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.
Rachel,
ReplyDeleteMy entire response did not fit, so I'll be posting two sections!
When I read your post there were many common things that resonated for me as an educator. First, I believe in the structure of schooling that it be adhered to specific behavioral expectations. Students need to behave and act appropriately to maximize any and all learning that takes place in the school environment. I have read about MIBLISI and the impact it has on positive reinforcement across schools, which effect student outcomes in school and build a positive work ethic and habits that transfer outside of school. At my new school in Kentucky, we have a similar developing plan called Stallion Stars which highlights many of the same core ideas. http://www.kenton.k12.ky.us/userfiles/886/Stallion%20Stars%20Brochure.pdf
I argue that education should collectively build and equip teachers with the tools and resources to be meet the needs of kids. Are we adequately allowing teachers time and opportunities to dive into the Common Core State Standards and unravel how these may alternatively shape and change instruction in the classroom? Are we deliberatively recruiting and keeping effective teachers in our school buildings? I agree, that my approach to instruction is based on student need and I often find myself differentiating to meet individual and diverse student need. However, struggle to cover content areas aligned specifically within the CCSS without jeopardizing and hindering my students. As I reflect after every day, I wonder if students feel the pressures from the teachers, which come from administration etc. Do they feel the fast pace and the rigor? The old kindergarten class is the new first grade. Collective standards and expectations are necessary, but are they developmentally appropriate?
My own pressures and passion keep my fire burning for all of my students. Although, I feel at times that my passion and flame for learning is constrained and snuffed to a district timeline and day-to-day prescribed lesson plans that must be followed and maintained, I remember my students. My students’ need combined with my professional beliefs, competency, and abilities drive my instruction. School is more than a place to acquire knowledge and skills. School is place that fosters student learning based activities and social endeavors. Teachers are not only transmitters. They are the facilitators and guides that create little societies, that reflect our world (Dewey ideal). Social interaction is a function pivotal in the workplace; however, when do teachers have time to model communication and guide students in what these interactions “look like?” I argue that learning happens during complex times, when answers aren’t clear, when students explore and discover, and when students have time to interact with their peers. We have reduced curriculum to a mile wide an inch deep. We are covering a multitude of concepts in a day, but at the end of the day, is this educational outcome what we want?
We are now educating children differently than we have generations ago. Students are expected to know the same thing at the same time, and at the end of each grade level. According to Robinson, we are a production line mentality and our outcome is much like the image of a factory, in batches. There are strict guidelines of implementation of the Common Core which mandates what every American child should know by grade 12, before exciting into labor forces, colleges, or skill and trade schools. This reshaping of the educational infrastructure is no small task and will take a collective group to implement these national standards. Most importantly, I believe parents need to be educated on this shift and how to support their child at school and what this implication has for their future. http://www.pta.org/common_core_state_standards.asp
DeleteThanks for sharing Rachel. I believe it is all right to be unsettled, to question, and to monitor society needs and how that affects our role in educating youth. Can we develop a system that allows several ideologies to co-exist? Can we change the paradigm across the nation? I believe we can, one teacher at a time.