If you had to label me as a teacher, it would be old school. I have deep feelings in regards to the way that students should behave in order to function successfully in the classroom. When an adult or peer is talking, you should be listening, work smarter, not harder, walk in the hallway with a silent voice so we don't disturb other learners and stay organized are expectations that I am constantly saying, modeling and teaching to my students. I am positively recognizing those students who are able to function with my expectations (http://miblsi.cenmi.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=mh0c2DyoAH8%3D&tabid=2048) within the parameters that my MiBlSi school leadership team (that I am now a member of) has created and shared with other cohorts. I am also, and probably more so in fact, following up with those students that don't or can't met those expectations with research based behavior plans. So, yes, I am that teacher that will not talk until it is quiet and I am that teacher that makes kids sit quietly inside while the rest of the classes are out enjoying recess and I am that teacher that makes them toe the line.
Yet, my students soon learn that when they (finally!) meet those expectations on a consistent basis, I am not the old school teacher that they thought I was. I am the teacher that when it comes down to it-I am the one that lets them learn what ever way is best for them. If you need to stand up to learn, I am not going to force you to sit. If your reading skills are so low that you need audio readers, I am not going to make you read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by yourself. If you struggle with linguistic processing, I am not going to force you to write your ideas down-I can dictate for you. I may not be able to let you learn only what you are passionate about (please see early post) but I will try my best to provide you with additional resources and experiences so that you can be passionate about what I have to am required to expose you to.
So what am I? Old school? New school? Or, am I the best of both school worlds? Am I an Organic Montessori teacher stealthy making my way through the traditional educational system? I would have to argue that I am a traditionalist just trying to keep my head above water and lead our future society down a path of success. I am the teacher that strongly feels the class must be under control as if it is a it a Social Efficiency model (Schiro, p. 4-5) in order to help students develop a love of learning that is the basis of learning at the Marietta Johnson School of Organic Education (http://fairhopeorganicschool.com/Home_Page.html). And as much as I would love to let students develop their own passions in various units of study as Montessori schools are based on (The Montessori Foundation, 2012), I still have the 34 Common Core Standards to teach, reteach, assess and re-engage my students in over the course of one school year (and that is only Math, mind you) (Common Core Standards Initiative, 2012).
According to the professionals and executives that make up The Jobs Council (which please note that only one of them is a professor that has any experience teaching in a classroom) I need to be a teacher that "keep pace with most of our major industrial competitors who already have comprehensive, consistent standards in education" (The Jobs Council, ND Recommendations). My inner struggle with a label of myself lies within this question-how can I ask my students to function at a level correlating to a Learner Centered Ideology (Schiro, p. 5-6) if they can't function as a group and/or functioning individuals? How can I have data that shows areas of strength and improvement to parents, businesses and my staff if I can't collect that data because I can't read one on one with my students because they can't adhere to my behavior expectations? It is a constant battle not only of my inner-self, but of the society of education as a whole.
Will there ever be a settling in my mind of, "Yes! That is the kind of teacher I am!"? I hope not. I hope I continue to have my passionate beliefs, have them questioned by my peers and change with the direction to fit societies' needs. I hope to keep expecting a lot from my students behavior so that I can push them academically. And maybe I hope to find a balance so that I can handle the CCS and use them a a guide to give my students freedom to explore their passions. For now, I feel settled with that.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Introduction: You're Teaching What?
The first week of school is done. My team teacher and I would look at each other at the end of every day and both say, "When can we just get to the academics!?!" Of course the team building, routines and teaching of class and school expectations are vital to the success of the entire year. But there comes a point in time when I just want to teach. Not that we haven't been breaking our backs and teaching the entire week, but I want to give the students some knowledge that they don't already have, make their brains wrap around a new concept that challenges them and makes them ask, "Why?" I just want to teach.
But when I do finally get into the meat and the heart of what I want to teach my students (watch out, we start on Monday!), do I really get to do that? Do I have the authority to pick and chose what I want to focus on for the year? No. Simple as that. I do not have the authority to pick and choose what knowledge I want to give to my fourth graders that satisfies my opinion of what an "education" can and should be. So, who does have that authority? Good question. I'm looking for that answer too.
There used to be a time when teachers did have a choice. A veteran teacher in my school often reminisces about a time when she got to pick every topic that her students learned about in Science, Social Studies, Reading and Writing. What ever a teacher was passionate about, he/she got to teach it. Math was another story; she taught whatever was in the Math text book, but I digress, she still had choice. It all rested with her. What a novel idea! Being able to teach what one is passionate about! Isn't that what professionals who specialize in active and engaged learning preach? As educators we have a responsibility to find out what our students are passionate about and then help them question, research, dive in until they are an expert? But, we have a slight kink in the system.
Enter in parents, as proved in Nomi Stolzenberg's article, "He Drew a Circle that Shut Me Out" (Stolzenberg, 1993). Now don't get me wrong, as a parent myself, I do feel that I should have some say in what my children learn. I have my own personal beliefs in what skills I think my children should acquire by going to school. But because I am also a teacher, it gets a little complex. Yes, I want to have some say, but I also know that the perception of teachers still teaching what ever they want to is not what it seems. When teachers instruct, they may be focusing on a topic but the life-long learning skills underlying are what is not always evident to parents (or politicians for that matter, but don't even get me started on them). When parents removed their children from a class and school system because the text students were being required to read were exposing them to perspectives and attitudes that parents were not happy with, in my opinion, what the parents may not have realized is that the teachers were not focusing on a topic but how to be a better reader (Stolzenberg, 1993, p. 584). The texts being used were just a tool for learning.
Enter in the recent legislature change in Texas where they actually changed what history is being taught (McKinley, 2010). The question of who has the authority to change relies in the hands of the government (MSNBC, 2010). That is what is happening in my district and the nation as we speak. As all the states (except Texas, ironically) transition to the Common Core State Standards (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2012) we have even less say in what we teach. The group of governors, teachers and administrators who created the goals are not mandated by the federal government but are "committed to developing a long-term governance structure with leadership from governors, chief state school officers, and other state policy makers" (CCSSI, 2012). Forgive me if I am wrong, but aren't those all in some way connected to the federal government?
The one way we do have a say in what we teach is how we teach it. What instructional methods, what technology to incorporate, what ways we actively engage, etc. I was going to say by what literacy text choices we make, but that may get me in trouble with some families. This all raises the question of who does have the authority to pick what students learn. Is there a right answer? Should we solely let the teachers choose? We did in one point in time. Should we let the government, whether on a state or federal level, guide us in what expectations to have? We are right now. Has either choice been the best for the students?
I am not sure of the answer. Right now I am just going to continue to teach what I am being told to teach and I am going to instruct using the strategies that I know from experience students learn best by. May I sneak a little of my own passion into the classroom? Probably. But for now, I think I will just go back to my Core Curriculum Math guide and try to figure out what it is that they want me to teach. On Monday.
But when I do finally get into the meat and the heart of what I want to teach my students (watch out, we start on Monday!), do I really get to do that? Do I have the authority to pick and chose what I want to focus on for the year? No. Simple as that. I do not have the authority to pick and choose what knowledge I want to give to my fourth graders that satisfies my opinion of what an "education" can and should be. So, who does have that authority? Good question. I'm looking for that answer too.
There used to be a time when teachers did have a choice. A veteran teacher in my school often reminisces about a time when she got to pick every topic that her students learned about in Science, Social Studies, Reading and Writing. What ever a teacher was passionate about, he/she got to teach it. Math was another story; she taught whatever was in the Math text book, but I digress, she still had choice. It all rested with her. What a novel idea! Being able to teach what one is passionate about! Isn't that what professionals who specialize in active and engaged learning preach? As educators we have a responsibility to find out what our students are passionate about and then help them question, research, dive in until they are an expert? But, we have a slight kink in the system.
Enter in parents, as proved in Nomi Stolzenberg's article, "He Drew a Circle that Shut Me Out" (Stolzenberg, 1993). Now don't get me wrong, as a parent myself, I do feel that I should have some say in what my children learn. I have my own personal beliefs in what skills I think my children should acquire by going to school. But because I am also a teacher, it gets a little complex. Yes, I want to have some say, but I also know that the perception of teachers still teaching what ever they want to is not what it seems. When teachers instruct, they may be focusing on a topic but the life-long learning skills underlying are what is not always evident to parents (or politicians for that matter, but don't even get me started on them). When parents removed their children from a class and school system because the text students were being required to read were exposing them to perspectives and attitudes that parents were not happy with, in my opinion, what the parents may not have realized is that the teachers were not focusing on a topic but how to be a better reader (Stolzenberg, 1993, p. 584). The texts being used were just a tool for learning.
Enter in the recent legislature change in Texas where they actually changed what history is being taught (McKinley, 2010). The question of who has the authority to change relies in the hands of the government (MSNBC, 2010). That is what is happening in my district and the nation as we speak. As all the states (except Texas, ironically) transition to the Common Core State Standards (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2012) we have even less say in what we teach. The group of governors, teachers and administrators who created the goals are not mandated by the federal government but are "committed to developing a long-term governance structure with leadership from governors, chief state school officers, and other state policy makers" (CCSSI, 2012). Forgive me if I am wrong, but aren't those all in some way connected to the federal government?
The one way we do have a say in what we teach is how we teach it. What instructional methods, what technology to incorporate, what ways we actively engage, etc. I was going to say by what literacy text choices we make, but that may get me in trouble with some families. This all raises the question of who does have the authority to pick what students learn. Is there a right answer? Should we solely let the teachers choose? We did in one point in time. Should we let the government, whether on a state or federal level, guide us in what expectations to have? We are right now. Has either choice been the best for the students?
I am not sure of the answer. Right now I am just going to continue to teach what I am being told to teach and I am going to instruct using the strategies that I know from experience students learn best by. May I sneak a little of my own passion into the classroom? Probably. But for now, I think I will just go back to my Core Curriculum Math guide and try to figure out what it is that they want me to teach. On Monday.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
First of Many?
So, here we go, the first blog I have ever created and please notice that it is titled with one of the ways I ask my students to be actively engaged in my class. We will see if it works for my virtual audience as well! Hopefully my posts will have your attention and entice you to respond. Kindly, of course.
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