Teacher World

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.

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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!

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