The fourth (and last) quarter always seems to be the most difficult one to get through. The teachers are just as sick of school as the students, and the students know it. It's so hard to stay motivated to teach, and therefore it's so hard to stay motivated to learn. Of course, it doesn't help that May is inundated with all the standardized tests, and regular teaching seems to get pushed aside.
I know I have complained this year that my supervisors have not been in my classroom enough, which has definitely affected my motivation, but according to veteran teacher Larry Cuban, principals' managerial duties are far more effective than their classroom visits. I really enjoyed reading this article, but I'm not really sure what to say about it. Really, it speaks for itself.
Here's another article that speaks for itself. Marion Brady makes an excellent point about comparing teachers to other professions that cannot be fit in a box. I wish more people would realize and appreciate the absolute complexity and nuance that goes into teaching (and learning, for that matter), and therefore understand that it cannot necessarily be measured in a standardized way.
Speaking of which, this kid has nailed satire and is only in eighth grade. There is hope for our education system yet.
Showing posts with label teachable moments. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teachable moments. Show all posts
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
The learning never stops!
I'm trying really hard not to slack off this summer, so I'm taking a teacher-ed class that the county is offering this summer. It's a four day session (which is now half-way finished) about Media Literacy, and it has been really fascinating. The course is based around how we can implement media like TV, movies, internet, advertisements, etc. into lesson plans, and it has actually gone above and beyond my expectations.
However, despite all the good that's coming out of this course, it reminds me about the things that are wrong with education. And here they are:
1) The first element that made me rather sad was the fact that teacher materials are rather hard to get. The county purchases textbooks from a certain textbook company, like many others, and this company provides additional materials to help us teach better. Ok, makes sense. But the instructor of the Media Literacy course said that the county was going to give each teacher a supplemental DVD from this company that had things like film clips with guiding questions to make our jobs easier. Except then they didn't because these DVDs cost $300... each. Probably because of copyright and stuff, but still. That is ridiculous. I realize this textbook company is a for-profit corporation (which is sickening to me), but that is outrageous. However, what I found even more offensive was the fact that these guiding questions (the instructor gave us a preview) were pretty simplistic for the most part. The textbook company seemed quite patronizing in that regard, saying that teachers are basically interchangeable and not even all that necessary -- all we do is press play, apparently.
2) Next, I've gotten to know teachers at other schools through this course, and the way they talk about how the SOLs make their jobs more difficult is rather baffling. For instance, one woman was saying she teaches a Read 180 class, which is a highly scripted course that helps struggling readers. She is supposed to stick to the script, but today she said she had to deviate from it in order to teach simile, metaphor and personification, which are not in the script for this course, but are on the SOL. Which these students, even though they are behind their peers, still have to pass. Umm, what? How does that make any sense whatsoever? That just goes to show that standardized tests do more harm than good, and that there is something wrong with prescribed programs, especially when they are so evidently contradictory.
3) The instructor today was talking about a project she had her students do in which they had to create and discuss a metaphor they created based on a specific text. She said this was a fabulous project, because the depth of conversation and analysis the students got into was much greater than it would have been if she had provided them with a more simple question-and-answer, or even a seminar. I thought that was really awesome, but then of course my mind went to the idea of standardized tests again, and how these tests aren't really testing what students know. It was clear to this teacher how well her students understood a text, but more importantly, how honed their critical thinking skills are, yet if they were to have a standardized test on the same text, it would be difficult to judge how deeply their thoughts could go.
4) Finally (and this is not from the course), this article is so well-written, so poignant, and so in-tune about what is wrong with national education standards when it comes to children in poverty. Why is there so much wrong with this profession?
However, despite all the good that's coming out of this course, it reminds me about the things that are wrong with education. And here they are:
1) The first element that made me rather sad was the fact that teacher materials are rather hard to get. The county purchases textbooks from a certain textbook company, like many others, and this company provides additional materials to help us teach better. Ok, makes sense. But the instructor of the Media Literacy course said that the county was going to give each teacher a supplemental DVD from this company that had things like film clips with guiding questions to make our jobs easier. Except then they didn't because these DVDs cost $300... each. Probably because of copyright and stuff, but still. That is ridiculous. I realize this textbook company is a for-profit corporation (which is sickening to me), but that is outrageous. However, what I found even more offensive was the fact that these guiding questions (the instructor gave us a preview) were pretty simplistic for the most part. The textbook company seemed quite patronizing in that regard, saying that teachers are basically interchangeable and not even all that necessary -- all we do is press play, apparently.
2) Next, I've gotten to know teachers at other schools through this course, and the way they talk about how the SOLs make their jobs more difficult is rather baffling. For instance, one woman was saying she teaches a Read 180 class, which is a highly scripted course that helps struggling readers. She is supposed to stick to the script, but today she said she had to deviate from it in order to teach simile, metaphor and personification, which are not in the script for this course, but are on the SOL. Which these students, even though they are behind their peers, still have to pass. Umm, what? How does that make any sense whatsoever? That just goes to show that standardized tests do more harm than good, and that there is something wrong with prescribed programs, especially when they are so evidently contradictory.
3) The instructor today was talking about a project she had her students do in which they had to create and discuss a metaphor they created based on a specific text. She said this was a fabulous project, because the depth of conversation and analysis the students got into was much greater than it would have been if she had provided them with a more simple question-and-answer, or even a seminar. I thought that was really awesome, but then of course my mind went to the idea of standardized tests again, and how these tests aren't really testing what students know. It was clear to this teacher how well her students understood a text, but more importantly, how honed their critical thinking skills are, yet if they were to have a standardized test on the same text, it would be difficult to judge how deeply their thoughts could go.
4) Finally (and this is not from the course), this article is so well-written, so poignant, and so in-tune about what is wrong with national education standards when it comes to children in poverty. Why is there so much wrong with this profession?
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Teach to learn, learn to teach
I'm introducing The Taming of the Shrew to my sophomores, and am prepping them by focusing on the themes in the play first. Last week, one of their questions to answer was to explain how they view gender roles in a relationship, and whether or not love is necessary for marriage. During the course of reading their answers, I learned two important things.
1) Teenagers are extremely jaded about marriage. That was not terribly surprising, as at least half of them have divorced parents or have only known one parent, but it was interesting to see how they expressed these opinions.
2) I have one student who has said three words to me all year and is rarely in attendance, who is actually quite bright when he shows up, who, for this assignment, wrote something incredibly poignant. Unfortunately, I do not have his paper in front of me so I cannot cite it verbatim, but he compared a relationship to a house of cards: All pieces have to work together in a very specific way or everything will fall apart. I was floored. Most of my students don't even know what an analogy is; much less can they make one that is so appropriate and complex.
It's things like that that make me wish I could just randomly pull kids into a quiet corner and say "You're awesome." It's moments like that that make me forget about all the bad in the world.
1) Teenagers are extremely jaded about marriage. That was not terribly surprising, as at least half of them have divorced parents or have only known one parent, but it was interesting to see how they expressed these opinions.
2) I have one student who has said three words to me all year and is rarely in attendance, who is actually quite bright when he shows up, who, for this assignment, wrote something incredibly poignant. Unfortunately, I do not have his paper in front of me so I cannot cite it verbatim, but he compared a relationship to a house of cards: All pieces have to work together in a very specific way or everything will fall apart. I was floored. Most of my students don't even know what an analogy is; much less can they make one that is so appropriate and complex.
It's things like that that make me wish I could just randomly pull kids into a quiet corner and say "You're awesome." It's moments like that that make me forget about all the bad in the world.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Jon Stewart, you're my hero
I rarely watch TV, but when I do... usually my first choice is The Daily Show. Stewart's wit and interview skills are really freakin' amazing. It's too bad guys like that did not go into politics... but I digress.
Recently, Education Secretary Arne Duncan was on the show. If you missed it, here is the link. He did have some good things to say (I really loved his idea about the "wraparound" school, where it becomes a crucial community center, not just an 8-4 building), but for the most part, Stewart was ripping him a new one. It was one of the better interviews I have seen, if for no other reason than it got a professional policy maker to admit just how broken the current system is.
In other (better) news, I have a student in my first period who always brings his guitar with him to class. He almost always arrives early and starts to play a song while others are shuffling in. It's a great start to the day, and today he played "I Will Follow You Into The Dark" by Death Cab For Cutie. We had a really nice conversation about it before the bell rang. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay creativity!
Recently, Education Secretary Arne Duncan was on the show. If you missed it, here is the link. He did have some good things to say (I really loved his idea about the "wraparound" school, where it becomes a crucial community center, not just an 8-4 building), but for the most part, Stewart was ripping him a new one. It was one of the better interviews I have seen, if for no other reason than it got a professional policy maker to admit just how broken the current system is.
In other (better) news, I have a student in my first period who always brings his guitar with him to class. He almost always arrives early and starts to play a song while others are shuffling in. It's a great start to the day, and today he played "I Will Follow You Into The Dark" by Death Cab For Cutie. We had a really nice conversation about it before the bell rang. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay creativity!
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Change of Pace
This week was surprisingly low-key. I gave an end of unit test to my sophomores, and they were actually quiet for (almost) the entire class. I have to give it to them-- it's difficult to be quiet and patient for an hour and a half. Classes really should not be that long. But I was pleased and somewhat impressed that they managed to hold it (mostly) together and get their work done. Also, I am still figuring out how long it actually takes kids to finish things, and how difficult they really are. Apparently the test was way harder and took way longer than I envisioned. Oopsies.
Anyway, here are more articles by the same two fabulous women I always praise. The first, by VS, discusses the ridiculous policies being enacted in DC public schools, even though they completely ignore facts and statistics. Ummmm, k. The second, also by VS, tells a rather depressing story about the College Board deliberately discriminating against a nearly blind student. I've always despised the College Board for their capitalistic, standardized ridiculousness, but this is just disgusting. And finally, this last article, by DR, continues to reiterate the folly of NCLB. She says it perfectly here: "The federal government does not know how to reform schools. Period. Congress doesn’t, and the U.S. Department of Education doesn’t." Amen, sistah!
Anyway, here are more articles by the same two fabulous women I always praise. The first, by VS, discusses the ridiculous policies being enacted in DC public schools, even though they completely ignore facts and statistics. Ummmm, k. The second, also by VS, tells a rather depressing story about the College Board deliberately discriminating against a nearly blind student. I've always despised the College Board for their capitalistic, standardized ridiculousness, but this is just disgusting. And finally, this last article, by DR, continues to reiterate the folly of NCLB. She says it perfectly here: "The federal government does not know how to reform schools. Period. Congress doesn’t, and the U.S. Department of Education doesn’t." Amen, sistah!
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Like zombies, the arts are aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive!
Braaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaains.
That's what the arts replenish (and that's where the zombie metaphor ends).
In the past few days, I have been fortunate to sub for a variety of arts teachers-- on Friday I taught chorus for two periods, yesterday taught art for three, and this morning did about 30 minutes of orchestra. The kids in these classes seem genuinely curious and hard-working (with the exception of the orchestra class today, but that's because we were reading some music history). That's not to suggest, though, that students not involved in art are less curious or hard-working, but these qualities certainly seem necessary to take arts classes, whereas they are just "nice to have" in core classes. However, I did think it was interesting that in the art class yesterday, I had to push the kids to think abstractly. Granted, they are just 11-13, but they were really struggling to break out of their literal mindsets. Just another drawback of traditional education, I suppose.
But teaching art classes is fun! Even when I barely know anything about it. (Although I was able to play the melody on the piano during chorus, poorly, but that's what I get for sight-reading.) Hooray!
That's what the arts replenish (and that's where the zombie metaphor ends).
In the past few days, I have been fortunate to sub for a variety of arts teachers-- on Friday I taught chorus for two periods, yesterday taught art for three, and this morning did about 30 minutes of orchestra. The kids in these classes seem genuinely curious and hard-working (with the exception of the orchestra class today, but that's because we were reading some music history). That's not to suggest, though, that students not involved in art are less curious or hard-working, but these qualities certainly seem necessary to take arts classes, whereas they are just "nice to have" in core classes. However, I did think it was interesting that in the art class yesterday, I had to push the kids to think abstractly. Granted, they are just 11-13, but they were really struggling to break out of their literal mindsets. Just another drawback of traditional education, I suppose.
But teaching art classes is fun! Even when I barely know anything about it. (Although I was able to play the melody on the piano during chorus, poorly, but that's what I get for sight-reading.) Hooray!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
I saw something amazing today.
For the second half of class, the ESL students I'm now helping with went to the library to read and check out books. Occasionally there is a blind woman who comes to the library with her guide dog (I'm not sure if she was a volunteer, friend of the librarian, or what). Today, one of the ESL students and the blind woman were reading together. The student was reading a beginner's book and the blind woman had the same copy with braille below. She was helping the student with pronunciation, and the student was making the words come alive for the blind woman. It was really amazing. I wish schools could do more community service of that nature.
Also, four day weekend FTW.
Also, four day weekend FTW.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Speaking v. Writing
Of the essays I've perused while looking over students' shoulders, a fair number of them are of quality but need work, but almost all of them are downright terrible. Why can't kids write? I find it especially interesting that these kids, when given the chance, are extremely articulate when they speak. I know that some of them have learning disabilities that hinder their writing skills, but that is not the case with most of them. I was working with several students this past week who could not write down a coherent sentence, yet when I asked them to explain to me what they mean, they were able to express it perfectly. I realize these are two completely different skill sets, but I will never understand why what's in a student's brain gets all jumbled up when s/he tries to write down his/her thoughts. And while I'm sure it's possible to teach this skill, I do not know how to do it. Often I find that when I talk it out with the students, they are able to take what they told me and write it down on paper, with much prompting from me. I think if I better understood how the brain worked, it would be easier for me to help students who literally cannot write a coherent sentence to save their lives.
Also, I am constantly fascinated with how many little tiny moments of which our lives are made up. There is one student in the 7th grade reading class before lunch I have again in an English class after lunch, and it was like he was a completely different person in each period. In reading, he was one of the only students on task, asking questions, and being polite, yet in English he kept his head down the whole time, and it was only after the students had been working on their tests for 10 minutes that I noticed he hadn't even started, and only did so with prompting from me. Same thing when he finished his test and had to finish his packet. He was quiet and did his work once he was asked, but was nowhere near his usual, enthusiastic self. It was actually quite disturbing how much his personality changed in English. I'm thinking something happened during lunch. I know this kid has emotional problems and a pretty terrible family life, but because he does not have an IEP, no one at school can really do anything about it. That sucks, but that's the truth.
Which leads me to yet another educational oped. In case you haven't guessed yet, I heart progressive educational reform. This one is fantastic, and I agree with everything said. We really need to get on this.
Also, I am constantly fascinated with how many little tiny moments of which our lives are made up. There is one student in the 7th grade reading class before lunch I have again in an English class after lunch, and it was like he was a completely different person in each period. In reading, he was one of the only students on task, asking questions, and being polite, yet in English he kept his head down the whole time, and it was only after the students had been working on their tests for 10 minutes that I noticed he hadn't even started, and only did so with prompting from me. Same thing when he finished his test and had to finish his packet. He was quiet and did his work once he was asked, but was nowhere near his usual, enthusiastic self. It was actually quite disturbing how much his personality changed in English. I'm thinking something happened during lunch. I know this kid has emotional problems and a pretty terrible family life, but because he does not have an IEP, no one at school can really do anything about it. That sucks, but that's the truth.
Which leads me to yet another educational oped. In case you haven't guessed yet, I heart progressive educational reform. This one is fantastic, and I agree with everything said. We really need to get on this.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Teachable Moments
...are sometimes difficult to find. Especially when one is subbing for an aide, and not a regular classroom teacher. But the other day, I happened upon one. I love it when those happen. They are so rare, so individual, so heart-warming, that they make everything worth it.
On the day in question, I was in the last period of the day, helping Mr. S.'s students read particularly difficult stories in various groups. One group of fairly high ability students had the entire version of Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." One girl stated she didn't understand anything that was going on. So we went through it together slowly, word by word, and she followed my finger with her eyes and looked into my own as I painstakingly explained what each word in the passage meant and what was going on in the story as a whole. She asked questions and genuinely wanted to understand. We get toward the end of the story and I ask her if she can translate one particular sentence. She says she can't, so I slowly explain it again, then say something like "Essentially, Ichabod dies." "He dies!?" she exclaims, "Cool!" I was going to go on, but then Mr. S. asked for the class' attention, so I briefly said to her, "You understand?" and she nodded so I quickly nodded back then relinquished my attention to the front of the room.
So maybe she still doesn't have a grasp on the archaic language. Maybe she isn't ready for independent learning. Maybe she only gets the basic gist of the story. But the point is that she understood my explanation, but even more than that, she really wanted to learn. She was invested in her own education. THAT, fellow students, is what teaching is all about. It made me feel so good that my own efforts were, at least for those brief moments, worth while.
On the day in question, I was in the last period of the day, helping Mr. S.'s students read particularly difficult stories in various groups. One group of fairly high ability students had the entire version of Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." One girl stated she didn't understand anything that was going on. So we went through it together slowly, word by word, and she followed my finger with her eyes and looked into my own as I painstakingly explained what each word in the passage meant and what was going on in the story as a whole. She asked questions and genuinely wanted to understand. We get toward the end of the story and I ask her if she can translate one particular sentence. She says she can't, so I slowly explain it again, then say something like "Essentially, Ichabod dies." "He dies!?" she exclaims, "Cool!" I was going to go on, but then Mr. S. asked for the class' attention, so I briefly said to her, "You understand?" and she nodded so I quickly nodded back then relinquished my attention to the front of the room.
So maybe she still doesn't have a grasp on the archaic language. Maybe she isn't ready for independent learning. Maybe she only gets the basic gist of the story. But the point is that she understood my explanation, but even more than that, she really wanted to learn. She was invested in her own education. THAT, fellow students, is what teaching is all about. It made me feel so good that my own efforts were, at least for those brief moments, worth while.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Happy Students
Slacking off again. Oh well.
This has been an interesting week. Yesterday was no exception. First of all, my first period is a class of self-contained math students. I don't have access to their exact IEP's (individual educational plans, used for special ed kids) but my guess is most of them have ADD due to their inabilities to focus. Today they took a quiz that took about 10 minutes, and during the rest of class I graded them quickly. They asked to see their grades on the quizzes afterward (mind you, these are kids who are excited with their C's for the quarter grade), and I showed one boy, who was so unbelievably excited when I showed him he got 35/36. His smile was so gigantic and his "For real!?" statement was incredulous. This is a kid who's been driving me crazy from day one, but that smile wiped every annoying instance away. THAT is teaching.
It was also Career Day today for the seventh graders, which meant I had one extra period off, which was nice. Then the two eighth grade teachers combined their classes so the students could meet a Secret Service Agent. They asked her questions that would (hopefully) help them write their next paper. They were really interested in what she had to say. It was pretty cool. I saw the speaker again during the last period. It was quite the way to end a Friday and the week as a whole.
This has been an interesting week. Yesterday was no exception. First of all, my first period is a class of self-contained math students. I don't have access to their exact IEP's (individual educational plans, used for special ed kids) but my guess is most of them have ADD due to their inabilities to focus. Today they took a quiz that took about 10 minutes, and during the rest of class I graded them quickly. They asked to see their grades on the quizzes afterward (mind you, these are kids who are excited with their C's for the quarter grade), and I showed one boy, who was so unbelievably excited when I showed him he got 35/36. His smile was so gigantic and his "For real!?" statement was incredulous. This is a kid who's been driving me crazy from day one, but that smile wiped every annoying instance away. THAT is teaching.
It was also Career Day today for the seventh graders, which meant I had one extra period off, which was nice. Then the two eighth grade teachers combined their classes so the students could meet a Secret Service Agent. They asked her questions that would (hopefully) help them write their next paper. They were really interested in what she had to say. It was pretty cool. I saw the speaker again during the last period. It was quite the way to end a Friday and the week as a whole.
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