I have often asked myself, Am I doing enough for my students? I have never really been able to answer this question. When you are in undergrad you have these Polly Anna dreams that you will walk into the classroom and be able to teach every one of those kids how to read and write and do multiplication on the first day of school. Unfortunatly, that is not going to happen.
As a teacher you are going to be faced with the demands not only of the students, which you have to teach so that they may become productive members of society, but you are also responsible for attending meeting about meeting that were discussed at a previous meeting. You are asked (aka.told) to sign up for after school duties that take away time you could offer tutoring to students who need additional assistance. You are given teachers additions and tols that you must adhear to them without any diversions. This includes skipping teachable moments because we must all be on the same page at the same time. And finally, you will be told to only worry about the top 80% of your class because those are the students that they are counting on for the high- stakes testing.
Now some of situations that I mentioned above may seem a little far fetched, but they do happen. That is when I start to think about what is convienent for teachers. I think that teachers now are facing a war with no winners. I know many great teachers that keep trying to go above and beyond for their students, leaving their own comfort and convience on the sidewalk. However, what are they getting in return? Many are being told that "The Test" is the most important thing and that all the extra projects are irrelevant to what is important. I just can't figure out how this all important test is going to help these kids when they don't know that Canada is part of North America or that Australia is a country and a continent.
Being a teacher is not convienent, it is(in my opinion) on of the heardest jobs there is. We are responsible for creating the future of the world. You would think that with this great responsibility in our hands, they would not be so tied up.
Hi Sandra,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, great job on your first blog post! I enjoyed reading your post and felt like I was sitting and chatting with you. I liked that! My experience with students was a little different that what you were told at your school. I reached a point where we were trying to do so many intensive interventions with the kids struggling, I felt like I was not teaching the on-grade level kids! I taught first grade though (a non-FCAT grade) so that may have had something to do with it.
Your comment about "a war with no winners" tugged at my heartstrings a little because it does seem like that at times. It is so frustrating to hear that students move on to the next level and seem to have forgotten a lot of the skills you worked on for months! I guess this just reminds me, in light of technology and how fast it is changing/updating, I need to focus more on the skills that will help students adapt and face challenges.
Great ending...I resigned from teaching this year to finish my master's in elementary education. I'll be moving to Atlanta this summer. I cannot tell you how many of my dearest friends, teachers who absolutely LOVE kids and teaching, are telling me this was the year to not be there. Things are tough and they are seeing their hands tied more than ever. Wish you the best. All I can say is that as tough as things are, we are impacting individual kids on levels we may not even realize. And every single one of their lives is important.
Happy Blogging,
Bren Harkins
Yes, when you put it like that, why would underpaid, overworked teachers inconvenience themselves anymore than they already are inconvenienced by external forces? Still, many do what is not convenient for themselves because it is what is best for the students.
ReplyDeleteRobert
There are so many factors to take into account when evaluating whether we do what is best or what is convenient. I strongly agree that messages and actions from administration do not always foster or encourage teachers to integrate technology into their current practices. As digital immigrant teachers we must build a bridge between to our digital native students and likewise a bridge to our administration. This can take time and effort and will most likely not be convenient. However, there are teachers and administrators out there ready to embrace change and will be the pioneers in this process. I hope I can be a pioneer in my our little corner of this huge process.
ReplyDeleteKim
I can truly empathize with you. My friend always talks about teachers teaching to the test. So, it's funny that you mentioned that. I personally don’t feel that critical decisions should be based on testing, but that is a totally different discussion :-)
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I don’t know what teaching is anymore. There are so many rules, standards, mandates, demands, and the list goes on. Instruction and student related tasks are just the tip of the iceberg. There are also non-instructional tasks that teachers must do. I feel that teachers are so underrated for a job that involves great responsibility. I think that administration should play some part in this. All I can say is willingness and understanding is required for change.