Last night some coworkers and I went and saw “Waiting for Superman” with an audience of other
underpaid and unappreciated teachers who are concerned about the education of America’s youth.
And as a result, well… we had mixed views on the movie:
Yes, the following of individual student’s stories was powerful (taking time to look at any
individual student will always leave you feeling that way). Yes, we are behind globally in
education and tomorrow’s tech companies will be recruiting more foreigners than Americas
because our youth won’t be qualified. Yes, teacher unions don’t really want EVERY teacher to have
an autonomous voice regarding reform policy and legislative possibilities. Yes, 1 in 5 charter
schools are super effective…
But no, they aren’t silver bullets either. No, teacher effectiveness wasn’t defined. No, the movie
didn’t say how student growth or performance would be evaluated. No, it didn’t look at successful
neighborhood schools but only ones with an application/ lottery = admissions process. No, it
didn’t address teacher induction programs/ training. If even Geoffrey Canada was a bad teacher
his 1st and 2nd years of teaching, then how and in what way can novice teachers hope to be
effective teachers from the get-go? In short… the movie is worth seeing in theatre because with
each ticket you get a $15 DonorsChoose gift certificate to use on any project you decide best. Our
group is going to get DODGE BALLS for our school (since we don’t have P.E. classes and little
team-based equipment).
So again… the evening wasn’t a total waste, though I’m still not sure how or where educational
reform is going in this country. Will I join a union next year (since I’m not even eligible this year,
nor are Teach for America participants)? Probably not because one can get liability insurance
anywhere… and I’m still not exactly sure what the union does other than that… Some teachers
want the possibility of earning six-figures or the freedom to work through their lunch break if that
best helps their students… Hrm. Dunno. Shesh, I don’t really want to be political. I just want to be
a good teacher and focus on that.
*** In other thoughts on finishing first-quarter… I feel like my students when…
- It’s Friday morning and I’m elated to sleep-in tomorrow morning
- I haven’t started my graduate 8-page research paper due tomorrow and am instead writing this
- journal
- I have over an hour of homework every night (and believe me, I always do)
- Oh, and if I had to guess, here are some of the common, constant, and controversial questions of all teachers: See Below:
Do we make excuses for our students? Does education set them up to fail by not enforcing
organization (notebook checks, certain required materials)… and what if the students/ school
don’t have the supplies?
Is it right for students fail over homework? What about class-work that isn’t finished in class (and
therefore becomes homework), should students be able to hold onto those papers an extra day to
turn them in? And if students can’t hold on papers, how are they going to study or hold onto
papers that are important to them? It’s as if organization is just as much a make or break point as
timeliness of assignments.
We say “High Expectations,” but what does that mean? Is that like trying to define “teacher
effectiveness”? Is the subjective-ness of education its strength or weakness? ‘Democratic education’
might have something to say about that…
Why do the same parents that purposefully chose a hard school for their students, then turn
around and ask for exceptions on those expectations? How do can I be effective when there are 34
kids all are varying levels? Does differentiation have to be chaos? And if not, what am I doing
wrong that causes it to feel that way?
As a result, I work to fight against –
Apathy (un-energized empathy), it’s what you begin to feel when certain students start to piss
you off. When students show even the least amount of appreciation, let along civility, it’s amazing
how much harder I’m willing to work for them… but when students start like A-holes, well I want
be a B-witch right on back. Obviously, as the professional I don’t, but I do count to ten, practice
deep breathing, and then smile silently. I tell myself, it’s not the students that are dislikable, but the
attitudes they’ve picked up from somewhere. How I would love to wipe off smirks, and force
students to rescind their negative disrespectful twit comments. But no, I can’t FORCE them to do
anything. I’m annoyed, but how do I turn my annoyance into productive, reflective, “your momma
wouldn’t like that” guilt-trips?
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