Teacher World

True confession: I don’t love teaching as much as I did when I first started in this profession. It pains me to admit this, but I don’t think I am alone. In conversations with other teachers, I am hearing the same complaints. Teachers are increasingly overwhelmed, overworked, and unappreciated.

Why are we overwhelmed? Because instead of being able to teach children to love learning, we are now in the business of teaching them how to take tests. Those of you who have moved to standards-based report cards know what I am talking about. In our district, we have created three formative assessments for each standard we cover in a trimester. We are required to administer these tests at the beginning, sometime during, and at the end of the trimester for each standard. The goal is to show improvement towards mastering each concept. After each test, we intervene with those who are not grasping the concept in a variety of ways before testing again. This is all above and beyond the normal testing that has always occurred in a classroom.  Is this what I signed up for when I became a teacher? Is this how you pictured yourself making a difference in your students’ lives? Is this really the way to get children excited about learning?

I am in my thirtieth year of teaching, and most people probably think that means I am coasting along doing less than I did when I started out. But I am working harder and longer hours with each passing year because so much more is demanded of teachers than ever before. Now, I don’t mind working harder if I feel I am working smarter. But I contend that we are losing sight of simple truths. Like the fact that repetitive testing is turning our kids off. And that teachers need to believe in and love what they are doing in order to be effective in the classroom. And that I can assess a student’s progress in a variety of ways, and testing is just one way. And that working harder doesn’t always mean working better.

And I feel unappreciated. No one will ever realize the additional hours I put in to try to meet my districts’ and state’s expectation that somehow I can get every student in my classroom to pass a test that has no real significance to them. We have even heard students voice the opinion (that they obviously have heard at home) that the tests are really to see how well the teacher is doing, not how well they are doing. When my students do score well, does anyone congratulate me on a job well done?

Again, I am working harder, enjoying it less, and not even recognized for the extra efforts I make. So, sadly, I find myself thinking more and more of retirement because my job is gradually become more work than it is a labor of love.

Changes in Teaching, Teacher-World's Blog, state achievement tests standards-based report cards, state achievement tests, teachers

Okay, so President Obama is advocating year-round school and extended hours to our school day. And I can’t help but wonder when enough is enough! His argument is that our school calendars are based on an archaic agrarian time schedule which needs revamping. And yet I ask myself, didn’t we turn out okay under this archaic calendar? Is this really about the need to compete with other countries educationally, or is it instead just a smokescreen to provide safe after-school programs for low income areas at the expense of school districts?  The president admitted as much when he announced his plan for schools. This is a bad idea for several reasons.

First, children need to be children and have time to play and spend time with their family. If the school day extends till 5:00 or 6:00, how does that leave any time for family and fun? Family time would revolve around dinner, homework, bathes, and bedtime. Much of a child’s development revolves around family and the normal activities that are part of family time in the evening. Forget that with Obama’s plan. And forget enjoying time with friends or playing outside, both important activities for developing children.

Second, what about extracurricular activities under Obama’s extended day plan? Where would sports fit into this extended schedule? How could coaches schedule practices if kids don’t even get home until early evening? What happens to after-school programs like drama, debate teams, choir, band, etc.? Am I alone in recognizing that fewer students would be able to take advantage of these programs? These are all part of a child’s educational experience, allowing them to expand their interests and become well-rounded, young people. Colleges look for extracurricular involvement in applicants. They recognize that academics are crucial but extracurricular involvement make for a more balanced individual. Involvement in these programs often teaches children about their skills and where their interests lie, which helps them plan for their future. With limited time in the evening, these programs would suffer and so would students who are unable to attend them.

Last, I would also suggest that those who advocate a longer day actually visit schools to observe elementary children for a day and see if they still think this is a great idea. Young students are tired by the afternoon, and it becomes increasingly more difficult to hold their attention as the afternoon progresses. Now, we are thinking of adding at least two more hours to their day? Do you really think that their energy level and attention will last that long? Parents, does your child’s attention level last that long at home? What are we thinking?

Again, should all students have to adjust to a longer day to provide after-school care for students who don’t have it? Not only does this seem unfair, but it seems counterproductive. President Obama and his advocates need to talk to teachers of elementary students and see what we think. It sounds great to say that adding two to three hours onto the school day will create more competitive students, but I don’t believe it will, not if students are exhausted and done by 3:00. And let’s not rule out what students stand to lose with less time in the evening. It’s a bad idea, and it hurts more than it helps!

Changes in Teaching, Educational Reform, Teacher-World's Blog Educational Reform, extended school day, extracurriculars, low income schools, President Obama

Recently, President Obama made the national statement that our children do not spend enough time in school, which he claimed places U.S. school children at a disadvantage in a global world. He proposed a two-pronged solution to this dilemma. First, he advocates year-round school, and second, he would push to extend the school day by possibly as much as two hours. My question is: Who is going to foot the bill to make this happen?

Proposing year-round school presupposes that our schools are currently able to accommodate children throughout the summer. This is all well and good for schools that have air conditioning. Unfortunately, many schools, like the elementary schools in my district, do not. There is physically no way we could work in these buildings or expect students to learn in these hot classrooms during the summer. Logically, that means that schools would need to be air conditioned in order to safely teach children throughout our hot summer months. Who is paying for these expensive renovations? Is the state going to shell out the money, or are they going to put the burden on already-burdened taxpayers who have difficulty supporting the current school taxes? Who is going to pay the increased operating expenses to keep schools open or the increase in fuel costs to run air conditioning throughout the summer? Our over-burdened school districts?

And what about teachers’ salaries? Does President Obama think teachers will donate their time, working both extended hours and an extended calendar with no increase in salary? Who would pay for the increase in salaries? And not just for teachers. What about the bus drivers, the cafeteria workers, and the rest of the support staff? Where is this money coming from? Again, to expect it to come from the school district or increased tax revenue is just ludicrous! We can’t get renewal levies to pass in this depressed economy. Forget new levies!

This is so typical of educational reform in our country. Decisions are made without consideration of how we, who are in education, are going to be able to make it work with little to no support from the government financially. Before this reform goes any further, questions of financial feasibility need to be addressed. Our overburdened schools and communities can’t shoulder this additional financial responsibility. 

So, I ask again, President Obama: Who is going to foot the bill?

Changes in Teaching, Educational Reform, Teacher-World's Blog Educational Reform, President Obama, school taxes, year-round school

This school year started with a gift from the Department of Education for those of us who teach social studies in Ohio. Due to budget cuts, our state will not be administering the Social Studies Achievement Test for the next two years. Excuse me while I yell, “Yahhhhhhhh!” What a gift! Especially since those of us who administer the fifth grade version of this test feel that it is more of a fourth grade test then a fifth grade test anyway. So life is good, right?

Unfortunately, this news, while very welcome, is strongly reinforcing the downfall of state achievement tests. I have been bombarded with questions from my fellow social studies teachers about what I am teaching or not teaching this year. There has been talk of leaving out chunks of previously taught subject matter. And, to make matters worse, there is a general feeling from those who do not teach social studies, that those of us who do should be picking up the slack and volunteering our services in other ways.

First, whether we are administering tests for social studies or not, it is our school’s curriculum, not the tests, which dictate what we must teach, and this is based on our state standards. So why are teachers questioning what to cover this year? Before we administered these tests, were we not accountable for the board approved curriculum? Unfortunately, we are all so bombarded with the continual message that we must get our students to pass state tests, that it becomes our focal point.

Second, if we accept the premise that it is about teaching for mastery of the curriculum, it goes without saying that those of us who teach social studies will clearly be too busy covering our own curriculum to help other teachers cover theirs. So, while I am grateful for the test break, I respectfully decline any additional duties since my job really has not changed at all. I’m just breathing a little easier for the next few years and enjoying teaching social studies a little bit more.

Changes in Teaching, Teacher-World's Blog, state achievement tests Department of Education, OAT, social studies, state budget cuts, state testing

I am sure by now you have seen the YouTube video of elementary students from New Jersey singing their praises to Barack Obama. When I first saw it on Fox News, I was appalled. But after reading the background information behind the video, I became outraged both as a teacher and a parent. What was this teacher thinking when she decided that her interests were more important than those of her students’ and parents’? And what about the principal who allowed this misuse of power? Let me break the issues down for you, nonpolitically, and try to explain why this was wrong.

First, as a teacher, one of my primary obligations is to protect the rights and freedoms of my students. To intentionally infringe upon those rights and freedoms would be criminal. This teacher did exactly that. These were young children who have no idea what Obama is doing as their president. Some of them probably didn’t even know who the president was. If this teacher had simply taught them a song about who their president is and what he does, I would have no issue with what transpired. But to teach them a song to praise a man they have formed no personal opinion of yet because of their age is, frankly, brainwashing. And it robbed them of their freedom to draw their own conclusions about the world around them.

Second, as teachers, we have a huge responsibility not to use our position of influence for our own agendas. Young children in particular look up to their teachers and love them. They have child-like faith that what we ask them to do is in their best interests, and it should be. This teacher took advantage of the faith her students had in her and filled those young people’s minds with her own feelings for her president. How many of those students would have even considered singing praises to their president if she had not manipulated them to do so? Whose agenda was met here? These students were used at the expense of their teacher, and that is inexcusable!

Third, as teachers, our job is to teach our students about government and the people who play a role in government. We should teach them to respect their leaders as people who make important decisions which we may not always agree with. This means that we also teach them to be active in their government and speak out when they disagree with policies and decisions that are made. In all of my years of teaching social studies, I have never taught my students to idolize their president or anyone else in government. I have never taught poems or songs or read stories that make any of these people out to be anything other than what they are or were: real people who accomplished real things. When we cross over into songs of praise, our message is no longer pure. It becomes a form of worship, which is totally misguided. This song crossed over the line from respect to worship. Is this what we want our teachers teaching our kids? I hope, to my God, not.

Politics aside, this should disturb us all, and we must speak up on behalf of our children. Speak up here, and tell us what you think.

Teacher-World's Blog freedom, New Jersey school, Obama's song, student rights

I love technology and the fact that it makes my life easier, and I love integrating technology into my classroom.

I preface this blog in this way so that you don’t think my next complaint is born out of a hatred for or frustration with technology in general. What is that complaint, you might ask? Simply this: Every year we provide our students with assignment books which are part of their school fees. Each student is expected to write their assignments down daily in this book copying it from their teacher’s assignment board. The expectation is that students will take these books home each night along with the materials they need to complete those activities, and bring everything back the next day. Clearly, the goal here is to teach and encourage responsibility; the same responsibility that will enable them throughout their life to complete necessary tasks on time and on their own. Sounds reasonable, as certainly, this is a life skill we all must master, right?

Suddenly, our principal announced at our opening meeting that he would like us all to have a web page on which we post our students’ homework daily. Now, bear with me as I think out loud here, but if the students already have assignment books provided by their school, and they are being told that they need to copy their assignments and use this assignment book to be responsible and get their work in on time, and then we tell them that if they forget their assignment book or don’t write their work down as they were instructed to do, it’s okay; all they need to do is get on their teacher’s web page and the homework will be right there, how are we teaching and encouraging responsibility? The only responsible party then becomes the teacher who not only needs to write the assignments on the assignment board, but must also post it daily on a web site, which may include updating it during the day again if the homework was adjusted for whatever reason. My responsibilities have now increased as my students’ responsibilities have decreased! And students will learn that they don’t really have to listen to their teacher and write their assignments because they can always use the website later.

Why have we been asked to do this? Because some parents want to be able to see for themselves what their child has for homework either because their child is not copying their homework at all or they are lying about what their homework is. Wouldn’t it be wiser to deal with these issues directly? Shouldn’t there be communication with the teacher to change the negative behavior in order to achieve responsible behavior in the future?

I am all for technology, but this is one time when I feel very strongly that it is a copout, and I will not design a web page (at least until I am told that I must) because I feel that the life lessons that will be missed in the process are far too valuable.

Changes in Teaching, Teacher-World's Blog student responsibility, technology, web page

In my first blog concerning President Obama’s speech to our nation’s children scheduled to air on Tuesday, I touched primarily on the reaction from our parents over the upcoming speech and the decision made by our school system as a result. While some of the anger expressed by parents was purely political in nature, in fairness to parents, some of it was undoubtedly fueled by the Department of Education’s suggested lesson plans for teachers to use as follow-up activities after the speech. Before I even discuss the initial lesson plans that were suggested, can we address the obvious? Isn’t the Department of Education a non-political entity? Their very involvement in this issue muddied the waters, as far as I am concerned. Did the DOE suggest lesson plans after Reagan or Bush’s speeches? Why this time?

At this point, what seemed like an important message to our students becomes something suspicious and tainted. Especially in light of the originally suggested activities. For example, in grades K-6, it was encouraged to have students “write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president. These would be collected and redistributed at an appropriate later date by the teacher to make students accountable to their goals.” Furthermore, it was suggested that teachers “build background knowledge about the president of the United States by reading books about presidents and Barack Obama”. Whoa!!!!! Suddenly a speech about doing well in school and staying in school takes on a whole new meaning! Are we concerned about our children, or are we influencing children to support Obama and his future policies? And should our children by writing letters about how to help their president or how to help their country? This seems like dangerous territory to me, as I’m sure it did to parents.

To the Department of Education’s credit, they did realize their mistake and amended the suggested lesson plans to something more palatable, but by then, the damage was done. As a result, many districts like mine are probably being told not to show this speech. And unfortunately, if the message is powerful, which is very likely knowing President Obama’s style and eloquence, our students will be the losers. A sad ending to what I think was meant as an innocent and relevant appeal!

Teacher-World's Blog Department of Education, Obama, Obama's speech to students, parents, teachers

What a hailstorm has erupted over the announcement of President Obama’s speech to school students nationwide on Tuesday! As a teacher, I must admit that my first reaction to the news was annoyance that after countless interruptions to my schedule hampering my ability to teach what I have planned to teach, now it was the president telling me that I had to put my educational plans aside to make way for his. And I am reticent to allow something to be viewed by my students that I have not had the opportunity to either preview or have a solid understanding of its content before I show it. I had concerns that the message might by political in nature, and not only would I be unwilling to participate in that, but I knew there would be concerned parents if this was the case. Then I heard a synopsis of Obama’s speech; to encourage students to work hard and stay in school. Since our superintendent left it up to individual teachers whether to show the speech or not and it airs during our lunch time anyway, I thought I would tape it, giving me the opportunity to determine my comfort level with the message expressed, and show it at a convenient time if I so chose. But that plan was thwarted when we received another email from our principal, this time saying that we were not to show the speech at all.

So what happened in a matter of one day to precipitate such a turn around? I believe parent reaction was largely responsible for this new decision, as I know that countless phone calls were received at the board office regarding this upcoming speech. And upon what was their reaction based? Some of it was probably purely political; a gut response to a president that they neither elected nor support. Some of it was probably fear over the possibility that the president might use this as an opportunity to mix politics with a pro-education message and their children would be caught in the crossfire. I think some parents worried about the follow-up activities teachers might use to reinforce President Obama’s speech.

 I find it interesting that both George Bush and Ronald Reagan gave speeches to school children without the anger and accusations that surround Obama’s speech. It makes me wonder if this attitude is born out of the frustration and distrust of government which has seeped into our society, especially due to this terrible economy. Whatever the cause, we will not be watching the president’s speech on Tuesday, and apparently I will not be able to show it later even if I wanted to.

I am interested, as I am sure many of you are, in knowing how other school systems have handled this delicate situation. Leave a comment, and let us know what’s happening in your school on Tuesday and how you feel about it.

Teacher-World's Blog Obama, Obama's speech to students, parents, teachers

Like everything else in education, disciplinary methods are always changing. When I first started teaching, corporal punishment was very much a rule of thumb. In fact, in my interview with the gentleman who would later become my principal, I was asked about my view on corporal punishment. Like any new teacher just out of college, I gave a verbose description of my well-rehearsed discipline plan. I rebutted the concept of corporal punishment labeling it archaic and unproductive, and talked instead of making the punishment match the crime to make sure that better habits would develop over time. My soon-to-be-principal proceeded to inform me that he was a firm believer in the use of the paddle and so were the teachers in his building. I remember leaving that interview both disillusioned and convinced that I would never hear back about that teaching position.

To my surprise, not only was I offered a teaching position (I am convinced it was more because I said I would be willing to take a coaching job than any great impression I made in the interview) but before long, I found myself buying into the corporal punishment frenzy. And it was a frenzy! I taught in a middle school at that time, and discipline was always a huge issue. Many of the male teachers had honed their paddling skills to such a degree that they volunteered their services to those of us who were too squeamish to do the deed ourselves. Eventually, corporal punishment became a thing of the past, but I sometimes look at where we are now and think perhaps we went too far in the other direction.

Many parents have become almost militant about teachers denying their child privileges as a disciplinary action. You can take away recess, but heaven forbid you take away a class party, field trip, or fun activity. (Even if their child does not deserve it.) I believe it is a reflection of our society that work needs to be fun and, rather than striving for those intrinsic rewards, it is rapidly becoming more about the extrinsic rewards. Why do schools feel they have to buy into this philosophy? I think it is because the fear of parent advocates and lawyers coming into the schools has become a reality.

Suddenly, our school system has gone soft. And the irony is that ours was once a school system which actively utilized an extremely harsh form of punishment on a regular basis. Now I would never want to go back to the days of corporal punishment, but is there no middle ground between that and the so-often-too-soft-to-be-effective forms of discipline we see in schools today? Let’s send the firm message that you earn what you work for; you don’t get it just because your parents will make a big enough stink!

Changes in Teaching, Teacher-World's Blog Add new tag, corporal punishment, lawyers, parent advocates, parents, school discipline

I’m sitting here the night before a new school year begins. This is always such a bitter-sweet moment for me. I look back nostalgically over a summer spent on so many activities that it has raced by, as always. I feel the sadness as the memories I have carved are added to the memories of all my other vacations. I will miss the sunshine days, the lazier evenings when I did not have to contemplate school work, the magic of family and the joy of being with my grandson. So much to tuck away that it hurts a little. And I, somewhat begrudgingly, adjust my focus from summer back to school.

With an equal measure of excitement and trepidation I have prepared my classroom, put up new bulletin boards, planned lessons and run papers, labeled folders, spelling workbooks, desk plates, and attendance cards. As I write out each new student’s name I can’t help but wonder which ones will blossom, which will need extra tending and nurturing, which will soar and lead the way. Each year marks a new beginning, something that makes education such a great career. No year is ever like the last. This year will have its own challenges and successes; its own highs and lows. And there is no predicting what lies ahead. This unknown element always makes me a little fearful but, at the same time, it is what keeps me energized.

I love the new beginning; the sense of starting over and pulling out tried and true strategies from my teacher’s bag but mixing it up with new techniques. It’s a little like an artist starting out with a brand new pallet. She uses her familiar brush strokes but is always adding something different and surprising so that each piece is unique and worthy. Teaching is like that. Each year is unique and worthy.

I know I will lay awake tonight unable to fall asleep as I anxiously wait to see what tomorrow holds. I always do. I can’t wait for those celebratory moments when I see dawning excitement on a student’s face because something previously hidden is suddenly revealed and learning takes flight. That’s why I am a teacher, that’s why I put up with things I don’t like about my job, and that’s why I know it will be another great year!
Good luck to all of you teachers out there. Have a great year!

Teacher-World's Blog beginnings, first day of school, summer vacation, teachers