Here are the topics for this week's "Weekly Wrap Up":
- educational policy: StudentsFirst, Educators 4 Excellence, the "don't blame the teachers" or "teachers aren't the problem" phrase
- teaching adventures: how to "teach to the test" without actually teaching to the test
- Facebook/technology: www.ratemyteachers.com
- administration: "the knockout kids"
- social life: winter in new york, "New Years Eve" tonight!
Educational Policy:
*DISCLAIMER: I do not mean to offend any great teachers who have tried whatever they could but are still experiencing some of the lack of motivation/apathy by students, lack of parental involvement, etc. This rant and opinion was designed for the teachers who are doing absolutely NOTHING then making up all the excuses they can think of so they can continue to do nothing. If you are a great teacher and are experiencing these horrible things, hang in there! Know that you are still an highly effective teacher even with all those things going on. It will get better! I promise :)
When I was a long term substitute shortly after finishing my second student teaching semester (we were required to do one semester in a high school & one in a middle school), I joined two sites/organizations: StudentsFirst and Educators 4 Excellence. Both of these organizations were similar in that they pushed for educational reform that is pro-student and fought against policies that sometimes hindered a student's ability to obtain a world class education, such as Last In, First Out. I felt in my mind that these organizations were doing what they could to serve the students and the teachers that worked so hard day in and day out to make sure they have what it takes to succeed in the 21st century. I still am a member of both of these groups today. As I'm going through and (enjoying every moment of!) my first year teaching, I'm starting to realize that the attitudes of some of the teachers in my school aren't as excited or passionate as I expected. I was walking down the 7th grade hall during my prep on my way to the copy room and I see in at least half the doors students chatting the whole time while the teacher is at his/her desk reading the newspaper. These are some of the most senior teachers at our school, yet they aren't doing our students justice. Yet, current law states that in the event of a layoff, the least experienced teachers have to go first, regardless of teaching quality. While my observations so far all resulting in "S" ratings and excellent comments from my AP's, the 22nd year math teacher that teaches 8th grade pre-algebra/8th grade honors pre-algebra gets "U" ratings and has been attempted to be removed from my school for years now gets to stay. Is that fair for students? Yet these SAME teachers are the ones complaining about "oh, it's not the teacher's fault... it's the parents' or the students' lack of motivation...". You know what, that is BS. It's YOUR fault! How do you expect your students to behave and learn when you aren't making the effort to relate to them and show them that you respect them?! The voices of teachers, both young and experienced, are silenced to this "no accountability needed" junk. Organizations like StudentsFirst and Educators 4 Excellence, which lobbies on behalf of students and the teachers (which are actually most teachers, btw) who actually care about them are needed to get our voices and opinions heard. Truth is, teachers do care. I devote so much of my own personal time to my students. Yet, teachers are getting a bad rap from the few teachers that think it's okay to do all their personal work at school when the students are supposed to be learning. Then, to make up for that, they say that these kids aren't motivated. Or their parents aren't doing enough. I'm glad I have support and are aware of the existence of these organizations dedicated to helping the teachers who care become better and become involved in the discussion around educational policy. For the StudentsFirst video that sooooo clearly explains the thoughts and emotions going through my head right now, please visit http://www.studentsfirst.org/video/teachers-discuss-education-reform/.
Teaching Adventures:
If you are a teacher in New York (or basically anywhere for that matter), you would know that the entire district revolves around TESTING. and more testing. and even more testing. I'm part of that group that doesn't support excessive standardized testing and (even worse) standardized test prep. I spent today doing a very interactive test prep lesson which took me over 3.5 hours to plan. I called it my "teaching to the test without teaching to the test" lesson plan. One of the best ways to prepare students for standardized tests and the DOE's "city test" is by having students prepare mini-lessons for their assigned topic or topics. Students are to pick a partner to work with and are expected to split the work in half between themselves and their partner. Next, students pick a paper out of a tissue box stating the topics they are responsible for, lesson objectives they should follow, where to find practice questions/review the info before presenting and the requirements. Students are then to create a mini-lesson (however they want - PowerPoint, video, skit, etc) on their topics. I conference with each of the pairs to make sure there lesson has everything the students need to be successful on the test and they can ask me any questions about how to deliver the lesson, notes, etc. The mini-lessons are capped at 10 minutes, and will require 2 full class periods to complete. On each presentation day, students will get incomplete notes with boxes for each of the presentations so they can take notes on the mini-lessons. Each pair will give the class a 3-4 question quiz at the end of the mini-lesson to check for understanding and go over the quiz with the class. I had previously done this lesson plan when I was a long term sub at a middle school only about 5 minutes away by subway and it turned out really successfully! I'm excited to see how this year's round of mini-lessons will go! :)
Facebook/Technology:
I recently discovered this AMAZING website where students can rate their teachers. It's called www.ratemyteachers.com. Students grade their teachers on a scale of 1-5 based on their "easiness", "helpfulness" and "clarity". Personally, I think it provides meaningful feedback on my teaching skills from my students, who see my lessons almost everyday and who are at the center of the whole reason why I'm up until 10, or 11, or even midnight every day planning. I believe one of the biggest characteristics that teachers need to develop and show is the ability to receive and channel feedback into something positive for both growth as a teacher and better lessons for the students. That being said, I talked to one of my colleagues (who teaches history in a different "academy" in 8th grade) about ratemyteachers.com and received some pretty intense scolding on how I shouldn't be listening to what they say, or something about how students just use that site to ridicule and put down teachers they have a grudge against, etc, etc. That really frustrated me because I value my students' opinions soooo much. Maybe it's because I'm a first year teacher and could use all the feedback I could get, but I don't see why so many teachers aren't open to getting feedback from students. They're human beings too... and if you have at least half a brain you can channel out the bad faith comments and focus on the serious ones that can make you a better teacher. So I'm going to put aside what Mrs. History told me and I'm going to make it an ASSIGNMENT for my students to "add" and rate me on ratemyteachers.com. Or maybe we can do it as a class after midterms. I really feel like their voices should be heard.
Administration:
This is something I almost never talk about, but have had an urge to discuss lately. In my school, we have a group of students called the "knockout kids". From what I've heard, this group of students are basically like "the plastics" from Mean Girls. (Yes, I watched Mean Girls!) They go around school basically putting down students who disagree with them. They've targeted many groups of students, including other popular kids. There's one "top knockout kid" who's basically in control of the group. It's sheer madness during the lunch periods! I had never been aware that such things existed in a MIDDLE SCHOOL - especially at the middle school where I teach - but what's even more depressing is how they get around the administration. Many of these "knockout kids" essentially SUCK UP to the principal to avoid getting suspended. The discipline AP does almost nothing to stop them, and lately, their madness has followed into the classroom, to the point where I rearranged the seating charts in 3 of my 5 classes (1st, 2nd and 8th periods). Hopefully it doesn't spill into my best-behaving classes (3rd and 6th periods). I've never been frustrated with my administration at any point this year, but this is the first issue where it's obvious they should do something, but they just pretend the problem is nonexistent. How sad...
On a brighter note, winter has just started getting happier in New York with all these warm day spells last week. It's been pretty sunny, which always brings my happiness up! I'm also going to see this AMAZING new movie called "New Year's Eve" with my roommates tonight! :) Happy Sunday and MLK Day!!!
Facebook/Technology:
I recently discovered this AMAZING website where students can rate their teachers. It's called www.ratemyteachers.com. Students grade their teachers on a scale of 1-5 based on their "easiness", "helpfulness" and "clarity". Personally, I think it provides meaningful feedback on my teaching skills from my students, who see my lessons almost everyday and who are at the center of the whole reason why I'm up until 10, or 11, or even midnight every day planning. I believe one of the biggest characteristics that teachers need to develop and show is the ability to receive and channel feedback into something positive for both growth as a teacher and better lessons for the students. That being said, I talked to one of my colleagues (who teaches history in a different "academy" in 8th grade) about ratemyteachers.com and received some pretty intense scolding on how I shouldn't be listening to what they say, or something about how students just use that site to ridicule and put down teachers they have a grudge against, etc, etc. That really frustrated me because I value my students' opinions soooo much. Maybe it's because I'm a first year teacher and could use all the feedback I could get, but I don't see why so many teachers aren't open to getting feedback from students. They're human beings too... and if you have at least half a brain you can channel out the bad faith comments and focus on the serious ones that can make you a better teacher. So I'm going to put aside what Mrs. History told me and I'm going to make it an ASSIGNMENT for my students to "add" and rate me on ratemyteachers.com. Or maybe we can do it as a class after midterms. I really feel like their voices should be heard.
Administration:
This is something I almost never talk about, but have had an urge to discuss lately. In my school, we have a group of students called the "knockout kids". From what I've heard, this group of students are basically like "the plastics" from Mean Girls. (Yes, I watched Mean Girls!) They go around school basically putting down students who disagree with them. They've targeted many groups of students, including other popular kids. There's one "top knockout kid" who's basically in control of the group. It's sheer madness during the lunch periods! I had never been aware that such things existed in a MIDDLE SCHOOL - especially at the middle school where I teach - but what's even more depressing is how they get around the administration. Many of these "knockout kids" essentially SUCK UP to the principal to avoid getting suspended. The discipline AP does almost nothing to stop them, and lately, their madness has followed into the classroom, to the point where I rearranged the seating charts in 3 of my 5 classes (1st, 2nd and 8th periods). Hopefully it doesn't spill into my best-behaving classes (3rd and 6th periods). I've never been frustrated with my administration at any point this year, but this is the first issue where it's obvious they should do something, but they just pretend the problem is nonexistent. How sad...
On a brighter note, winter has just started getting happier in New York with all these warm day spells last week. It's been pretty sunny, which always brings my happiness up! I'm also going to see this AMAZING new movie called "New Year's Eve" with my roommates tonight! :) Happy Sunday and MLK Day!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment