Suit began the year by telling us that a student's education might begin at home but it ends in school. When my kids went to school, they always came home at the end of he day and did homework, studied and learned all kinds of non-academic things that have made them the successful adults they are today. If their education ended in school, I fear to think about what would have happened all those hours they were out of school, after school, weekends and vacations. I have never met a teacher, no matter how good that teacher was, that could educate a child completely. Hillary Clinton wrote "It Takes A Village", maybe not a village, but at least a family and friends.
Now, since the student's education is ending in school, it is the teacher's responsibility to find a way to educate completely. The teacher must find a way. Suit has no idea how this will be accomplished, but accomplished it must be. Perhaps the chemistry department can come up with a pill or spray that will provide instant knowledge.
Suit constantly berates my department for not having the kids sit in horse shoes and for not using enough group work. He says that we are not open to change. Although he has been told over and over that the kids need smaller classes, that double periods are too long for them to sit, that they will not go for tutoring and when they do go, they need direction, he makes no changes. He wants them all to pass. He feels that by sitting in the classroom they must have learned the work and shuld be able to move ahead. He doesn't understand that math is a cumulative subject. There is no way to move ahead without mastering the basics. He wants our school to be better than the nearby schools. He has a competitive nature. The teachers just want to teach to the best of their ability, they don't care about winning the gold.
Now, since the student's education is ending in school, it is the teacher's responsibility to find a way to educate completely. The teacher must find a way. Suit has no idea how this will be accomplished, but accomplished it must be. Perhaps the chemistry department can come up with a pill or spray that will provide instant knowledge.
Suit constantly berates my department for not having the kids sit in horse shoes and for not using enough group work. He says that we are not open to change. Although he has been told over and over that the kids need smaller classes, that double periods are too long for them to sit, that they will not go for tutoring and when they do go, they need direction, he makes no changes. He wants them all to pass. He feels that by sitting in the classroom they must have learned the work and shuld be able to move ahead. He doesn't understand that math is a cumulative subject. There is no way to move ahead without mastering the basics. He wants our school to be better than the nearby schools. He has a competitive nature. The teachers just want to teach to the best of their ability, they don't care about winning the gold.
Suit, I don't care about your bonus or your prestige. I will continue
to do what I feel is best for my students. You claim you are retiring
soon. Let's all hope that your replacement is not as stupid as you
are.
9 comments:
Prehaps Suit should have listened to Senator Obama's acceptance speech when he urged parents to turn off the TV and have students do their homework. The school's responsibility is to educate children, not raise them.
Not that Suit isn't stupid, but is there a chance that maybe you can learn something new? I know, as a teacher of a not insignificant number of years, that if I want my students to become lifelong learners I must model that for them. I do not jump on every fad that comes along, but as I teach I re-evaluate and revise what I do every single year so as to better reach the next group.
Perhaps you do this, but this recent post reminds me of an English teacher I worked with my first 3 years of teaching who would plan her lesson for the day by going to the file cabinets at the back of the room, opening the drawer for the appropriate month, thumb through to the appropriate day, and then use whatever was there. She had reached the pinnacle, there was nothing else she could learn about teaching.
Please tell me this is not you...
I wonder whether suits lives the same communities as the children he is talking about, whether suit speaks the same langauge the children he is talking about, whether he knows each child, individually, and his or her issues. Of course not! But the class room teacher does so why is he lecturing the teachers?
Because he can and gets paid the big bucks to appear concerned. They are all big time phonies.
While I do not know HS, I do know the students find it fun to work in small-group settings.
I agree, you do not have to follow all these stupid mandates, but it might be fun to experiment with a problem in a small group setting.
Set up a rubric before hand--much like the old PAM test--and they must show how they arrived at the answer. Let them use the text and classnotes to help them solve. Give them a fixed period of time and have them share their results.
You don't have to do this type of thing all the time, but if you haven't tried it yet, you might be surprised how well it can work.
Schoolgal
One of the big problems my school is having is that we don't stick with one educational philosophy and keep veering off in a million different directions. As a result (and combined with the fact that the majority of the staff looks like they're 12), our score dropped on the school report card and administration is up in arms. After a bitch slapping on day one, the result is a sullen, miserable mood in the school. How effective.
Jimmy--I almost never reuse lesson plans and I rewrite exams every term. I often rewrite after I teach, while ideas are still fresh in my mind. I don't use "canned" material and always adjust what I am doing for my students.
While I don't mind trying new things, I have found that chalk and talk works best in my classroom. My kids enjoy being there and my exam results are always good--usually the highest in the school.
As for small groups, I find wrong answers spread around like wild fires. I prefer to give them a few minutes and then go over the problem.
I am not a pro, I just know what works and what doesn't work.
I think you are a pro and your results prove it. As I stated, I never taught HS, but found small-group activity to work. Of course the parameters have to be taught before you can apply it. But my students loved to share their answers (right or wrong) and learned from the mistakes.
He sounds like he has his head up his butt. Do what you have to do for the kids. That's all that really matters. Admins come and go but teachers always stay. Hang in there. The kids need more teachers like you! :)
...a student's education might begin at home but it ends in school...
I laughed out loud for that one. If you don't laugh, you will cry.
--rocky
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