I’ve been anticipating this
middle school practicum since we received our placements for high school. I had
so much fun and learned so much at NPHS working with Katie and Mr. Ryan, but I
had visions of 8th graders dancing in my head. Last week, Courtney and I observed
twice, on Monday and Wednesday. As I mentioned in my previous blog, Monday was
a lot of talk about a graphic organizer for a compare/contrast essay and
Wednesday was quiz day. This week, we saw in class writing of the
compare/contrast essay, the roll out of the new root word vocabulary program,
and the introduction to a lesson about the persuasive techniques used by movie
companies.
Though Ms. Ballard has strong
relationships with her students, her lessons and assessments align to
objectives and Common Core standards, the students write and are willing to
revise, and they genuinely make me laugh while I’m there, I have spent this
last week trying to understand the twang of disappointment I feel when I leave
the school.
A trusty professor helped me put
it into perspective: the pedestal has
shifted.
We’ve discussed it time and time
again in education classes. I’ve read about it in articles and blogs. I’ve
heard about it from current teachers. And now, I’m witnessing it myself.
Teaching to a test – or, at least
with a test hanging heavy in your thoughts - STINKS.
To this point, I have had
overwhelmingly positive experiences in the schools. The teachers I worked with weren’t
subjected to a scripted curriculum, didn’t seem to be overly concerned about
preparing for NECAP, and seemed to be able to balance their personal teaching
philosophy with the mandates of the school or Department of Education. My ideas of overcoming the challenges facing the education system have been resting high on a pedestal. This
time around, though, I feel like something is different. My visions and the pedestal aren't matching up as neatly. Maybe it’s because October’s
NECAP is still a fresh memory. Or maybe it’s the added pressure of the new
evaluation system and the writing (and re-writing) of SLOs. Or, the exhaustive
hype of the transition to the Common Core.
Ms. Ballard keeps mentioning that
her classroom wasn’t like this 10 years ago. She collaborated more with her
team to create interdisciplinary units, and even taught side-by-side with the
social studies teacher. She explains that she ran her class like a writing
workshop, but sighs as she says that that style just wouldn’t fly anymore.
I sigh as she says it too.
This blog entry has been difficult to write because I want to frame my disappointment in a productive way, rather than just complain. I don’t want to make assumptions and I don’t want to be a victim.
I want to take this feeling and
be a better teacher because of it.
Brittany, this is so true. As I've told you, I've observed a scripted curriculum and it stinks just as much, though at least there seems to be some object to aim their frustration at: the scripts. Here, it seems the teachers are feeling like changing their persona is necessary for the pace.
ReplyDeleteI wonder a lot if that's true. We're sort of at an advantage here, having never experienced any different than CCSS and evaluations. Our personas have already been structured around the intrinsically by teaching the CCSS, like the study guide of the tests. We get observed, critiqued and our future as teachers still depends on our performance.
A wise teacher once told me to teach like a ninja, doing what you need to to fit your surroundings, but still getting to what you know is right.
It's frustrating, I know. But I think you've got this.
I like that saying- it puts things into perspective. the pedestal has shifted. It is definitely an interesting time to be going into teaching- things have shifted and those that have been teaching have been forced to shift with it- I can't help but wonder if we get the better end of the stick- we will not know any other way than state mandated testing. I have to believe that this is a good thing- that we will be so used to it that we will easily incorporate inventive lesson plans that still fit the common cores. but after saying all that, it still feels... ooey gooey, like that slippery feeling when holding a goldfish out of water...
ReplyDeleteBrittany, I really appreciate your honesty here, as you wrestle with your disappointment. Dr. Cook and I were aware that you and your classmates would experience idealism clashing with school realities at some point this semester, which is what makes this so hard. It's like seeing little kids find out there's no Santa :). But you are approaching this the right way: what is there to learn here? How do I work within and against this system? What is best for my students? These are the questions to revisit--and what Dr. Cook and I come back to--because as the context changes, so do the responses. Thanks for sharing this.
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