I just recently got Jack's mixes that he's been creating since last summer. I feel like I'm just starting to truly come out of the bubble I was in since June. I think part of it has to do with the fact that I'm just now ending my six+ month ride on the anti-depressant train. Just the other day, in fact, I found myself feeling irritated at someone for the first time since August. It was very good to feel that way again.
Also putting me in a particularly nostialgic mood is the fact that I just posted a bunch of pictures from all this time. Check out the new pictures from TFA institute, the Outer Banks trip I took with Lin and a few others, as well as the most recent Olympic adventure. The shots of the random field are those of my soccer field that I took the last day I was out lining it.
As an extra note for whomever is concerned, the trip to the Outer Banks quite possibly saved me from giving up on this whole TFA fiasco. Thank you ladies who came along and made sure I was actually enjoying life and relaxed for more than a few minutes. I remember being distinctly exhausted and unable to finish the australian movie we picked out later that night because I so calmly fell asleep. Quite possibly the best I've ever felt from exhaustion. Do know that I was very happy that day, no matter what it seemed.
Finally, I've figured out what it takes to make schools work. First, I need to point out that there are many times that school boards, states, or the federal government feign at giving money to poor schools because they claim it will not help. Untrue.
For the most part, it seems like administrators and superintendents pur money into new computer labs and facilities and whatever else they can concieve, then get frustrated when it doesn't work. In the menatime, teachers remain so poorly paid, yet so rediculously overworked that it doesn't matter what kind of money goes into their classroom. Not to mention that the dark secret of education is that reform fails usually because the teachers somehow reject it.
The problem is that everyone thinks they know what should happen in education and teaching, because everyone hase been a student. Sorry, but being a student is fucking easy. Anyone who thinks that their masters in education puts them above even two months of classroom experience can eat shit and die as far as I'm concerned.
Solutions to school reform always seem to make things more complicated and more consuming. Instead, school boards and other bodies should be figuring out ways to make teaching more maneagable.
In my estimation, there are two things that really affect good teachers:
1) That teachers have classes that are just plain too large.
It's rediculous to put someone in front of 30 ghetto children and think they're going to be doing anything more than babysitting. With my own true experience as a testament, I can clearly vouch for the fact that a class of 10 kids is thousands upon thousands of times easier than a class of 26.
Solution: use the money to hire more teachers. Easy.
2) Workload. Not only do teachers have to monitor and teach x kids a day, but they are also pressed to have a good plan for each day, and to do all the grading afterward. Usually without assistance.
Solution 1: secretaries are more prevalent in education. Make an assitant for each team of teachers. This person will be in charge of making sure all the grades are entered, all plans are typed neatly.
Solution 2: Teachers get every other Friday or Monday off for teacher work-days. These are such beautiful mental health days, since it gives the chance to sit back and relax, while still being productive in our classroom.
But don't take my word for it: check out This American Life.
Okay, for the most part I agree with you on these. There is ABSOLUTELY no question about your first point. Just be glad that you do not teach in some districts where the class load cap is 32 – 33. Even Tacoma is pretty bad. Once I had a class of less than 27, but only once!
As to your second point, I MOSTLY agree, but I think grading takes much more effort and time than recording grades and even preparing lesson plans. Perhaps the first step would be to ensure that every teacher has access to a computer both in the classroom and at home. (It took Tacoma well over 10 years to do this.) One issue would be the PC/Mac thing, but I suppose that could be worked out. Believe it or not, this is not an issue for everybody and the work decreases exponentially as you continue to teach. As a teacher I was never bothered by this. Even though we were expected to create most all the curriculum from scratch (five periods and three subjects) we just did it and loved it, but I can see how it might be an issue. Personally, I (seriously) would have quit before letting anyone else do my curriculum preparation and/or grades, but that is just personal. Okay, perhaps I would in a case of absolute emergency (as in hospitalization), but then I assume that under your plan that would be totally optional, right?
And to play Devil’s Advocate on this issue:
Hiring an administrative assistant for each department would be rather expensive. Would not that money be better spent on more teachers?
1. If you think about it, the average middle school/high school has separate departments for math, science, English, history, physical education, health, art electives, shop electives, etc. Even if you combined these (English/history, math/science, PE/health, and the rest of the electives) that is at least four professionals at 25K – 40K per person. (I’m basing this on a lower, middle class area like Tacoma.) Wouldn’t you rather have four to five starting teachers? Perhaps even using student TA’s for photocopying like they do in high school would be helpful. Or just have a copy professional?
2. The Friday/Monday thing is a fantastic idea except for the fact that you’ll need childcare and/or something for those kids to do or parents will fight it. That might cost money, too.
However, in all of this you are basically correct. The problem lies in engaging the students and giving them enough time and personal attention. This is especially true in lower income schools where the parents may not be pushing (not necessarily the same thing as supporting, mind you) their kids as much. As you pointed out, this takes more money and more staff. In ten years of teaching I was never lucky enough to have a small class (aside from pull-outs and special programs), but I recall in college how much more I learned in those situations.
In general, more money spent on the right resources (as opposed to computer labs) really IS the answer. Part of it might also go to creating a time and place for students to do their work and get extra help. Sort-of like a homeroom, study-tables, lab time. (The already purchased computer labs could be part of this!) This could even be in-class time for guided and independent practice. Anyone who has ever taught (especially in a low-income area) knows that things like after school jobs, sports (the “key to college”), taking care of home and siblings, parental fights, as well as just plain friends and personal lives greatly interfere with a student’s ability to do homework. Plus often there is no parent (or one who does not have a very advanced education) at home to help the student do his/her work. I was lucky enough to grow-up in an area (CA) in which only activities and friends competed for my time, but life is very, very real to most low-income students. You can’t very well tell some kid that he should have done his math homework rather than made dinner for his little brother and sister! Anyway, smaller classes with more time to do complete work and more personal attention would certainly be the answer.
Well, that’s it. (I’m bored at work, in case you did not figure it out). Did Andrew ever talk to you about making a recommendation for your student at the alternative school?
Check out my stupid blog at http://brighty18.livejournal.com/.
I think those are great ideas for improving teaching. I agree with you that a shiny new computer lab is basically useless for teaching purposes, particarly when compared with the suggestions you listed.
Smaller classrooms is probably the biggest thing. But it's more than just getting more teachers. You also need more space because you'll need more classrooms.
And, unfortunately, teachers don't grow on trees. Sometimes I think people should be required to teach at some level (K-12) for two or three years. That'd help...
Posted by: Shane at March 21, 2006 10:22 AM