The Thing About Imposter Syndrome in Education

I have been lucky to have been surrounded by incredible talent throughout my two decade career as a teacher. The teachers I know have a skill level worthy of awards. The work they do every day in their classroom is incredible and truly changes lives. Despite this truth, one thing that continues to strike me as odd is the persistent presence in educators of what some might call Imposter Syndrome, the internal belief that despite evidence of success, one maybe really isn't truly successful. It is defined as the persistent inability to believe that one's success is deserved or has been legitimately achieved as a result of one's own efforts or skills.  This false belief runs rampant in educations and is a symptom of a society that demands expertise in the field but refuses to treat the professionals as the experts.

No matter how successful, knowledgeable or acclaimed a teacher is, society continues to paint the opposite picture. If it isn't being done blatantly in the press, even implicitly painting teachers as lesser than, not capable of the intellectual prowess needed to make the right type of decisions to ensure student success is damaging to the entire system. Teachers constantly are painted as being weak minded. The trust in decision making is taken away from them and more often than not, the media and journalists suggest important decisions should be "left in the hands of experts."

Are teachers somehow not the experts?

There have been several articles and podcasts out in the last few years that bring up valid concerns with curriculum, but then quickly point the finger in the wrong direction, at teachers. Even if it is not blatant, any undertone that suggests teacher's are not capable of spotting curriculum that isn't worthy of being in schools perpetuates the belief that teacher's are not experts in their field.  However, not only are teachers the true experts in education, the key to solving the most complex issues faced in our school systems can be found by simply trusting them and involving them in important conversations.

The truth is, teachers have and continue to sound the alarm about curriculum that isn't up to par. We wave red flags begging for anyone in power to listen and instead are silenced. We are told to teach with strict fidelity because someone who has probably never stepped foot into a classroom claims the curriculum will ensure success. Those of us that are brave enough (or have supportive districts) are given room to apply our expertise, our art, our knowledge to the curriculum and students thrive because of it. Others are left floundering under the heavy weight of a boxed curriculum that could never live up to its claims of being aligned to evidence, because it never was. No program can be or will be perfect but some are so deeply flawed they never should have been on the market. Instead of allowing teachers to take part in these conversations, the continual silencing of the true experts in the field, the teachers, has lead to legislators and big corporations making sweeping decisions that are in the best interest of no one but themselves.

The district or school that allows room for teacher voice and discretion is becoming increasingly  rare. And far more often teachers are bludgeoned with the belief they are lesser than. In the eyes of the loudest in our society, they are not the experts. Their years of experience, their masters degrees, their doctorate degrees mean nothing. They and only they are at fault when a company Sells a Story and millions are spent on something they truly had no say in. When teachers bring up that they tried to say something, they tried to sound the alarm about (insert any failed initiative over the last several decades) they are hushed or worse, bullied into silence.

The best of the best are leaving and finding jobs where they are treated with respect, as professionals. They are finding the Imposter Syndrome they were weighed down with was a weight put on them by society. And with that weight taken off, they are allowed to thrive in their workplace knowing that they are capable, they are intelligent, and they are worthy.

We are losing teachers at an unprecedented fast pace. The teachers we need in schools, the experts among us are fed up. They are leaving. They are tired of being treated as lesser than. They are tired of feeling defeated. They are tired of feeling Imposter Syndrome imposed on them by a society that refuses to acknowledge teachers for the true experts in the field that they are.