There are many things that kids can't say.
They can't say cuss words. They can't say rude words. The list goes on and on and on.
There are many things they can't do.
They can't play. They can't throw things. They can't get out of their seats.
It's hard because as a teacher I begin to realize how much our kids can't do. Really and truly, school can be a restrictive place. Granted, a lot of things they can't do are either inappropriate, rude, or just straight up disrespectful - so they shouldn't even be trying to do them in the first place. But, it's a lot of "no's"- no matter what you try and do and no matter how progressive a teacher is.
One thing that I have started doing is telling the kids that "you can't say 'you can't play." This simply means that when we're playing games; either in the gym, on the playground, or in the classroom - you cannot tell another student that they can't play with you.
The kids whine a lot about this rule - but as I found out today, it's INCREDIBLY effective.
I have a student, lets call him Frank. Frank is really socially awkward. The kids constantly tease him and pick on him - and a lot of times he does bring it on himself (though bullying is never acceptable) We work really hard as a staff to find ways to make Frank's life easier, because the other kids can make it pretty difficult.
Don't get me wrong, he's a great kid. He just prefers talking to teachers instead of his peers (which I would too, if kids were that mean to me all the time.) He prefers computers to people, etc. etc. He clearly stands out (which I kind of love him for.)
It's a constant battle in the classroom, trying to catch all of the bullying that goes on. Trying to ensure that Frank is safe and happy.
When we go out to recess, Frank won't play with the kids- he'll talk to teachers or just wander about by himself.
Because of all the state testing stuff going on, we had an extra recess today. Frank was talking to me about computers (he was mislead into believing I know anything about them, since I used to be his computer teacher.) We talked about hard drives and cd-roms and the internet. He told me about his blog and the radio station he helps out at (which I've heard about many, many times) and a lot of other things that are interesting to this socially awkward 5th grader.
Finally I had to say "Frank, go play."
He looked at me sadly and just away, knowing that the kids wouldn't let him play.
I had JUST reminded a student of our rule "you can't say you can't play." I was hoping Frank would remember this.
So, he timidly goes up to a student and says "can I play?"
The student pauses. Gives me a quick sideways glance and realizes that I'm watching. He says "well. fine"
All the kids stop. They all stare.
Well, that's an overstatement. But, naturally Frank would pick the toughest kid of the bunch so it was a pretty big shock that Frank was allowed to play. Thankfully, I was within hearing distance of the conversation so the student realized that he had to let him play.
I suddenly became worried that Frank would be "allowed to play", but in actuality wouldn't be. Kids can be mean like that.
Within 2 minutes he's running, laughing, taunting, and yelling like the rest of the kids. Kids were grabbing him and trying to get him to run with them to get out of harms way. They were laughing and playing.
No one was teasing or bullying.
At one point a student said that he had tagged Frank, which I saw that he clearly did not. Another student (who is actually one of Frank's biggest enemies in the class) stood up for Frank, simply said "no you didn't" and grabbed frank and devised a get away plan.
It was one of my proudest moments as a teacher.
Screw test scores. Screw all of that. If nothing else, I want my kids to learn how to be human beings. How to function in society.
Even if it was just a small moment, this small moment showed how important play is. That kids learn to get along when they play - they learn to see past the awkardness of 5th grade and just embrace on another and play.
I couldn't help but wonder about the fact that maybe if we let our kids play more - they would be more open to one another. That if we let them play more, they might begin to see that we're all just people, yes we're different - but in the end we all just don't want to be the person who's "it" at the end of the game.
Maybe I'm being too simplistic - wouldn't be the first time. But, I have to believe that when kids are given the chance to play together, they are given the chance to become friends. Yes, group projects are great. But kids are so different when they play. And when I say play, I don't mean educational games. I mean those real opportunities to let loose and be kids.
Regardless, this was a big moment in our class. It's moments like this that get you through the moments that are awful. And it's moments like this that remind us that behind the attitude, behind the test scores, and behind that devilish grin; there is still a young child who just wants to play.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
We're all in this... together?
Alright, so after a long day of teaching, I have manymanymanymany more thoughts on all the education talk going on right now.
First off.
After all the hullaballoo surrounding Unions lately, it's interesting to see what's happening with the unions in WI. I am the first to admit that I don't entirely believe in Unions (in all respects.) I will say that I do think that in a way, they can hamper change in education. They can make it harder to do any real overhaul in schools. Etc. etc. etc.
There are plenty of documentaries circulating now about the wonder of charter schools and the horrors of public schools. These same films also tell us that (for the most part) unions are to blame. That because of unions, education has become stagnant. We can't move forward and change the system, instead we're stuck as we are.
I feel like education is becoming similar to the "what causes cancer phenomenon" - where it has gotten to the point that everything causes and prevents cancer.
In education, people are SO quick to blame everything. The teachers are to blame. No - the kids are to blame. No, the lack of funds are to blame. No - now we're back at the teachers. No one can settle on one thing because it's not just one thing.
The fact remains, education changes daily. As I've talked about before...
That being said.
While everything changes, people typically do not remember what education is all about. The students. That through all of the budget cuts, the long hours, and blood/sweat/and tears the go into education - the students are why we do it.
What they fail to realize is that no matter what they take away we will still be here, plugging away, because it's what we believe in. It's what we as teachers believe at our cores - that no matter what happens, children have to learn.
When our government looks at education - they see test scores. They see funding per child. They don't see the children. They forget about us teachers, working 12+ hours every single day, without the necessary resources, without the recognition, and without the pay to match the work we put in.
However, it IS the unions that are there.
**Note : I currently have no union, which I'll talk about in a moment...
Unions are there to make sure that we aren't working past our contract hours (which we do...) but they make sure that we have planning time, that we have professional development, that we are treated fairly.
Now that I do not have a union, I can vouch for their importance. Schools want to work in the most efficient way possible. This means that even when we're supposed to have a full day for teacher workday and planning; if we can do a training them we should! This is what's best monetarily for a school. However, it is not what is best for the staff. Normally, unions are there to stop this. However, without one, we frequently lose our planning times (which are SACRED) because we have to do lunch duty, we have to do some training, etc. Instead of fitting it around OUR work time, we have to push back our work in order to accommodate the needs of the principal.
There are reasons that being in a charter school is lovely, don't get me wrong. BUT. Teacher's rights are rarely heard.
We are frequently ignored. Our funding is cut and then we are blamed when our students can't perform.
It might not be a perfect system. But. At least with unions we have someone out there standing up for teachers as a whole.
In conclusion.
Keep fighting Madison. I'm there in spirit :-)
First off.
After all the hullaballoo surrounding Unions lately, it's interesting to see what's happening with the unions in WI. I am the first to admit that I don't entirely believe in Unions (in all respects.) I will say that I do think that in a way, they can hamper change in education. They can make it harder to do any real overhaul in schools. Etc. etc. etc.
There are plenty of documentaries circulating now about the wonder of charter schools and the horrors of public schools. These same films also tell us that (for the most part) unions are to blame. That because of unions, education has become stagnant. We can't move forward and change the system, instead we're stuck as we are.
I feel like education is becoming similar to the "what causes cancer phenomenon" - where it has gotten to the point that everything causes and prevents cancer.
In education, people are SO quick to blame everything. The teachers are to blame. No - the kids are to blame. No, the lack of funds are to blame. No - now we're back at the teachers. No one can settle on one thing because it's not just one thing.
The fact remains, education changes daily. As I've talked about before...
That being said.
While everything changes, people typically do not remember what education is all about. The students. That through all of the budget cuts, the long hours, and blood/sweat/and tears the go into education - the students are why we do it.
What they fail to realize is that no matter what they take away we will still be here, plugging away, because it's what we believe in. It's what we as teachers believe at our cores - that no matter what happens, children have to learn.
When our government looks at education - they see test scores. They see funding per child. They don't see the children. They forget about us teachers, working 12+ hours every single day, without the necessary resources, without the recognition, and without the pay to match the work we put in.
However, it IS the unions that are there.
**Note : I currently have no union, which I'll talk about in a moment...
Unions are there to make sure that we aren't working past our contract hours (which we do...) but they make sure that we have planning time, that we have professional development, that we are treated fairly.
Now that I do not have a union, I can vouch for their importance. Schools want to work in the most efficient way possible. This means that even when we're supposed to have a full day for teacher workday and planning; if we can do a training them we should! This is what's best monetarily for a school. However, it is not what is best for the staff. Normally, unions are there to stop this. However, without one, we frequently lose our planning times (which are SACRED) because we have to do lunch duty, we have to do some training, etc. Instead of fitting it around OUR work time, we have to push back our work in order to accommodate the needs of the principal.
There are reasons that being in a charter school is lovely, don't get me wrong. BUT. Teacher's rights are rarely heard.
We are frequently ignored. Our funding is cut and then we are blamed when our students can't perform.
It might not be a perfect system. But. At least with unions we have someone out there standing up for teachers as a whole.
In conclusion.
Keep fighting Madison. I'm there in spirit :-)
Sad day
It seems that all we see in the news now are the cuts that are being made to education on all levels. Preschool, K-12, higher education.
Many of you reading this right now are either in Wisco, or very near to Wisconsin. For those of you who aren't, the Madison Metropolitan School District is closed today because so many teachers are out protesting Gov. Walkers' newest budget proposal, which involves essentially doing away with collective bargaining for teachers (look it up online, thousands of people have gathered at the capitol in Madison to protest, the pictures and testimonies have reduced me to tears)
We just found out that our school is lhaving an extra 7.5% of funding cut for next year. Which means we'll have to have even bigger classes, with less supplies, just to try and squeeze out as much money as we can. This also means we will probably not get any kind of a raise between this year and next.
The only thing that I want to know is when will the government finally start to see that cuts in education are not going to help! It might help immediately, but what are we going to do when we have an even LESS educated public than we do now?
When will they realize that they are NOT balancing a budget, but rather they are taking what should be the most basic human right - a decent education.
I just was so overwhelmed with frustration and outrage that I needed to say this.
Many of you reading this right now are either in Wisco, or very near to Wisconsin. For those of you who aren't, the Madison Metropolitan School District is closed today because so many teachers are out protesting Gov. Walkers' newest budget proposal, which involves essentially doing away with collective bargaining for teachers (look it up online, thousands of people have gathered at the capitol in Madison to protest, the pictures and testimonies have reduced me to tears)
We just found out that our school is lhaving an extra 7.5% of funding cut for next year. Which means we'll have to have even bigger classes, with less supplies, just to try and squeeze out as much money as we can. This also means we will probably not get any kind of a raise between this year and next.
The only thing that I want to know is when will the government finally start to see that cuts in education are not going to help! It might help immediately, but what are we going to do when we have an even LESS educated public than we do now?
When will they realize that they are NOT balancing a budget, but rather they are taking what should be the most basic human right - a decent education.
I just was so overwhelmed with frustration and outrage that I needed to say this.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Ch-ch-change it up!
**cute moment of the day... we have a new student in our class, one of my more.. boisterous students marches in the room and DEMANDS to know her name. She quietly says her name, to which the loud student says "hm. ok. I can already tell we're going to be best friends." Quiet new girl then says (under her breath) "we'll see about thaaaat" Boisterous student overhears this and says "WOW we really will if you can answer me like that!" and happily goes over and falls into a deep discussion with quiet new student about the book they're both reading.
It's really funny if you know the kids. I promise. Either way, it was just such a sweet moment when kids (who aren't always too nice) were totally funny and nice with one another. These two turned out to be attached at the hip (who knew.)
This title was inspired by one of my little darlings. And, by little darlings I actually mean the student who I sometimes have nightmares about. Nightmares in which they find me during the weekends and try to drive me even more crazy than they already do, and others along this same vein.
Anyways, oday was Day Numero Uno of "Literacy Centers" for both of my classes. For those unsure as to what this means, it's just where you do the whole rotating around the room thing. At one table/center, the students read with me, at another they work on their writing, etc. etc. We have 5 total centers.
As we were getting started, nightmare student starts singing about how we are "ch-ch-changing it up" in the classroom. This, although was irritating when he was still doing it 20 minutes later, was such a refreshing thing to hear. It's SO easy to forget that school can get really boring, really quickly. Whereas routine is good, it's so important to provide students with tons of different opportunities to do things. And let's be honest, learning about prepositions and adverbs is anything but exciting...
With centers, the whole idea is that the students are working more independently, they have to problem solve with their group because I'm not there to walk them through whatever the activity is. Even with my students who are normally super off task and will do anything BUT their work, they were mostly on task! They're still able to do all the work they need to, they're still learning, but they're able to do so at their own pace (within reason) and in their own way (within reason.) Especially for the average 10 year old, all they want is to be treated like an adult - while acknowledging that they're kids. It is definitely a hard time to be alive. Anytime that they can have added responsibility, they will (usually) gobble it right up.
If nothing else, it was just so refreshing to see my students working and having fun and truly being involved in their work - they can be frustrating and heinously off task sometimes...
Students who usually HATE each other were helping one another, students who are ALWAYS talking were quietly working... the unicorns were frolicking in the hallways and world peace was finally achieved.
Ok, so maybe some of these things didn't happen. BUT. It was just such a great day. There were moments where there were problems, students had consequences and whatnot, but overall, such a winner of a day.
What's more exciting, is that I was so nervous about doing this, but finally decided that it really would be best. So, after many an hour planning and planning and copying and prepping; I just decided to go for it. And, wait for it... it didn't bomb and I didn't die! WOO.
I mean, it wasn't wholly successful either, I am already formulating a long list of things in my head that I need to change, but it's a good feeling to see that I'm finally putting that UW education to use, trying something new, and then changing it. As we learn day in and day out, REFLECT REFLECT REFLECT.
As I have said before, education is disgustingly fluid. The nice thing about centers is that they change each week, so I can tailor the activities to reflect what my students may need that week.
More importantly, it allows me to see where the students are at an individual level - without me there holding their hand through each step.
Finally, it really forces me to look at how I'm teaching, what I'm teaching, and if I'm setting the students up for success. I can see which groups I need to change around, which ones need more instruction, which ones need less, etc.
I felt like I was getting into a rut of just following the curriculum. Now, I can use the curriculum but also my own strengths to make it more interesting, beneficial, and just plain ol'fun.
I'm going a course to turn my initial license into my professional license (for a list of reasons, technically I have 3 years to do this) and in our class tonight we were talking about teaching to your strengths. So often as teachers, and people, we get stuck in doing something the way we're told. Even if it isn't the way that's best for us. We get so good at following directions and orders, that we forget that we have this amazing ability to choose.
So, after kind of wading through the first few weeks, I'm choosing to go back to what I know. I don't know how to strictly follow a curriculum because the curriculum doesn't reflect my students. The information and skills they teach are important, but now that I know how my classroom works, I know that there are better ways to reach my kiddos.
I wanted to spend a lot more time on this topic and post, but I am beat and need to sleep. Also, I had to spend some unexpected time trying to close a window that is stuck slightly open. However, this was not a task I was able to accomplish - so I have half of my drawer of tee shirts (which is roughly 200) shoved in the window and around it, then blankets layered over it, then the curtains closed around it - all in an attempt not to freeze to death.
If you never hear from me again - it's because I did not sufficiently close off this vent to the frigid outdoors.
It must be a problem is I'm complaining about it, as I love sleeping in cold temperatures....
It's really funny if you know the kids. I promise. Either way, it was just such a sweet moment when kids (who aren't always too nice) were totally funny and nice with one another. These two turned out to be attached at the hip (who knew.)
This title was inspired by one of my little darlings. And, by little darlings I actually mean the student who I sometimes have nightmares about. Nightmares in which they find me during the weekends and try to drive me even more crazy than they already do, and others along this same vein.
Anyways, oday was Day Numero Uno of "Literacy Centers" for both of my classes. For those unsure as to what this means, it's just where you do the whole rotating around the room thing. At one table/center, the students read with me, at another they work on their writing, etc. etc. We have 5 total centers.
As we were getting started, nightmare student starts singing about how we are "ch-ch-changing it up" in the classroom. This, although was irritating when he was still doing it 20 minutes later, was such a refreshing thing to hear. It's SO easy to forget that school can get really boring, really quickly. Whereas routine is good, it's so important to provide students with tons of different opportunities to do things. And let's be honest, learning about prepositions and adverbs is anything but exciting...
With centers, the whole idea is that the students are working more independently, they have to problem solve with their group because I'm not there to walk them through whatever the activity is. Even with my students who are normally super off task and will do anything BUT their work, they were mostly on task! They're still able to do all the work they need to, they're still learning, but they're able to do so at their own pace (within reason) and in their own way (within reason.) Especially for the average 10 year old, all they want is to be treated like an adult - while acknowledging that they're kids. It is definitely a hard time to be alive. Anytime that they can have added responsibility, they will (usually) gobble it right up.
If nothing else, it was just so refreshing to see my students working and having fun and truly being involved in their work - they can be frustrating and heinously off task sometimes...
Students who usually HATE each other were helping one another, students who are ALWAYS talking were quietly working... the unicorns were frolicking in the hallways and world peace was finally achieved.
Ok, so maybe some of these things didn't happen. BUT. It was just such a great day. There were moments where there were problems, students had consequences and whatnot, but overall, such a winner of a day.
What's more exciting, is that I was so nervous about doing this, but finally decided that it really would be best. So, after many an hour planning and planning and copying and prepping; I just decided to go for it. And, wait for it... it didn't bomb and I didn't die! WOO.
I mean, it wasn't wholly successful either, I am already formulating a long list of things in my head that I need to change, but it's a good feeling to see that I'm finally putting that UW education to use, trying something new, and then changing it. As we learn day in and day out, REFLECT REFLECT REFLECT.
As I have said before, education is disgustingly fluid. The nice thing about centers is that they change each week, so I can tailor the activities to reflect what my students may need that week.
More importantly, it allows me to see where the students are at an individual level - without me there holding their hand through each step.
Finally, it really forces me to look at how I'm teaching, what I'm teaching, and if I'm setting the students up for success. I can see which groups I need to change around, which ones need more instruction, which ones need less, etc.
I felt like I was getting into a rut of just following the curriculum. Now, I can use the curriculum but also my own strengths to make it more interesting, beneficial, and just plain ol'fun.
I'm going a course to turn my initial license into my professional license (for a list of reasons, technically I have 3 years to do this) and in our class tonight we were talking about teaching to your strengths. So often as teachers, and people, we get stuck in doing something the way we're told. Even if it isn't the way that's best for us. We get so good at following directions and orders, that we forget that we have this amazing ability to choose.
So, after kind of wading through the first few weeks, I'm choosing to go back to what I know. I don't know how to strictly follow a curriculum because the curriculum doesn't reflect my students. The information and skills they teach are important, but now that I know how my classroom works, I know that there are better ways to reach my kiddos.
I wanted to spend a lot more time on this topic and post, but I am beat and need to sleep. Also, I had to spend some unexpected time trying to close a window that is stuck slightly open. However, this was not a task I was able to accomplish - so I have half of my drawer of tee shirts (which is roughly 200) shoved in the window and around it, then blankets layered over it, then the curtains closed around it - all in an attempt not to freeze to death.
If you never hear from me again - it's because I did not sufficiently close off this vent to the frigid outdoors.
It must be a problem is I'm complaining about it, as I love sleeping in cold temperatures....
Thursday, February 3, 2011
TITLE
So.
The title of my little bloggerinsky here can be attributed to our most intelligent and rad 43rd President of the United States of America.
Biiig surprise there, right?
As I work hard to teach my students correct grammar each day, I still can't help but wonder how someone who was running our COUNTRY could make such a silly mistake. I am proud to say that my students would never dream of asking such a poorly worded question.
For those of you who have blacked those years from your memories... here's a refresher:
"Rarely is the question asked; is our children learning?"
Now. I use this for many reasons. Partly because I have found that be in education, you need to be able to laugh. Otherwise, ya just won't cut it. Ever.
But also, I think it brings up a really interesting point about education and educational policy.
I would LOVE to sit down with W. and ask him who the subject of this question really is. WHO isn't asking this question? Because, I know that this is ALL I think about. Every single minute of my day. I have nightmares regarding this question (these nightmares are TWOFOLDLY related: I fear that my students will one day ask stupidly worded questions such as this, negating the countless games and lessons we've had on grammar, but more importantly is the fear that I am actually not teaching them anything.)
What the hell is the point of teaching but to teach kids. In theory, in order for their to be teaching, there will also be learning.
But, there are many teachers, who like me, have severe panic attacks over teaching. Those of us who feel this way, spend hours upon hours trying to figure out a new way to teach such and such topic to some group of students.
Education is a funny thing - it's been going on for thousands of years, there are more resources and lesson plans available than I can count. And yet, many people still spend their lives modifying and tweaking each lesson until it will fit our own little classrooms. Many of us are willing to either gain weight, lose hair, forget what the sun looks like, work Sunday - Sunday, and go to bed as soon as we get home; just so that we can hopefully reach all of our students. To hear "is our children learning" hurts me to the core.
If I didn't think it were completely odd, I would probably get a tattoo saying "all I wonder is 'are my children learning?"
It's all I can think about. It's all we can talk about at school. Now, how we find the answer to this question is completely different from teacher to teacher. But, overall, this is all that we are working to know.
Now, don't get me wrong. I know that there are schools where there is no learning occurring. I know that there are underfunded, understaffed, and completely neglected schools. Within these schools there are those souls who aren't even overlooked, but rather are completely forgotten. But the thing is, no one seems to care. No one seems to be saying "hm, these kids aren't learning, what can we do about it?" rather, everyone likes to write about and talk about and think about just how unfortunate these situations are. And leave it at that.
Everyone wants schools to succeed, at least at some level, but no one seems to know how to do that. The further that I get into the chaos that is one's first year of teaching, I'm starting to learn that it's not nearly as black and white as I had originally thought.
I have always been a huge proponent of properly funding schools - as much as people complain that money isn't the option, I do firmly believe that it will help solve SOME problems. Fact of the matter remains, the more resources you have the more you can do.
Is money everything? Of course not.
Is there a perfect way to do anything in education? Absolutely not.
I am learning that things change on an HOURLY basis in the classroom, not a yearly basis. I've always knows that what works one year will not necessarily work the next year. What works with one student will not necessarily work with the next.
However, and maybe I'm completely nieve for saying this, but, things change hourly, if not minute-ly. What works for one second, might not work in the next.
And I think that's the problem. School is one of the most fluid places I have ever witnessed. Relationships among staff and students change by the second, curriculums change yearly, "best practices" seem to change monthly. Everything is constantly changing.
Which, in this case I do think that change is good. Students are constantly changing and school needs to do the same in order to serve their needs.
However, in looking at things on a national scale... I can hardly plan for my own classroom week to week because so much changes. I can't imagine the task of finding something that will work for schools in Maine and New Mexico, Florida and South Dakota. Which is why we have things like state standards, etc.
This is all over the place. Welcome to my life and my thought process.
I guess that what I'm trying to say here, is this:
There really is no perfect answer. I'm learning that the more that I learn about teaching, the more that it baffles me. The more that I do it, the more that I wonder if I have any idea what I'm doing.
But, the beautiful thing about teaching is that the more you do it, the more you get to know your students. The more I know my students, and their lives and their thoughts and their dreams; the more I know that I cannot rest until I know that my kids are learning. I cannot and will not allow my students to do anything but succeed.
The title of my little bloggerinsky here can be attributed to our most intelligent and rad 43rd President of the United States of America.
Biiig surprise there, right?
As I work hard to teach my students correct grammar each day, I still can't help but wonder how someone who was running our COUNTRY could make such a silly mistake. I am proud to say that my students would never dream of asking such a poorly worded question.
For those of you who have blacked those years from your memories... here's a refresher:
"Rarely is the question asked; is our children learning?"
Now. I use this for many reasons. Partly because I have found that be in education, you need to be able to laugh. Otherwise, ya just won't cut it. Ever.
But also, I think it brings up a really interesting point about education and educational policy.
I would LOVE to sit down with W. and ask him who the subject of this question really is. WHO isn't asking this question? Because, I know that this is ALL I think about. Every single minute of my day. I have nightmares regarding this question (these nightmares are TWOFOLDLY related: I fear that my students will one day ask stupidly worded questions such as this, negating the countless games and lessons we've had on grammar, but more importantly is the fear that I am actually not teaching them anything.)
What the hell is the point of teaching but to teach kids. In theory, in order for their to be teaching, there will also be learning.
But, there are many teachers, who like me, have severe panic attacks over teaching. Those of us who feel this way, spend hours upon hours trying to figure out a new way to teach such and such topic to some group of students.
Education is a funny thing - it's been going on for thousands of years, there are more resources and lesson plans available than I can count. And yet, many people still spend their lives modifying and tweaking each lesson until it will fit our own little classrooms. Many of us are willing to either gain weight, lose hair, forget what the sun looks like, work Sunday - Sunday, and go to bed as soon as we get home; just so that we can hopefully reach all of our students. To hear "is our children learning" hurts me to the core.
If I didn't think it were completely odd, I would probably get a tattoo saying "all I wonder is 'are my children learning?"
It's all I can think about. It's all we can talk about at school. Now, how we find the answer to this question is completely different from teacher to teacher. But, overall, this is all that we are working to know.
Now, don't get me wrong. I know that there are schools where there is no learning occurring. I know that there are underfunded, understaffed, and completely neglected schools. Within these schools there are those souls who aren't even overlooked, but rather are completely forgotten. But the thing is, no one seems to care. No one seems to be saying "hm, these kids aren't learning, what can we do about it?" rather, everyone likes to write about and talk about and think about just how unfortunate these situations are. And leave it at that.
Everyone wants schools to succeed, at least at some level, but no one seems to know how to do that. The further that I get into the chaos that is one's first year of teaching, I'm starting to learn that it's not nearly as black and white as I had originally thought.
I have always been a huge proponent of properly funding schools - as much as people complain that money isn't the option, I do firmly believe that it will help solve SOME problems. Fact of the matter remains, the more resources you have the more you can do.
Is money everything? Of course not.
Is there a perfect way to do anything in education? Absolutely not.
I am learning that things change on an HOURLY basis in the classroom, not a yearly basis. I've always knows that what works one year will not necessarily work the next year. What works with one student will not necessarily work with the next.
However, and maybe I'm completely nieve for saying this, but, things change hourly, if not minute-ly. What works for one second, might not work in the next.
And I think that's the problem. School is one of the most fluid places I have ever witnessed. Relationships among staff and students change by the second, curriculums change yearly, "best practices" seem to change monthly. Everything is constantly changing.
Which, in this case I do think that change is good. Students are constantly changing and school needs to do the same in order to serve their needs.
However, in looking at things on a national scale... I can hardly plan for my own classroom week to week because so much changes. I can't imagine the task of finding something that will work for schools in Maine and New Mexico, Florida and South Dakota. Which is why we have things like state standards, etc.
This is all over the place. Welcome to my life and my thought process.
I guess that what I'm trying to say here, is this:
There really is no perfect answer. I'm learning that the more that I learn about teaching, the more that it baffles me. The more that I do it, the more that I wonder if I have any idea what I'm doing.
But, the beautiful thing about teaching is that the more you do it, the more you get to know your students. The more I know my students, and their lives and their thoughts and their dreams; the more I know that I cannot rest until I know that my kids are learning. I cannot and will not allow my students to do anything but succeed.
Chapter One
Blogs are just ALL the rage right now, so I figured I would try my hand at one. I could write about the movies that I see, or the TV shows that I watch, but let's be honest... no one would really want to read about that. Although there are plenty of people who can and do write very eloquently about politics and sports... I think that I should stick to what I know.
Teaching.
So, here is where I plan to write about my thoughts on education (which are many) as well as my general experiences in education.
The overall goal of this blog is loosely related to my dream of one day writing a book about teaching. What form this book would actually take, has yet to be seen. But, with all of our policy makers claiming to know "what's best" for our schools, while rarely ever asking those most affected by educational policy (the administrators, the teachers, and godforbid anyone ever actually talk to the STUDENTS), I think it's time that more people make their voices heard. And, as I'm sure many people can tell you, when it comes to education I have a pretttttty big voice.
Feel free to comment as you see fit. Or don't. The choice is yours.
Teaching.
So, here is where I plan to write about my thoughts on education (which are many) as well as my general experiences in education.
The overall goal of this blog is loosely related to my dream of one day writing a book about teaching. What form this book would actually take, has yet to be seen. But, with all of our policy makers claiming to know "what's best" for our schools, while rarely ever asking those most affected by educational policy (the administrators, the teachers, and godforbid anyone ever actually talk to the STUDENTS), I think it's time that more people make their voices heard. And, as I'm sure many people can tell you, when it comes to education I have a pretttttty big voice.
Feel free to comment as you see fit. Or don't. The choice is yours.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)