Over 20 years ago, an author and educational researcher named Robert Marzano published a book that highlighted the factors that had a positive impact on learning. It drew conclusions from meta-analyses of research projects and among the ‘school-level’ factors, including resources, leadership, governance, buildings, curriculum, etc., he found that the quality of the teacher was the number one factor impacting the degree to which a child learns.
My guess is that most parents reading this are saying to themselves, “That’s research?!” It is obvious to the point of absurdity. Any parent or child could have told us this instinctively. You can have a weak curriculum, an old worn-down classroom, and inadequate resources, but an outstanding teacher will still find a way to connect with students and make learning happen.
Teachers are magical.
Asking Heads of School around the world what it is that they consider to be their most important job and a high number of them will reply that it is hiring, nurturing, and if necessary, removing the right people. Unlike many corporate organizations, schools don’t outsource hiring to HR. The Head of School (equivalent to the COE) is closely involved in hiring decisions, alongside the Principals and other school leaders, even in relatively large schools. Many CEOs in the corporate world would question why a Head of School, who may be managing multi-million dollar budgets and have high levels of strategic responsibility, would spend time recruiting ‘front-facing staff on the ground floor’.
The reason is simple. It is because the impact that each individual staff member has on each individual child is so much bigger than that direct impact in almost any other profession. A good teacher can produce learning gains multiple times that of a poor teacher, and a child who has a poor teacher over consecutive years can have their learning impaired to the degree that it can become difficult to catch up. The impact that a teacher has on a child is immeasurable. So getting the right teachers is something that almost every Head of School in the world will tell you is just about the most important thing we do for student learning.
But finding the ‘right teachers’ is not easy. We are dealing with the science of learning – but it is an inexact science. Yes, the neuroscience available to us makes teaching a far more precise and research-driven pursuit today than when I went to school, yet some things never change. Learners are still unique individuals, accessing the world in their own way and shaped by their own contexts, emotions, and neural networks. Teaching math is not the same as explaining math. Teachers who teach need to connect, and connection is a human endeavor that is innately very complex. Teaching is, to quote Marzano, both an Art and a Science.
January is a key recruitment month for schools, especially for international schools. It is the time when Heads of School go out into the world to look for those unique individuals who understand both the art and science of teaching. These are the individuals we know will have a positive impact on the students in our classroom. More than that, we need to find people who are aligned with our vision and values – people who want to cultivate a spirit of inquiry and work in an inclusive community context, contribute to sports and activities, and believe in and know how to lead service learning and action. In short, people that will know how to live and breathe the NIS mission.
Finding such people is difficult. NIS is a special place and needs special people, and even if you find those people, how do you know they will want to come – NIS, Nagoya, Japan – it all needs to be the right fit not only for them but for their family and life circumstances. And how can we ensure that they will stay? Of course, we want our teachers to stay a long time, yet the reality is that most of the teachers seeking work internationally have an average of 3-4 years or less in each of their schools, and so transience, not permanence, is the norm.
NIS teachers are recruited from all around the world, both online and in face-to-face recruitment events held in Europe, Asia, Australasia, and North America. We search for the people who will inquire, inspire, and have an impact on and with our students. We search for people who know the science of teaching and can engage learners in irresistible learning yet we also search for people who will include all voices in the classroom and foster belonging. We talk to their references in their current and former schools to try to understand who they are as educators. We explore all facets of their move to make sure – as much as we can – that they will be happy in their move to NIS.
When I am recruiting teachers for NIS I am often asked by candidates why I have been at the school for so long. There are, of course, many reasons. I love the colleagues I work with and I have the support of an incredibly committed volunteer board of directors and trustees. Our students are amazing and our families create a very special community. But most of all, I have stayed because my kids have had – and continue to have – great teachers. And when our alumni come back to visit, the first thing they ask is to see the teachers they remember who had such an impact on them. Being a teacher is special, and indeed, it is a special honor to play a role in the lives of so many students.
And at NIS we know how important it is to honor this and make sure that each and every learner is in classrooms filled with teachers who will nurture our ability to deliver on the promise of our mission and inquire, inspire, and impact!