November 2011
30 posts
Creative Education: What is the National Goal of... →
creative-education:
This is the ONLY question that needs to be answered!
In the nineteenth century, when the National Goal was for students to master the 3Rs to fit into the “modern” world, Educators produced the One Room Schoolhouse. At the beginning of the twentieth century, when the National Goal was to…
October 2011
27 posts
7 tags
0023: Burnout or Crossroads? Where am I and where...
I am concerned that I’ve become better at talking about teaching than being a teacher. I am plagued with constant doubt of my practice, and my motivation. I do not see myself as the same teacher I was when I started. When I started I taught in a districts “worst school”. The students were violent, the gang problem was out of control, and the kids were the greatest challenge to...
9 tags
0022: Don't give up on relinquishing control to...
I feel like I’m beating a dead horse suggesting that education should look different. I think we all know that. The world is different, so education and education practices should follow suit. In the college classroom teachers are taught to teach using different methods, and to use cooperative learning, and other methods that fall within best teaching practices. Many teachers carry these...
3 tags
http://adventuresinlearning.tumblr.com/post/1213428... →
adventuresinlearning:
photo taken from We are the 99%
While this is not an official Occupy Education post, I think it would fit right in.
We need to start making public what a lot of teachers are facing in this country. Part of making our voice heard is giving a face to the stories of layoffs and budget cuts. A face to the courage and bravery required to continue to fight for students and...
cmrubinworld asked: I love your blog. I am now following you. Would you take a look at my blog about global education and consider following me?
15 tags
0021: Why Teach? Why not Rebel?
Why teach, when it seems like a constant battle? It is a constant battle for the teachers I’ve known, at least. And maybe it’s the for we teachers who teach in schools that serve at-risk kids, kids who have never quite received all of the equitable education to which they’re entitled. These teachers are under constant scrutiny from administrators who are looking down the...
21 tags
0020: Time to Talk Race, Class, Gender, and Sexual...
Time has to be made for relevant discussion in classrooms. We’re all fast away making sure curriculum is being learned in a timely manner, and it’s easy to forget to involve the students. Sometimes it’s frowned upon. Students have issues that need to be heard, and they’re not all pretty. But, they need help dealing with emotions, fears, and so forth. They need help putting...
7 tags
0019: No Time to be a Principal said the...
I’ve had several discussions with principals who are absolutely overwhelmed. No longer are the building administrators. Thy are building reporters spending a majority of their time collecting data to report to central offices and the state. This collected data is not, for many, being used. It’s simply a routine report to ensure schools are “performing up to snuff.” So,...
12 tags
0018: Students question the validity of their...
Is partial teaching brainwashing? Does the vanilla version of history and economics out students get in most classrooms pave the way for political apathy and victimization in the future?
I had a wonderful one-on-one discussion that began with the question: “Is the US the greatest country in the world?” The question was never answered, but questions were generated. We started with...
10 tags
0017: What is Student-Centered Instruction? How do...
Many teachers don’t know what student centered instruction is. They’ve been told countless times to make lessons “student centered”, but that is nothing more than a meaningless phrase to many. Notably, I’m writing here to sharpen my understanding of the phrase “student centered” and maybe trying to decide if that’s even the best way to describe...
9 tags
0016: Administrators and Professional Developers...
Clearly defined expectations are tantamount to classroom performance. If a teacher wants a student to perform a task in a certain way, that task must be explained and discussed in such a way that the student can perform said task in such a way as to meet the teachers expectations. That means terms must be defined, rubrics should be clear, and for best results, dialogue between teacher and student...
7 tags
0015: Teachers rebel and create freedom in your...
I’ve seen countless atrocities in the schools where I have taught from excessive paddling of students by angry and overwhelmed teachers and administrators, to teachers simply not teaching their classes. I’ve witnessed students fighting teachers physically, and vice-versa. I’ve also seen students who couldn’t read, but no one had time to intervene. I’ve seen students...
9 tags
0014: Laissez-faire learning (no capitalist)!
I took my students on a field trip today. I remembered why love to teach. I taught nothing today. I just watched them discover things. I got to not intervene. Their learned and adapted. They made their own way. They become more fully human. They created culture.
4 tags
8 tags
0013: Techology— Got to have it
Technology is imperative in our classrooms because it’s a part of the everyday world. We’re supposed to be preparing our students to enter a fast-paced global economy will cognitive flexibility that will allow the to solve and manage multiple problems at once. Tech is a huge part of this. The skills required to meet these challenges are developed through collaborative problem solving....
9 tags
0012: First, do no harm— right?
I’m struggling as a teacher, and we all struggle, but I think I’m dealing with a dulled motivation. I don’t know if I’m approaching burnout, or if it’s time to make a move from the classroom. I am heavily critical of the schooling takes place, and for good reason. I’m concerned that being a part of a system that equates children with a number and not as human...
11 tags
0011: Question of Education, Content Literacy, and...
Elementary Educators work to teach children to learn to read; that is, they equip them with tools to decode words, sentences, and so forth. With those tools hopefully children are stimulated with experiences and conversations that help kids build their vocabularies. Of course, the effectiveness of these grade school experiences vary according to myriad factors from class size to teacher...
9 tags
0010: Principals, empower your teachers— and fix a...
How have teachers gotten to the point where creativity and freedom are no longer a part of their personal vocabulary? When asked how to solve a problem, teachers freeze. It seems they want to provide a part of the solution, but they’re afraid to risk it. Faculty meetings that require collaboration are silent voids as speakers try to facilitate conversation. Teachers don’t want to...
11 tags
0009: Why should students be motivated by high...
Strangely scores are used as a carrot to keep kids working hard and competitively. I’ve seen charts in classrooms and on bulletin boards charting progress. There are even special clubs and events for students who get the highest marks on standardized tests. Students are easily sorted according to their test scores. Students know is they’re advanced, proficient, basic, minimal, or any...
11 tags
0008: Digital Natives or Digital Zombies? Helping...
Communication by Twitter, Facebook, and/or SMS is quickly becoming a primary method of communicating ideas. A lot is being packed into these seemingly miniscule messages. The contents are responsible for huge outcomes, such as tweet by a graduate student covering a government protest in Egypt that read: “ARRESTED”, which helped free him and his translator from the Egyptian jail (Simon, 2008), to...
8 tags
0007: Cynicism is a teacher's greatest battle...
Everyday a teacher wakes up to an endless list of impossibilities. The work is arduous, with little thanks or respect, and the results are seldom immediate. Additionally, there’s the battle to maintain focus on a goal that was often forgotten the moment the teacher was set in front of a classroom full of children or young adults who had all somehow managed to slip through the cracks. The...
6 tags
0006: What's the difference between a motivated...
It seems to be a difference in power or perceived power. The motivated teacher is reflective and actively and independently involved in personal and professional growth. The less effective teacher is stagnant. The motivated teacher is in control of their path. They are also concerned with the growth of those around them. They understand themselves to be an important part of a team. Maybe...
10 tags
0005: We don't need a tune-up— we need a brand new...
In talking with teachers, administrators, and especially janitors (who hear and see all) the consensus is that the system is broken. I’m not hearing much positive talk; only cynical, false positive talk. Everyone is overwhelmed. We have this problem of motivating and educating a mass of people, but no one is trusted to do it. Building administrators are not trusted by district...
8 tags
0004: On the beauty of student resistance and...
I’ve noticed over the course of my teaching career that students, particularly teenagers, are reluctant to comply. Some outright refuse. In turn, teachers, myself included, get angry and come up with some punitive measure to force their compliance, or simply send them to the office with a referral. And, then we expect them to think for themselves. Is it so terrible that they don’t...
0002
I’ve been thinking quite constantly about my steadily increasing cynicism toward education. I’m coming to a nebulous understanding that my initial, highly idealized, goal for entering education, to stir up and change the education system, is not entirely possible in the classroom. I also wanted to help students discover themselves metaphysically. I still want these things, but maybe in...
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Before I leave the teaching profession angry and disenfranchised, or just plum burnt out I need to have a serious, and maybe public, go at reflecting on my experiences present and past as a teacher. I have had times that I was really focused and motivated, and others that I felt weary and lived only for planning periods and weekends. I am on the weary end right now, and it’s allowing me to...
