1999EDN Task 1 Tri 2 - 2019: Teacher Professional Freedom and Autonomy

This assignment presents a letter to the editor addressing the critical need for teacher autonomy and professional freedom in contemporary education. The letter, referencing an article by Andreas Schleicher, argues that teachers are expected to fulfill increasingly complex roles, encompassing not only instruction but also classroom management and addressing social issues. It highlights how restrictive policies and lack of autonomy can negatively impact teachers' morale, teaching effectiveness, and ultimately, student outcomes. The author emphasizes that providing teachers with the freedom to innovate, experiment with teaching methods, and tailor their approach to students' needs is essential for fostering a positive learning environment, promoting student discipline, and facilitating continuous professional development. The letter advocates for policy changes that prioritize teacher autonomy and improved financial support to enhance the quality of education and the overall development of both teachers and students. The assignment argues that a lack of autonomy and the imposition of rigid policies hinder the development of both students and teachers, leading to poor quality education, and a failure to instill important behaviors like discipline. The conclusion is that teachers need autonomy to maintain a positive classroom and for the development of students.

Running head: PROFESSIONAL FREEDOM FOR TEACHERS
PROFESSIONAL FREEDOM FOR TEACHERS
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1PROFESSIONAL FREEDOM FOR TEACHERS
Your name:
Address:
Telephone No.
Date
Letter to the editor
(XYZ newspaper)
Address:
City, State, Zip Code
Subject: Professional freedom for teachers
Dear Editor,
According to a newspaper story by Andreas Schleicher, teachers need some freedom
in their profession. Teachers are expected to be more than just mere teachers. In recent times,
they are expected to do a lot more other than providing students with the proper lessons but
also manage classrooms and look after the social issues that crop up in the classrooms like
inclusion, discrimination and many more. It can be said that teachers have a vital role in
contributing to the overall development of a student. People and the schools, colleges have
high expectations from teacher and there are new roles that are assigned and given to the
teachers to perform different tasks however, their pay is very less in comparison to the hard
work they put to prepare attractive lessons for children and also to maintain a healthy
classroom environment.

2PROFESSIONAL FREEDOM FOR TEACHERS
In recent times, countries all over the world are encouraging education of the students
and every country has come up with different policies in order to support the education in
their country for the development and the growth of the students as well as the growth of the
country. The demand of efficient and knowledgeable teaches are high who will help in
shaping up the life of a student for further development. Government and the management of
various schools and colleges are coming up with different policies that teachers have to
follow which curbs the growth and the development of both the teachers and the students.
Teachers need a sense of autonomy in their profession which they are being deprived of
because of certain rules and regulations that are being introduced by government. Teachers
play a huge role in shaping the classroom and providing quality education to their students.
There are very few countries that focus on the development of the teacher and do provide
teachers with autonomy. It has been seen that autonomy is an important factor in the
classroom settings. Teachers with autonomy have the freedom to maintain and teach the
classroom the way they want where they can experiment and also have a different approach
towards teaching and this autonomy makes the students act in a disciplined manner once they
understand this.
It has been seen that the current scenario of the education system and the schools have
take a huge toll on the mental state of the teachers. Teachers have been deprived of their
freedom to teach the way they want as there are new policies and teaching instructions that
are usually laid down on the teachers which curbs their freedom. There are many teachers
who because of this reason have been feeling lonely and are often found to be alone in the
classrooms and do not initiate any social interactions in school. Most government schools
have a slow process where the teachers are the ones who take the authority to teach the
students in their own way and not wait for the process to end. When teachers are provided
with the freedom and autonomy to maintain the classroom then development of both the

3PROFESSIONAL FREEDOM FOR TEACHERS
students and the teachers can be witnessed as it is continuous learning process. This makes
the teachers share and uses their own experience and makes use of it to share knowledge and
help the students grow in order to survive the real world as well. Financial packages can be
improved and may to some extent can be considered to be a motivational factor for the
teacher to teach in schools however it can be seen that the poorly structured and system of the
profession plays a vital role for the demotivation of the students which makes them provide
students with education of poor quality and also not participate in other activities like shaping
the thought process of the classroom, peace and inclusion in the classroom setting, Curbing
the freedom and autonomy of the teachers have poor consequences like poor quality
education, does not help the students grow and lean about other necessary behaviors that are
important to learn like discipline. This automatically decreases the development of the
students and the teachers,
Freedom and autonomy is important for the teachers for development. Certain
measures should be taken by the government and the management of the schools to ensure
the teachers have freedom and autonomy in the classroom so that they can teach in their own
way which will help in creating bright students for the future and also satisfy the minds of the
teachers that will make them happy and keep them motivated.
Sincerely,
Signature