Set the example!

Sir Ken Robinson makes an interesting point about public education by comparing it to a factory of mass production. In our education system we have standard tests and standards for grade levels that “conform” students to specific guidelines and grade levels. He goes on to say that schools today are “preoccupied with certain types of ability.” He says that his aim is to help students find their passion and inspire creativity. Here is where I have a problem in what he is saying…

As a society, I believe that we should have standards because we need to be able to compete with a growing technological society. The problem with our standards in this country is not with the standards themselves. The problem is with the way we teach the standards and the way we “rush” children through the system. We have pushed children through the system not worried about whether or not they will catch up next year or fall further behind. We have labeled children that can’t work at their grade level target as being learning disabled. Maybe we should not worry about years and time lines anymore and allow students to advance in grade levels ONLY when they pass the subject area demonstrating mastery of the content. This would require students to show motivation to move forward and would require those that need help to spend as much time as they need. Why do we have to categorize students by a grade level that requires them to master content in one year? Why can’t students work at their own pace and advance when they are emotionally ready to? Why isn’t there more flexibility?

If we adjusted these requirements it would allow teachers flexibility in teaching by giving them more time to teach. For example, it might be better for students to finish a science subject in 9 months, test, and move on to the next level. Where as, in language arts they should work for 11 months, test, and advance. Currently our students are testing between March and May in Virginia; this means that teachers only have from September to February to teach content material. That is only 6 months! Are we setting our children up to fail? To hate school?

I agree with Robinson, there is a need for more creativity and inspiration in schools. Most teachers would tell you they don’t have time to be creative. However, I feel that there are bigger issues to deal with that would fix this issue.

As a classroom teacher, you can’t change educational policy on your own. What you can do, is find a method that works best for you. Find what standards and practices go best together and how the students work best with each of them. Create more time in your classroom by find ways to combine content so that you can provide ways for students to demonstrate mastery of material in ways other then testing. When students are able to do hands-on, practical or design based learning activities it encourages them to make connections with content that forces them to use upper level thinking and inquiry skills.

And finally, to inspire creativity and passion in the classroom, teachers must always remember that they create the classroom environment. So, create an environment that encourages creativity and passion for content knowledge. Be the example that you want students to be!

Bringing Choas Back to Education

As a teacher there is one goal I desire to do to help improve the conformist, lazy direction education is heading in. I want to bring reality to the class room. What I mean by this, is not only just bringing real world examples into my science classroom, but also breaking the typical social setting: adult teacher lectures and ignorant students listen and learn. That is not how people learn in the real world. They must experience. They must learn it on their own.

Furthermore while the social and technological world has changed, education has not changed to match it. With a world wide internet, the access to information is unlimited. SO why spend all our time forcing memorization of irrelevant facts when students really need to learn to apply the information they gather to real life situations.

Lastly we need to encourage students to try lots of subjects, etc. until they find what they enjoying learning and doing. THEN we must provide enough flexibility within our school systems to allow students to pursue those goals to see if its really what they are interested. This needs to happen before kids go to college so they are getting an idea of themselves sooner.

Education or Mass Production?

There were several things that Sir Ken Robinson said that formed very vivid images in my mind . I'd like to comment on them first.
The analogy made with children being mass manufactured like products in a factory reminded me of the film, 'The Matrix' - in particular the scene where the machines are creating new species in the 'real world'. To be honest, this is very very scary.... and it's really happening- which scares me more. Is this what our education system has come to? Sir Robinson is correct when he mentions that our education system is based on the principles of 'mass production'. However, this is extremely unfortunate. This has to change... I don't really know how.. but it's not heading the right way.

The second vivid image that came to mind was when he talked about how a plant grows. A plant needs nurturing and the correct conditions to grow. This is very true. It is absolutely imperative, critical, crucial, important, and ESSENTIAL for schools to provide conditions, and teachers to enhance 'personal development' -- this according to me is the KEY to a good education. As Sir Robinson mentioned later, you can't just put the roots in the ground and stick the petals and expect the plant to grow.....

One factor that greatly contributes to this mechanical system is the fact that the government sets very definite targets by which it wants to accomplish extremely challenging feat. The new goal that came with the recently reformed ESEA is, " ..... that by 2020, America once again will lead the world in college competition." I would be really glad if this happened in the next decade. However, I'm just afraid that in order to accomplish this goal, we will resort to narrowing our focus on 'important', yet limited, aspects of teaching. Achieving targets, at the cost of inhibiting personal development, in my opinion is extremely unfair.

In such a system, not only do the students suffer, but so do the teachers. The latter have to teach to a restricted (and not necessarily an educationally prolific) curriculum.
On the positive side, the government has put in a HUGE amount of money into education, which should really help in a lot of ways. Also, the fact that the govt. mentioned that schools not performing well will not be punished, but instead be helped -- this was immensely heartening and encouraging to hear !

As a teacher, I firmly believe that I need to teach my students science in such a way that they understand , enjoy , learn it well, and trigger (in even the smallest of ways) some excitement or fascination for some aspect of science. I would like to provide conditions necessary for healthy personal development, as I believe that this is imperative. I had very few teachers who motivated me well, but I know that if I did, I would probably have learned much more, in a much better way. I wouldn't want my students missing out on this, and will do my best to be an inspiring teacher.
The problems in education are huge, and impossible for a single person to solve. Even though it might be insignificant, I will put in an earnest effort in ensuring that my students have learned the subject well, and nor just for the sake of the exam. If I can succeed in this challenge, I will be really satisfied.

The Road Less Paved?

I went to a conference earlier this fall where a man showed a ppt slide of a "sketchy" neighborhood with run down homes and pot holes in the road. He made the analogy that this was our education system. We keep repaving the road with our "reforms" but essentially the road still leads to the same bad neighborhood. Then today, I saw this on cnn.com.http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/03/17/ted.ken.robinson/index.html?hpt=C1Read this short article and respond to it on the blog. Perhaps you as a single teacher in a classroom may not be able to completely overhaul education - but what can you do to keep from just repaving the same bad road?

Video Streaming

I don't know how this relates to some subjects, but I plan to teach biology. I have already used videos as a way to reinforce my own learning in my biology classes, and there are some processes and concepts in biology that would have confused me for a long time without videos to enhance my understanding. I also have seen what videos do for the students in my class and the students I tutor. I really believe that there are times that I could keep talking until I am blue in the face, but it is not until they see the video that it really makes sense to them. I don't really think it matters if you are streaming or playing a file off of your computer, but moving pictures are invaluable in many biological concepts. I would never dream of teaching my class using only the static images in their textbook.

Assistive Tech

If a student is a struggling reader and they do poorly in your class because they lack that skill, then your tests are likely assessing reading ability more than mastery of the content in your class. I would never say to make the questions easier, but if you are aware that your class struggles with reading, you ought to write questions that do not take excessive amounts of time to read. I believe there is a rule of thumb in education about the reading level of your tests remaining lower than the grade that you teach. I believe this is a good thing. I would hate for a student to truly understand the material, but in my test I use a word (not a vocab word from class) that causes them to answer the question incorrectly.

I think that if you build many types of assessment into your class, this can help those students succeed. Labs during class are good because they have you and their peers to help them if they encounter troubles due to their reading level. Homework can also be helpful because it allows them as much time as they need to read whatever the assignment entails.

Assistive Technologies can help a struggling student as well. The read-back programs could really help these students by letting them learn the information despite their reading level, and things like a smart-pen may help the students who struggle to listen and take notes simultaneously. I do worry that students who could manage on their own may become too reliant on such programs, but for the student who truly needs the aid, these programs are invaluable tools.

KNOW your students!!!

This is a common issue for every teacher no matter what the subject may be. You will come across students who are incapable of reading and will require other ways of obtaining the information you teach. Although we all wish the students we get at the beginning of every school year will be up to par on their reading abilities, we do not live in a perfect world.

If you have a student that is incapable of reading and you give periodic assessments which require a substantial amount of reading then the student will most likely do poorly on the assessment. Some students get very anxious when given anything with a large amount of words on the paper; this will also lead to poor grades.

My best advice is to KNOW your students and be able to give appropriate accommodations to everyone, especially those with 504 plans and IEP’s. Know the reading abilities of ALL of your students so you can assist them to the best of your ability. For example, I had some students who had difficulty with “big” words. Therefore, every handout I wrote up I simplified the language or instead of writing a word like ‘submit’ I would say ‘turn in.’ Although this did take a few extra minutes of my time when writing lesson plans and handouts, in the end it made everyone’s lives easier.

If the student requires an aide, this person will be in class with them to further assist the student in any way possible. The aide should be very helpful in making sure the student is not hindered due to their poor reading abilities. Strategies such as reading test questions allowed, page formatting (not putting too many words on one page), font size, test formatting, simple language use etc. will all be duties of both you and the student's aid.

In the end our job is to teach our students science, but with science comes language. It is not bad to spend a little extra time defining words your students don’t understand. From my experience anytime a student has come across an unfamiliar word, they ask, and then you have the opportunity to explain it to them. Also, when speaking to the entire class, if you say a word and students respond with funny looks on their faces, ask the class if anyone knows the meaning, usually someone does and then that student can tell the class.

Assistive technology can always help us in some way. If we know our students abilities, and know and understand the assistive technology we are given, then we should be able to appropriately use a majority of the equipment in everyday instruction.

Hopefully we will all be the best science teachers we can be, meaning, we will take advantage of assistive technology our schools provide us with. We will be in tune with our students and know their individual needs in order for them to succeed. If they have difficulty reading, try and do everything you can to help them understand the principles of science rather then testing their ability to read.