BY: Beanie Geoghegan
Last month, as over 400 teachers from 48 states convened in Washington, D.C. for the 3rd Annual Teacher Freedom Summit, several of us from the Freedom In Education team were honored to be present to share and learn with them. We have attended quite a few teacher conferences, some of us as teachers ourselves, and can confidently say that this one was unique and extraordinary.
Clearly, one objective of the conference was to elevate the teaching profession to the level of respect it deserves. The teachers in attendance weren’t greeted with hip-hop music and free stress balls. Instead, they were met with opportunities throughout the conference to hear from other knowledgeable educators, legal experts, policymakers, and education reform advocates about solutions to the myriad problems in K-12 education.
One teacher stopped by our table and said, “This is the first time I’ve felt respected in years. My own district does not treat me with this level of professionalism.” Another teacher actually cried when describing how supported she felt. This conference didn’t equip them with meaningless platitudes and plastic trinkets like some we’ve attended. It equipped them with practical tips and useful tools teachers can use in their classrooms this school year.
Freedom In Education was proud to present some of the solutions we’ve discovered or created over the past couple of years. Our team members led packed sessions on ways parents and teachers can work together to ensure student success, how the research behind how students learn should impact the way teachers teach, and math and science standards that are clear, concise, and content-focused.
In the session, “Building Better Relationships with Parents”, Miranda Stovall, a mother of four and co-founder of Freedom In Education, presented the parent perspective aside Julie Collier, a seasoned educator, who represented the teacher perspective. They highlighted ways parents and teachers can collaborate to help students succeed. Each shared specific things parents and teachers can do to ensure good communication, clear expectations, and respect for the roles, responsibilities, and challenges of each.
Miranda stated that she was “encouraged by the number of teachers who participated and contributed to the conversations. The discussions were very positive and honest. Several teachers even stayed after each session to continue sharing their thoughts.” Knowing the roles and where those roles intersect is a conversation that is truly needed in today’s education system.
Beanie Geoghegan, a former teacher and co-founder of Freedom In Education, shared the research on “how learning happens” to illustrate the need for teachers to use explicit instruction in their classrooms. Citing the work of education researchers such as Paul Kirschner and Carl Hendrick, she explained the limits of Working Memory and how information gets “locked into” Long Term Memory through the tenets of explicit instruction.
Her presentation also highlighted a recent book on explicit instruction, Just Tell Them by Dr. Zach Groshell. Every teacher who attended the conference received a copy of the book, so as a follow-up to her presentation, she hosted a virtual book discussion. The feedback from teachers was very positive. One first-year teacher in attendance said he felt confident and equipped to get started thanks to the information he learned from the session and the book.
Our science and math standards were the focus of the sessions led by Nathan Gwinn, a former teacher, current administrator, and the K-12 Project Lead for Freedom In Education. It’s no secret that American students have been lagging behind in math and science for several decades. At least part of that is due to vague, skills-focused, and politicized standards in those areas. Since the mission of our organization is to seek out or create solutions rather than just complain about the problems, we gathered educators and industry experts and drafted the Franklin Science Standards and Archimedes Math Standards.
During his presentation, Gwinn drew an audible gasp from the educators in the room when he posted a current standard used in most states. That was followed by a collective sigh of relief when he shared our version of that standard. It was clear, concise, and easy to understand. Teachers are busy, and they have a lot on their plates. They shouldn’t need to spend hours deciphering what a standard requires them to teach. If it is clear to them what they are supposed to teach, it will be clear to their students what they are supposed to learn.
In the time between sessions, our team had the opportunity to listen to teachers who shared their concerns and ideas for solutions. Many of them expressed their gratitude for Freedom In Education’s positive and practical focus. Of course, we took the opportunity to invite teachers to join our Teacher Coalition so they can provide ongoing ideas to help restore excellence to K-12 education in America.
Freedom In Education is grateful to the Teacher Freedom Alliance for hosting such a splendid and professional conference for the hundreds of teachers who attended and for inviting organizations like ours to be a part of it. We look forward to ongoing conversations with the educators and education advocates we met during our time there. We also look forward to the positive impact this conference will have on the K-12 education community.
We’re deeply grateful to those whose support allows us to be in rooms like this—listening, learning, and sharing real solutions with the educators who need them most. Your partnership makes this work possible, and its impact is growing every day.
