What holds us back from doing what's needed? US. In todays education system there is an emphasis on regulation, test scores and protocol. Some teachers know the school is sinking fast but they don't want to "rock the boat' and speak out against it in an effective manner.
On the other hand (I see the problem on both sides of the coin) I get so sick of all these movies about super hero teachers who changed the mental capacity and structure of their schools. The movies give you the notion that being a renegade is easy and those of us who teach like regular people are fearful and brainless conformist. Well the truth is...it is hard to be a leader in the education system nowadays. The administration will get rid of you. They will write you up. They will outcast you and make your life hell just for trying to be innovative and creative in your classroom.
They want every teacher to teach their children the same way and they judge your performance based on state mandated exams. These exams are not even a part of the curriculum or text books they provide. I can be a super hero in the classroom. Sure, I can make a difference. I do make a difference.
A lot of times though it calls for teachers spending their own money making that difference and their own time. I work 80 hrs a week as a teacher. The resources are low. We have 120 kids on our rosters but they only provide an extra $200 a school year for supplies. The kids refuse to bring school supplies with them. They refuse to do Homework. The parents are at work. Everything is put on the teacher's shoulders. I have 10th graders who read on a 3rd grade level. I have 12th graders who don't know how to write a research paper (or even a paragraph). Yes, I can be a super hero teacher but what will they gain in the small amount of time I have them if they will not reinforce what they learn at home...with homework.
Some of my students don't even see books until they come to school. Teachers can improve their attentiveness and be more personally involved with their students...but there are 120 of them and they refuse to come to tutoring. Many kids have lives that do not support the demands education can place on ones life. You can be nice. You can be strict. You can be in between but if the motivation to learn and the importance of learning has not been instilled in them at home, you are wasting your time. The best thing we can do is train the parents to be better parents. The next thing we can do is restructure the entire education system. Get rid of the desks and get work stations. Get rid of the dry erase boards and use LCD screens and pointers that can write directly on the screen. This is 2008 and the education system and schools are still structured like they were in the 6os. If you drop a rose into a pile of horse manure to do a job don't be surprised if, after a while, the rose starts smelling like horse manure. No matter how great a teacher you are the ineffective nature and nurture of the environment in which you work will have a bigger voice.
All we can do is push on. Some teachers are doing the best they can but their test scores still stink. The morale of the students still stink. The class average still stinks. Teaching has become a frustrating endeavor with little rewards. Criticism comes from "experts" with no vested interest in the teacher. All teachers are completely different. Everyone needs individual accommodations in order to reach their full potential. Just like the students the teachers need one on one time with people who ACTUALLY care. We can all help; Teachers, Administration, Parents, Students and Community to stop the reeking of this mess we have created.
The rose smells like horse crap and whose fault is it? You be the judge.
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As a teacher, I must agree with your assessment. I too have 12th graders who have trouble writing complete sentences. My 11 University kids asked me what a soliloquy was today. They have been studying Shakespeare since grade 9, and they really weren't sure what to do. Depressing. I can only be as good as the system that supports me, and the value on education that our parents instill in our children; in my area, that ain't much. We have parents' afternoon and night coming up. The kids who really need help will NOT have parents who attend. The few parents who do show up - - maybe 10 or 11 for me out of 90 - - are just really wanting to meet me and hear my praise for their high-functioning child. This is typical, and not too surprising. In Ontario, we have a literacy test that is given to our grade 10s. The test is geared towards a 9 applied level. 50% of our kids don't pass. 50%. One of the problems that I have identified lies with the elementary and middle school policy that EVERY child advances to the next grade each year - regardless of whether they have shown moderate proficiency in our curriculum objectives. Therefore, we have students entering grade nine who have never read a novel, and have no idea how to write sentences. We have to go back and teach grade 3 skills in our classrooms. It's no wonder that the kids aren't passing the standardized test. Thanks for letting me speak on your forum.
ReplyDelete-jenn