Fruits of my Teaching

Being an effective teacher is not rocket science. I am however, leaving behind the idea that teaching is anything easy. I am leaving behind the idea that it is okay, not to grade homework. I leave behind the notation, that emotional connections aren’t important. I leave behind the idea that the whole American Education System is failing. I take with me the idea that being an effective teacher is like being a good gardener.

Many thinks that it is easy to do. What more do you have do then digging a hole, planting a seed, pulling some weeds and getting that sunlight. I couldn’t expect my students to truly blossom if that was all I did. Like a good gardener I have to have a plan. You have to now you’re seeds (the content), very well to make sure you’re getting the right thing to blossom. Yet you cannot only attend to one need of the plant to be really effective. I have to remember they have physical, academic and emotional needs. To allow my student flowers to bloom I have to account for these. Plants may cooperate well, but regardless still need structure. The gardener has to note progress made, just like teachers need to be aware of progress and give feedback on assignments. You have to make the though decisions and compare and contrast the right type of fertilizer, just like we have to teach our students to do so. Just like each seed has its own necessary conditions to grow, so does each student.

I think the future planters (teachers) of America need to know Marzano’s strategies, but they also need to know that there is not only one right way to execute them. We need to learn to truly collaborate so we really benefit all the students. We’ll get the highest, strongest and most beautiful yield from our seeds, if we put our efforts together to plan and execute our vision.

Lessons from 1954

This post is a response to http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2010/02/column-we-need-two-school-systems-.html#uslPageReturn

I agree we need to overhaul American Education. I face the achievement gap daily. I know we need great leaders to take our nation into a successful position in the 21st century and beyond. Yes, we need innovators, and we need people to do the work. We need a new system one that is rooted in great change.

But really, I just see this idea as another way of keeping the privileged rich and the poor in prison (and everyone should read Reinman's book on the topic http://www.amazon.com/Rich-Get-Richer-Poor-Prison/dp/0205305571). We need to remember Brown V Board of Ed. Separate will never be equal. We will help no one by setting up a system that puts students into different tracks.

I'm not naive. I know right now we're not creating a system that meets all needs, but by separating systems we'll still end up with all the rich in one system and the poor in another. We need a system that brings them all together. We need to rich and poor to go to school together. I know the rich parents won't like it, but we need to make these radical changes happen. We need to have real diversity in the classroom.

I can only imagine how greatly I would have benefited from meeting people like my students at my age, and how they would have benefited as well. I would have seen a world that was so different than mine. It would have been so hard to handle. But I would have learned at a young age how to make it work. Youth are amazing, and they are they ones we need to most expose to diversity. They are the ones who will be most willing to make changes in a world, because they see the most possibility.

Also I can imagine how my students would benefit from having the great resources and involvement from families like mine. My parents would have never stood for of the things that happen in our low income schools. This is not to say anything against my students' families. Their families are wonderful and involved. Yet they are not always aware of their own rights and that is a problem. My students need more advocates fighting for them.

I don't think this blog post will solve all problems. I know full diversity has its own set of issues. But I'd argue for fully inclusive bused from all over town classrooms before I'd ever say it was okay to have separate schools.

Two kinds of ice cream..

On a scale of 1 to 10 my current level of happiness is a 5.

On a scale of 1 to 10 my current level of unhappiness is a 4.

On a scale of 1 to 10 my ideal level of happiness is an 8.

To increase my level of happiness I commit to:

• taking some time to medidate each day.
• contacting at least one friend each day.
• spend the hour before I go to bed doing something for myself.
• stop bitting my nails.

I believe it is the small actions that make the biggest difference. I used to get upset when my car beeped at me because I left the lights on. I made a decision that I should not get upset over my car beeping, so I decided to say thank you. This has become a habit, and it stops me from getting angry and reminds me to be grateful for this reminder. It keeps me from getting angry and gives me positive enegry. It has honestly improved my experince in driving.

I think by starting each day with a focused reading or medidation, will allow me to start each day with a focused mindset. Contacting one friend each day will make sure I'm staying connected to people. Taking time for myself makes sure I appericate me. I've always wanted to stop bitting my nails. I know that if I accomplished this I would be really proud. Old habits can be hard to break, but conquering this would demonstrate a lot of personal growth.

Friendly Fraud

Some days I just feel like a fraud. To my students (and many people at my school), I am the authority on mathematics. This frightens me. I took 3 pure math classes at my college. The rest of the math classes I took were more applied in the field of statistics. I like math and I understand all the math I teach, but I've forgotten much of what I learned in calculus. What is NCLB doing if it sees me as highly qualified in the field of mathematics? My students deserve the best. They should have a math teacher who remembers how to find the limit of an equation, not just the content that I am responsible for teaching. Yes, I passed my AEPA, but only with great stress and worry on my part. Does passing an exam really prove that I am an expert?

I guess contemplating this shows that I care. Recognizing my own faults and being honest about what I need to change is a strength of mine. I know that my caring and love of my students is important. But is caring about the students enough? No. A change must be made. I need to be proactive and brush up on my higher level math skills. Of course it is easier to say this than to actually do this. To do this would involve a commitment of time and energy which is hard to find in my schedule. Yet when things are important we must make time for them.

This is a personal effort to change. Not everyone involved in this system may feel this pull for change. This is where we have to think beyond ourselves. I have control over the decisions I make for my students, but not over everyone else. Sound and strictly enforced policies are what we need to effect change.

Solitary Effort

BEFORE ACTIVITY

I generally prefer to go to the park, watch TV, eat, shop, and walk the dog with other people. In order to reflect on my interdependence and the joy of company I have decided that I will eat lunch (something I normally do with my students or colleagues) alone.

Just before I eat lunch I will be lining up my students to go to lunch. I will be wearing something like dress pants and a top or a dress. I am probably feeling a little stressed because my students struggle getting into a straight line. I am also probably feeling pretty happy because I know I'll have a break. I don't think I'll be that anxious about eating lunch alone. I doubt I'll be stressed but I do think I'll be a little bored and a little lonely. I will attempt to smile and be confident. I will also picture myself smiling and confident as I finish my lunch and pick up my students at the field from lunch.

AFTER ACTIVITY

Eating lunch alone was surprisingly nice. I normally only like to be alone in my classroom, when I getting ready for the day or during my prep. The windowless room makes me depressed. Yet as I was eating alone, I got the chance to just relax. I didn't have to worry about kids shouting or doing math problems. I got to take a few minutes and sit in my room in peace. The quiet was a little strange in the middle of day, but it allowed my ears to rest and I felt rather good. Toward the end of the lunch period I did get bored and decided to read a book. This allowed me to take a few extra minutes to do something just for me and not for my students. I was able to walk out the field and be more confident than normal because I had peaceful time to really recharge instead of listen to complaints or adolescent drama. Perhaps I should eat alone every day. Yet I do think I would miss the connection it builds with my coworkers and students. While relationships are draining because the amount of energy they require they are also what makes us human. While peace is helpful for sanity, I would surely go insane if I didn't have relationships with students and coworkers.