What is going on?
What the heck is going on with public education?
I don't get up on the soapbox very much. Almost never, unless someone asks my opinion, and sometimes not even then.
So forgive me, but what the heck??
I am a public educator and put great faith in what I and my colleagues do. I am so committed to the process, in fact, that I am pursuing administrative positions in the field.
I could write a book, here, but I won't. I just need to let off some steam before being able to efficiently go about my daily duties. Public educators have to deal with a lot of horrible things. Things we shouldn't have to deal with but always will, unless giant societal changes happen (that won't). A large portion of our time is spent on social work aspects. Should we have to do that? Not so much, no, but who else will? The problems we face can't just be ignored. They have to be somewhat addressed before kids can learn.
Our school systems have problems, no doubt. Huge ones. But so does our government, and I'd still rather live here than almost anyplace. I still have faith in the system.
I DO NOT have faith in making individual teachers accountable for test scores. In all my time as a teacher, I haven't met one teacher or administrator who thinks that is a good idea. I have so many issues with the tests themselves, but I don't think they should entirely go away. I myself have had to take many a test (and will take more) to prove myself worthy in multiple areas, and I do think they serve a purpose.
But to measure our entire system? To serve as a punitive measurement tool? What the heck?? Why is this the trend? For some reason, I thought that ideology was heading out the door, but it looks as though it's coming into its own even more.
Now, don't get me wrong. Kids SHOULD be able to pass these tests. They should. The skills on which the tests focus are necessary ones for intelligent, productive minds. But I work with some of the hardest-working and dedicated teachers you could ever imagine, and you can't tell me that every single thing these kids need to be successful is provided in the classroom.
It's what these kids aren't getting *outside* the classroom that needs to be criticized and examined. Would that be harder? Hell, yes. But it's easier to come down hard on the schools and the teachers, because we're here to take it. We make good targets.
Our testing this year has already begun. These poor language arts teachers who don't even have time to teach because of the amount of testing they are mandated to administer. If some law makers have their way, my friend "Jim" (not real name) is going to be judged competent or incompetent based on the scores of the students he has been teaching for a whopping 6 weeks.
My school is considered to be a "failing" school, even though we have made consistent gains in nearly all areas since we came into existence 5 years ago. It just doesn't make sense. I hear so much information about how American schools just don't measure up to the rest of the world. Did you know that the rest of the world doesn't offer equal opportunities to all kids? Did you know that most of the rest of the world figures out which kids aren't "measuring up" and doesn't allow them to continue with the rest of the kids, and then they don't count in their statistics? Did you know that in some countries, if you haven't gotten your act together by the time you're about 13, you'll never have any hope of continuing your education?
Give me any argument you've got about why public schools "aren't making it," and I will tell you this: It is not about the teachers. Are there some teachers, somewhere, that are no good and shouldn't be doing it? Of course. But you can say that about ANY profession.
I will end this post by saying that I have never met a teacher who is in it for himself/herself. Never.
I don't get up on the soapbox very much. Almost never, unless someone asks my opinion, and sometimes not even then.
So forgive me, but what the heck??
I am a public educator and put great faith in what I and my colleagues do. I am so committed to the process, in fact, that I am pursuing administrative positions in the field.
I could write a book, here, but I won't. I just need to let off some steam before being able to efficiently go about my daily duties. Public educators have to deal with a lot of horrible things. Things we shouldn't have to deal with but always will, unless giant societal changes happen (that won't). A large portion of our time is spent on social work aspects. Should we have to do that? Not so much, no, but who else will? The problems we face can't just be ignored. They have to be somewhat addressed before kids can learn.
Our school systems have problems, no doubt. Huge ones. But so does our government, and I'd still rather live here than almost anyplace. I still have faith in the system.
I DO NOT have faith in making individual teachers accountable for test scores. In all my time as a teacher, I haven't met one teacher or administrator who thinks that is a good idea. I have so many issues with the tests themselves, but I don't think they should entirely go away. I myself have had to take many a test (and will take more) to prove myself worthy in multiple areas, and I do think they serve a purpose.
But to measure our entire system? To serve as a punitive measurement tool? What the heck?? Why is this the trend? For some reason, I thought that ideology was heading out the door, but it looks as though it's coming into its own even more.
Now, don't get me wrong. Kids SHOULD be able to pass these tests. They should. The skills on which the tests focus are necessary ones for intelligent, productive minds. But I work with some of the hardest-working and dedicated teachers you could ever imagine, and you can't tell me that every single thing these kids need to be successful is provided in the classroom.
It's what these kids aren't getting *outside* the classroom that needs to be criticized and examined. Would that be harder? Hell, yes. But it's easier to come down hard on the schools and the teachers, because we're here to take it. We make good targets.
Our testing this year has already begun. These poor language arts teachers who don't even have time to teach because of the amount of testing they are mandated to administer. If some law makers have their way, my friend "Jim" (not real name) is going to be judged competent or incompetent based on the scores of the students he has been teaching for a whopping 6 weeks.
My school is considered to be a "failing" school, even though we have made consistent gains in nearly all areas since we came into existence 5 years ago. It just doesn't make sense. I hear so much information about how American schools just don't measure up to the rest of the world. Did you know that the rest of the world doesn't offer equal opportunities to all kids? Did you know that most of the rest of the world figures out which kids aren't "measuring up" and doesn't allow them to continue with the rest of the kids, and then they don't count in their statistics? Did you know that in some countries, if you haven't gotten your act together by the time you're about 13, you'll never have any hope of continuing your education?
Give me any argument you've got about why public schools "aren't making it," and I will tell you this: It is not about the teachers. Are there some teachers, somewhere, that are no good and shouldn't be doing it? Of course. But you can say that about ANY profession.
I will end this post by saying that I have never met a teacher who is in it for himself/herself. Never.