ABSTRACT
The teacher’s role has and will continue to evolve at a rather sharp pace as schools persevere into the next century with a variety of tensions and conflicts. There seems to be little question that norms of privacy and isolation from peers and colleagues are under siege. At the same time, teachers’ resolve to protect longstanding interests and to maintain a territorial stance on classroom decision making is pervasive and strong. Teachers are just plain unwilling to make a fundamental shift simply because a new idea sounds good. Blind acceptance of new direction and expansion in the role is not enough. Not unlike Missouri state automobile licence plates that proudly convey to the world the state’s nickname and a people’s disposition toward ‘high falutin’ proposals and ideas, teachers are saying ‘show me’.
