddescribedsomeinnovativeteachingideashehaddevelopedattheuniversity,theprincipalsaid,“Iknowtheyteachyouthatstuffupthere.Buty’allaredown herenow.”Thewonder,then,isnotthatcourseworkineducationhassuchlittlelastingimpact,butthatithasanyimpactatall. Fromacultural-historicalperspective,schoolsareresistanttochangeformany

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reasonsthatcolludetoreproducevaluesandprocessesthatareasoldasformaleducationitself.Ratherthanpointingtosinglecausesforthe“washout”effectthatoccurswheneducatorsabandontheireducationprofessors’imperativesandgravitatetoschoolnorms(Zeichner&Tabachnik,1981),educatorswhohopetocontributetochangewouldbenefitfromrecognizingthepanoplyoffactorsthatnotonlyhaveimmediateeffectsbutthatworkacrossgenerationsofeducatorstopreserveandperpetuateauthoritarianschooling.Developingaconceptionofteach-inghasbeenfoundtofollowatwistingpath(Smagorinskyetal.,2003)asteachersfindthemselvesworkingwithincompetingtraditionsandansweringtodifferentvalues in theassessmentof theirwork.Ultimately, theedificeofschoolinghasremainedlargelyintactinspiteofcritics’effortstoquestionitsessentialprocesses;andultimately,thepathofconceptdevelopmentthatteachersfollowisinevitablyformedinpartbythecontoursprovidedbyconventionalschooling.Recognizingthepowerofsuchdeeply-rootedcultureanditsstrengthinresistingeffortstochangeitmayhelpteachereducatorsunderstandthedepthsofthechallengetheyfaceinattemptingtohavealastingimpactonthepracticeofeducation.

Note1Aphotoofthisclassroom,alongwithotherclassroomsofsimilarorganization,is

availableathttp://www.infodiv.unimelb.edu.au/tss/archive/history.html;andapdfversionofCole’sarticleispostedathttp://lchc.ucsd.edu/People/MCole/humdev.pdf,wherethephotoisreproducedonp.200.

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tings.Research in the Teaching of English, 36,212-248.Applebee,A.N.(1974).Tradition and reform in the teaching of English: A history.Urbana,

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Bloome,D.,&Bailey,F.(1992).Studyinglanguageandliteracythroughevents,particular-ity,andintertextuality.InR.Beach,J.Green,M.Kamil,&T.Shanahan(Eds.), Multi-disciplinary approaches to researching language and literacy(pp.181-210).Urbana,IL:NationalCouncilofTeachersofEnglish&NationalConferenceonResearchinEnglish.

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