Have a few more thoughts rambling around in my brain and wanted to get them down:
First, I want to say that I firmly believe in the importance of reading. (And math too!) I am passionate about literacy and spent several years as the literacy coordinator of my school. I used to regularly read reading research for pleasure...not so much now with 3 young kids, but I care deeply about literacy. And I feel that it is critical for kids to learn to read and learn to do math. That is their hope for the future. I hope that my post about testing did not in any way discount the need for quality teaching.
Second, I just want to make clear that I don't think that middle class white kids are somehow better than minorities or those in poverty. I just think that in many cases they are given more or different opportunities. I also think that their parents know how to advocate for them and know what is expected of them in school and therefore are better able to set them up for success.
Third, it is a tough job to be a teacher. I think that is particularly true in low income neighborhoods, although I must admit that other than one of my student teaching experiences, I have no experience in schools that are not low income. I think that many of the people who are so critical of public education and of teachers couldn't last a year (maybe not a month) in a classroom and that maybe before they are so quick to call us failures they ought to see how difficult it is. On the other hand, I don't really think that experiment should be done with real children so I guess I take that back.
Fourth, I don't really hate tests. Some tests are beneficial. If the assessment can help me figure out what my students know and don't know and can help me to #1 change my instruction to better meet their needs and #2 to get those struggling additional help, then the assessment is valuable. I'm not even entirely opposed to standardized tests...just to having so much tied to them. The value of a human being is so much greater than their test score.
Finally, despite the challenges and the disappointments and the negative feedback we so often get, my students are making progress. It is not always in the timetable given based on standards and test scores. But at the beginning of the year, many of my students could barely write a paragraph and most couldn't subtract with regrouping. Now they are writing 2-4 paragraphs with a little support and can add, subtract and multiply not to mention a host of other things. I do believe in my heart that I am making a difference. I hope that at least for some of them, they will look back when they are older and remember that they had a teacher (or many!) that cared and that helped them. I'm sure I won't be that teacher for all of them, but I think/hope/believe I am for some of them.
Jenny, I always love to hear your thoughts on schooling and being a teacher. I hope that there is no doubt in your mind of how much I admire what you and many other teachers do for the children in your schools. I feel that there are more good teachers than bad. Public school wasn't working out as well as we had hoped for Annie in first grade (actually had nothing to do with her teacher, we loved her) and so we took her out, in the meantime we have found some joys in homeschool that we didn't realize exsisted before this venture, and so we have stuck with it. I am grateful for the public school system and what it does for our society. I know that you have and will continue to make a big difference in your student's lives. You are a wonderful teacher and parent. Thanks for all of the times you have been so willing to help me with my schooling questions. Love ya!
ReplyDeleteThanks. I wasn't feeling like you or Sonja or any of the great parents I know who homeschool were against public education...just that the media is often so negative. My school was recently printed in the newspaper as an underachieving school and there have been many other media reports that seem to portray teachers in a bad light. Also, just wanted to clear up a few things that I didn't think I made clear in my original post. I admire all that you do as well. I think that there would be some real advantages to homeschooling, but I also think it would be very hard. Thanks for your kind comments.
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