Lots of the posts that begin in my head are driven by what I experience throughout the workday. Not long ago I thought I’d keep a log of things so that I could remember when I’m practicing writing later, but that didn’t last too long. What I learned was that I’m a quitter. Or, if you want to be super technical, I’m just too busy doing the actual work to write down what work I’m doing. Let’s just go with the latter because it makes me sound much better. This time of year working in a school makes me more cynical than I’d like to represent. It screams I NEED A VACATION WHERE IT’S WARM AND THERE ARE TROPICAL, FRUITY DRINKS.
Lately, it makes me also think about how, if I ruled the World of Education, I’d create a wish list of what I’d like to see in schools. Most of it comes from my experience as a learner, not a teacher. I always wanted to learn in my way and when, on the rare occasion, I got to learn from teachers who taught me that way then I was the best kind of student. It’s best that I thank a great teacher right now: Mrs. Reisig from my 10th grade American Literature class. She knew the craft of teaching and hooked me in the most powerful way. Thank you, Mrs. Reisig. Here’s what I want from education:
Never sit down when teaching. It just doesn’t engage the average student.
Figure out ways to allow students to use the very medium to which they are accustomed: technology. Meet there where they’re at and don’t find ways to make them, as I’ve recently heard from an educator, “power down”.
Anticipate high expectations from all students.
Use critical thinking skills in the classroom. We all studied Bloom’s Taxonomy in undergrad for a reason.
Develop an atmosphere of reciprocity in learning.
Differentiate the learning that students have to master. I have a sneaking suspicion that there would be far less Alternative Schools if those students would have had differentiation in their classrooms in the first place.
Give every scientifically-based promising practice a chance. We had a speaker this year named Dr. Calvin Mackie whose words have haunted and encouraged me as an educator: “I’m not asking you to change your beliefs. I’m asking you to change your practices.”
Be the adult in every situation and give students a second chance when they misbehave. Don’t sink to their level.
Vary the activities within every lesson. Not every child learns the same way so you can’t teach in one manner all the time.
Life in the education world isn’t easy. If you’re not cut out for it then figure out how to be or else find a new profession.
Never work harder than your students in the learning portion of the lessons. Work hard at finding out what works.
Read research. Do your own action research. Keep data on your research to find out what works.
Evaluations should be from the bottom up: students evaluate teachers and teachers evaluate administrators. This isn’t a novel idea because I’ve seen it done with the Green Dot Schools when I did a visit in California last year.
Find a better way to grade. A lot of the grades I’ve seen students get over many years of education just are not fair and don’t represent what they know. Too often it represents how organized they are in keeping worksheets and doing homework.
No spoon feeding. If they can’t break down the text then show them how. And never use the term “dummy down” when talking about your craft. If you have to “dummy down” then I’m really worried about the instruction students are getting. I would hate to think that a teacher ever had to “dummy down” lessons for me thus lowering their expectations of my learning.
Give feedback every single day. Feedback, feedback, feedback. Students thrive on feedback.
Teach them how to do cooperative learning. Cooperate with them.
When you give a writing assignment, write with the students. They want to see you write and figure out the processes you use to write.
Don’t talk poorly about students. Never refer to them as a “bitch” or an “asshole” when you’re talking with other teachers. This one I know from experience when overhearing one of them refer to me as a “slut” after I got pregnant in high school. Yeah, that one has stung for a really long time.
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Last summer I was privileged to meet Liz Dwyer who writes the personal blog Los Angelista (whom my friend Erica turned me onto years ago and I quietly lurked and loved from afar) and who also has the World’s Most Incredible Hair. This is as yet, uncontested, but I suspect she’ll win an award for it someday. She linked to this fabulous idea about helping low income families help their children prepare for the SATs but it’s really the program called “I Need A Pencil” founded by a Harvard grad. It’s just got awesome written all over it and levels the playing field for kids who can’t afford to pay for all those SAT prep courses. The fact that Jason Shah is cool beyond words and has amazing, supportive parents just makes me want to cheer for him and this project all the more.
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Where education is concerned, what would you like to see in a perfect world?
Have your students *create* things, not regurgitate them. Sure it’s harder to grade when there’s a subjective component, but get over it.
Oh, meangrape. I love you for that.
this is so great. I co-sign completely. Hands-on cooperative learning is definitely the way to go, especially in science (my field).
I wish teachers would see that a jaded, burnt-out attitude creates apathy or rebellion, not education. I completely underscore that teachers should not disparage students, and would add that they shouldn’t disparage parents either. Yes, parent involvement would be excellent, but if they can’t or don’t show up, understand what that truly means, don’t complain or use it as an excuse, and rise to the gap. Don’t track students into an imaginary binary of destined for academic v. trade skills, as the world doesn’t work like that anymore. Teach hw to discern and use information, not how to memorize it
This is fun. What other systems can we fix?
DNLee, I just jumped over to check out your Black History Month post that you didn’t want to write and WOW, that was amazing. Thank YOU for writing it.
Deb, let’s work on health care next. No one else is working on that yet.
I really don’t think I can add much more to your list…it’s, well, it’s perfect!
I’m actually going to share this with my admin (who will likely be nodding her head yes through the entire list) and co-workers, well, because I feel so inclined to share!
oh boy i really needed to read this today.
i’m working as a substitute teacher at high school at the mo – exhausting, am asking the big questions daily.
even, maybe i really do need my own class again…?
i miss the relationships.
love X
I’m feeling everything especially the grading. I say that because my son is in second grade and just received his report card and got a good grades overall, yet for math yet he received an 87. His teacher fails to take into consider that while the class is doing addition and subtraction of 3 digit numbers that he is doing multiplication with 2 digit numbers(on his own accord), understands the concept positive and negative numbers. Knowing that what my son is doing is and capable of doing makes me believe that an 87 is not reflective of what he is doing. For the record I’m not one of those parents who feel there child is a rocket scientist when evidence states something different, if anything my wife claims I’m the opposite. Point being numbers don’t do our children any justice nor are they indictive of what they have actually learned! Is it me our it doesn’t matter what you write I enjoy reading it! Keep doing your thing!
My daughter’s school (35 students in K-5) has monthly all-school themes around which the lessons revolve. They involved all kinds of learning styles, are generally fun and challenging, and the kids learn all kinds of groovy things because even the specials (art, French, Latin, music, PE) teachers get in on the act.
February was architecture and in her 2/3 classroom, they:
learned about the classical column forms in Latin class;
learned names of building parts in French class;
learned about the Golden Mean by measuring themselves and each other;
toured the university’s school of architecture;
designed Lego structures;
explored physics and materials by building egg crates out of toothpicks and mini-marshmallows;
created their own play out of the book Iggy Peck, Architect;
made scale drawings of their bedrooms that included 2 pieces of furniture and they had to do the measuring, math, and drawing;
and, amongst all the cool stuff they did,
my favorite was that they were given an architectural problem (a family of 5 needed a house with space for teenager activities, a formal space for the parents (a prominent physics professor and his politically-active wife), and family together space, and they were charged with designing a house to solve that problem. Aside from an over-abundance of indoor swimming pools and glitter balls in the party room, the houses they designed were terrific! We’ll tour the actual house after winter break and meet the architect.
Sigh. The farther my children go in school, the more mixed my feelings are. My oldest is in 4th grade…and last month, each student gave a powerpoint presentation in front of the class and parents about an explorer. They had to do research, etc. They all did a great job. This was “practice” for the 6th grade evaluations they will undergo in 2 years. We live in one of the top school districts in the state, and I am grateful for that every day. But I see this “teaching to the test” at every grade level so far. My daughter’s grades are affected by my ability to remember to put my initials on her daily reading log–seriously! My oldest is in a class of 27 and I feel like she’s maybe getting lost in the crowd. But at the same time, my middle is in a class of 21, and she’s getting almost daily reinforcement with her math skills.
All this rambling to say that I recognize that it is just damn hard to educate the masses, and I thank you for your hard work.
By no means do I consider myself a teacher, but I do teach piano and guitar out of my home and I know the value of good lesson plans and material. To further meangrape’s point… not only are students basically exercising short term memory muscles and not real contemplative thought. I really think a lot of text books miss the mark as well. There are so many classic pieces of literature that are not used in the classroom because they don’t just get to the point. I really feel something is lost by the “get everything done right the f now” mentality. it’s a deeper fear based problem with society that extends beyond our classrooms.
whoa… who wrote that. i’ll post a fart joke later.
What a FABULOUS list, Kelly! Perhaps if I had an administrator like you at the schools I have worked at, I wouldn’t have such misgivings about my career choice. I read things like this and get so jazzed about teaching, and I miss it. Bottom line is education is about the KIDS! People forget that. The kids deserve the best, and I don’t want to do it if I can’t give them that and put my all into it, so I’m taking time to figure things out. But that’s me and this is your blog. As for you, just keep on keepin’ on because the education world needs more folks like you on the inside fighting for what’s right!
If you saw my hair today, you would not say such complimentary things! One side is bigger than the other side today. It’s atrociously lopsided. But this is why we all love you… because you are so kind and so passionate about the things you care about, like schools!
I was so impressed with Jason when I spoke with him. When most high school kids were hanging out on Daytona Beach, he was doing something about the injustice he could see around him – and now that he’s at Harvard, he’s keeping it going! I love that! I hope more folks sign their students up for INAP.
Gosh, in a dream world of education… Back home in Chicago I used to have fantasies about forcing kids from New Trier to be bused down to Fenger – and then everybody in the same class, none of this regular, honors, AP mess. Teach everybody at the AP level. Why not?
Here in LA I still feel the same way. I’d make every school have to have an equal proportion of kids from both wealthy and poor backgrounds as well as from racial/ethnic backgrounds.
And why can’t we teach reading comprehension with literature instead of basal readers anymore. Throw in some Goosebumps or Harry Potter and the kids will be psyched!
What struck me most about this was the thinking that SAT prep is necessary. I don’t have kids and I took the SAT over 20 years ago, so is it more prevalent now for kids to take a prep course? No-one I knew took one and I always felt sorry for the kids I met in college who had taken one because I assumed they were too dumb to get into a state college without a lot of extra help. (Yes, I was a very judgy teenager.)
So I went to the website and saw that the average income of families participating was $40k to $80k – is that low-income? Wow, maybe I’m just out of touch.
I’m digging all the comments on this post. They’re so well thought out and fit the experiences that so many students have. Grading practices make me want to pull my hair out and yet that is taking so very long to change. Grading reform needs to happen NOW, I think, but having conversations with so many teachers shows me that it’s going to take a lot more work than I anticipated.
Well, forcing New Trier kids isn’t gonna bring about reform, Liz! You know that!
But I agree that the disparity is staggering and that it’s a systems issue that needs to be fixed. I don’t want the New Trier kids to be without what they’ve got. I just want every child to be privvy to it.
Amy, all I can say is this: when it’s important to kids to get into college and get a good SAT score then yes, the playing field needs to be leveled. It is so unfair right now. Also, we have some families making $40k a year and I can’t believe they’re making it. From what I’ve always heard the average family can afford a home worth twice as much as they make in a year. When I look at homes worth $80k I am astounded. Especially when you consider the “location, location, location” mantra. Those are usually NOT in locations where most people feel safe.
Am I rambling? Yes, I’m rambling. I should stop now. I’m sitting here discussing the prices of houses…
Oh, and I’m waiting for a fart joke, furiousball. You owe me one.
I am so glad I read this over my lunch break. We had a student return from some time in out-of-school suspension for smoking pot on school grounds. Today was my day to bring kids in during study hall in order to help them catch up in my class. He was the only student I pulled in. We worked for the whole hour together, and at the end, I approached him about his choice. I would have approached him in a very different way (ie “What were you thinking?!?!?!?!?) if I had not been given this gentle reminder in the form of your post. Instead, I spoke quietly about his potential, and how it is a lot easier to start doing things than stop doing things. I hope I made a difference.
Bawling huge, fat, juicy tears now Betsy. You are awesome for treating that student with care and concern. May you get a Gold Star for your efforts.
xoxo
One of the things I work hard at doing in my classroom – because it’s an ideal I want where possible – is having it less teacher-centric. Yes, of course, there are things they need from me directly; if they didn’t, I wouldn’t have a job at all. But discussions, for example, should be just that – DISCUSSIONS – so this is how I train my kids:
First, I set my room up with desks in a sort of horseshoe shape, all facing to a center area, with the board up front. Almost like a square with the front cut off.
Then, I talk to them about the process of discussions as they know them. When they raise their hands to share, the teacher calls on one. That students shares a thought directly to the teacher, because the teacher is the center of the classroom. The teacher responds to the comment in some way, then calls on someone else. That students shares a thought with the teacher, and this repeats endlessly. What is that? It’s not a discussion. No, it’s a series of one-on-one conversations happening in the classroom while everyone else watches.
Instead, I call on the first student to share, and from there, they call on each other. I sit back and let them talk to each other. If an issue comes up that I either don’t feel any of the students can answer – a historical note, for example, a fact we haven’t studied, etc. – I’ll jump in and answer, because that’s why I’m there. But for the most part, I just let them discuss. And if I have a comment I want to add to the discussion, I raise my hand and wait for them to call on me.
It’s SOOO nice. I don’t have to be performing all the time, and the students get a sense of ownership over their own learning. They feel trusted and valued, and I get to hear all their great ideas as they discuss with each other. I wish more classes had this kind of shared learning ideal, instead of just a teacher-focused, direct-instruction model ALL THE TIME.
Lara, that is totally Socratic Seminar and one of the best, most interesting ways to allow students time to critically think and respond to text or anything, really! You throw out something high level for them to discuss and sit back and watch magic.
The second Gold Star goes to you. I wish I had real 24 karat gold ones to hand out because there are some amazing teachers out there.
I’m in a unique position in that I have to teach patients and families in almost the same breath that I have to teach medical students and residents. It’s challenging at times.
For me, it’s all about the buy-in. I can only get my teenager with bad acne to use the meds I recommend and prescribe only if she wants to do something about it. Likewise, I can only get my med students to learn if I make it worth their while and make them *want* to learn. I also try to be a great model. So much of our learning in medicine is done by modeling. When I’m talking to patients and families, I always try to have a resident or student with me to see how it’s done. If they can take something away from the encounter that’s empowered them to change (both patient and resident/student), then I’ve done my job.
For example, I have a patient that wants to go on birth control. She’s already taking a daily medication. I’ve stressed to her the importance of taking her BCP every day. I gave her homework today – she needs to come up with a way to remind herself to take her pills every day. If she wants the BCPs (which she says she does) and after our discussion she knows what she needs to do for them to work, my hope is that it’s empowered her to make good decisions. It has to be something she wants to do; even though I prescribe it, I can’t make her take it.
Even though I have two widely different groups of people that I teach – different socioeconomically and educationally – I use the same skills to teach both.
Jesus. I can’t believe an adult called you a slut. An adult. Speaks so much louder about the adult than it does about the student, doesn’t it?
This makes me miss teaching.
I thought of something to add, it actually came up today at school.
Practice is just that, practice and should not count towards the final mark. Summative tasks, that’s where the marks lie.
I have been fighting with this one…at least one teacher I work with seems to think that writing _a_ persuasive piece for 4-6 weeks, and conferencing, is enough. My group by comparison, have seen me write, practiced it themselves, are going to be working on and creating a podcast (about a global issue) and then will have a final summative writing task – write a letter, using the info gathered from your podcast. All this in grade 6!
Meg Evans – sadly I am not surprised that your child’s mark is affected by whether you sign the agenda. I share my room with other teachers (who teach my class while I am out is my other position) and the agenda seemed to be the biggest focus…upto 50 mins. checking/signing/writing in it!
You know what that does, Amanda? It micromanages what teachers THINK that parents should be doing for their kids. It’s meaningless. It shows you which kid knows how to say, “Mom? Dad? I need a signature.” Oh, yeah? Well, so does a bank teller and that’s for identification purposes.
Meg is right – we need to re-examine this practice and ask ourselves, “What does this prove? What does the signature of a parent tell us? Why are we grading that?”
My son did better with 17 students in his class than with 25 this year. He needs the extra help/pat on the back to get his stuff done. He is in a mixed class with 2nd & 3rd graders & it isn’t working. I thought she would teach with another teacher & get 4th/3rd/2nd/1st grade reading & math depending on each students level. Nope. If you are in 2nd grade, you get second grade work. If you are ahead, sit there & be quiet when you get your work done. If you are behind, just sit there and be quiet. They are graded on being good. My son is reading a year behind but got an A. He does get graded on my initals in his planner too.
I would like to see schools where NO students come out thinking they are stupid. My mother and my brother both have mild learning disabilities of the dyslexia type (they were never diagnosed) and they both think they are stupid because they weren’t “good in school.” This happens to so many people and I think it stinks. Everyone is good at something and can use their talents to their advantage in life. The student who hates to read and hates math and hates doing reports may still be a brilliant salesperson or drummer or artist.
Keep Pushing Mocha Momma!!!! Good Stuff!!! I am glad you though about what I attempting to get across!!
i’ve been saving this because i wanted to write to you. we’re in a bit of a bind here in az where we are in a school that touts a progressive teaching model in multi-grade level classrooms, but the girls are NOT getting that. they’re getting a traditional rote memory/worksheet/boring, boring, boring education. they tell me it’s boring. they tell me they’re getting 1st grade work as 2nd graders. and it kills me. we have no other options here besides homeschooling & i’m just not sure i want to do that. we’re meeting the principal this week, but i’m leery of him assuading my doubts about choosing this school. until i see actual progress back to student-led work, teaching to the top learners, project-based learning based on material chosen by the students, real direction in projects that are done in class, i’ll just feel like we made a horrible choice moving here.
sad panda.
Well, right now the administration is on this whole competitive grant kick where instead of just giving money to states and LEA’s for education – you know to help ALL kids – they’re making the adults compete for it like some crazy episode of Fear Factor. I would like to see LESS of that. The administration is all for reauthorizing ESEA which I’m down for but making it into a giant competitive grant program totally defeats the purpose of a piece of legislation meant to help all students, not just the adults who can write the best application.
Such great ideas for more meaningful learning experiences in the classroom and relationship building between teachers and students. I can tell you from my experiences throughout my education (Kindergarten through completion of my Bachelor’s degree) that a good relationship with the teacher was paramount to my success as a student. It was important to me to know that they cared about how I was doing, if I was meeting their expectations, and that they were willing to give encouragement when I needed it to press on towards achieving the level of success that I could reach. How well I remember my 2nd grade teacher who treated me like a “dummy” when I asked a question. Or how about the math teacher in 6th grade who met up with another math teacher in the hallway right behind my locker (where I was standing at the time) after school and called my mom (also a teacher) a bitch for wanting me to be tested to see I qualified for a higher level math class. Kudos to my mom who did not return the favor by bad mouthing the teacher in front of me, but calmed me down and then went to meet with the principal to discuss the incident and work out a solution that would not negatively affect my math learning that year.
You have great ideas to bring education to a whole new level, keep pressing those ideas and lets get them implemented in schools everywhere.