Which brings me to the thoughts for today...
I began my teaching career without any formal training. I had a degree in Sociology and the heart to love children, and a principal that believed in me. I was hired by a great man under the Circular 665 Temporary/Emergency Certificate program designed to fill empty classrooms with warm bodies that possessed degrees.
I have come to realize, after completing my post-bac teaching certification, that teacher education programs do not train teachers to function or deal with reality. I had the benefit of spending time in undergrad studies working with experts in Social Work, Social Research, and Population Demographics which all helped me to be not only more cognizant, but also more conscientious about the structure of my classroom processes. Behavior modification and interaction has not ever really been a problem for me, but it is cited as being one of the biggest problem for young/new teachers.
Teacher Prep programs (often called TEPARs) have to spend more time educating teachers about dealing with social issues and demographics and less time forcing teachers to make file folder games. Teaching is a unique profession that demands the use of scientific research to create artistic relationships designed to facilitate human growth...file folder games rarely hold attention or power in this area.
Most college professors of education have been away from the classroom for years and have not a clue as to the complex social dynamics at play in your average day. I propose that all administrators and college professors return to an actual classroom with actual students for 1 term every 5 years so as not to lose sight of the basic elements of our calling - children.
This graduate program has compounded my frustration with traditional TEPARs because it guided us to explore deeper brain based research and create lessons that stimulated thought patterns that would carry children through life not just through today. Teaching in this way shouldn't be considered high performing or exceptional, it should be considered essential. Workbooks and blackline masters are not the answer to remaining competitive in the world economy...teachers that guide children to think and create themselves are the answer.
Questions for the day...
Why are we content as a society to pay teachers less than a number of blue collar occupations while requiring them to train for a white collar occupation?
Why are we content with education programs that do not adequately prepare teachers for the reality of the classroom often setting some of our youngest and brightest professionals up for the defeat of burn out?
How to inject enthusiasm mixed with brain based research into educators on the most fundamental level? In turn, how can we help some teachers let go of their dependence on workbooks and facilitate their own personal growth into high performing teachers through inquiry, discovery, and compassion?
Convince parents that such things are important. Convince them that school is more than a daycare and that it's not a waste of their tax dollars to adaquately support it. I think that's really the root of the problem. More parents willing to buy their children books instead of buying a season pass for football games would do wonders for our educational system.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I think that approach may work in middle and lower class rural areas and middle class urban areas, I don't think it will be effective at all in most lower income urban areas. Most of the students I taught in my first 5 years of teaching came from gang neighborhoods in which the parents were a great part of the problem. In order to provide the deepest quality of care to students from that demographic, it takes strength of will, emotional energy and dedication. Again I wonder why society at large doesn't appreciate teachers more...perhaps because they don't understand the depth and breadth of the teaching profession.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your point about literature vs. sports...I have often wondered why we don't move team sports out of our schools and into the community and spend more school time on lifetime sports. I am not averse to competition at all, my issue is the amount of class time I have unwillingly sacrificed over the years for pep rallys and early release for games.
Using simple tools like high expectations and product based assessments, I helped my students consistently gain more than one grade level of growth each school year. I was the teacher still teaching the day before Christmas break and the first day back from Spring break...each day was full of teachable moments.
While studies have shown us what high performing teaching is, how can we expect that level of work and investment consistently from professionals that often have to work two jobs to feed their families? I remember being so disheartened when I learned that an assistant manager at Taco Bell made more money...or the girl at the make up counter in Dillard's...both positions that required only a high school education. Again the question of squandering the resources of our best and brightest professionals to the never ending cycle of burn out...