5 Days, 5 Things #3: We are Professionals

This is a picture of clip art that shows a teacher at a desk. Lots of important edblogs use pictures of clip art showing a teacher at a desk. Since I want to be a successful edblogger, here is a picture of clip art that shows a teacher at a desk.

So, it’s Teacher Appreciation Week and in lieu of both inspirational pap and unrelenting snark, I thought I’d share some “observations” or “truths” (or whatever you’d like to call them) about teachers.

Before the whole budget crisis I wrote about in my last entry finally came to a close, a few people at work brought up the words “chalk flu.” I kept my mouth shut during those conversations because I knew that if such a tactic was called for Wednesday, I wouldn’t participate for two reasons: first, I am actually taking a four-day weekend so I need to be here to get work done; and second, I’m a professional.

That sounds flip, I know, but there is something to be said about taking the high road in times when you and those in your profession are being attacked both monetarily and rhetorically. I figured that if I were to go out sick on a day after a budget meeting that couple possibly cut my school district off at the knees, I would have demonstrated that I am not really worth the amount of praise that was heaped upon me and my fellow educators last night.

The word “professional” seems to be disappearing from our conversation about teachers in a few regards. The media–who always loves a sensational story–never shies away at any story where a teacher is shown yelling at a student or mistreating a student or engaging in criminal activity. I am sure that there are people out there who think that unprofessional and even criminal behavior is now the norm among public educators just because it shows up on the local news. I sure know that there are people who think that we’re in charge of liberal indoctrination because that’s what Fox News reports.

BUt most of us simply show up, do our jobs and do them well, even if there are some aspects of the job that we don’t like (*cough*standardizedtesting*cough*), because that’s what every hard-working professional does. We care about giving every student we have a good shot at learning and achieving and we do that to the best of our ability.

Why? Well, we want to and because of that we’ve gone ahead and made sure that we are knowledgable enough to undertake that task. We’re professional because we take the time to educate ourselves about our field, our craft, and our subjects. I have heard time and again that teachers “do not have a monopoly on knoweldge,” and I don’t think we ever claimed to. However, we make sure that we are fountains of knowledge because people have been put in our charge to learn both with us and from us.

You can talk about unschooling and flipping classrooms and making students the center of learning and whatever is trending this week, but at the core of the discussion is the teacher and what he or she is doing to stay on top of what’s going on and “in the game” so to speak. Because it’s part of what we do and who we are.

On the Washington Post’s Spring Cleaning

Every year, the Washington Post‘s Sunday Outlook section runs their “Spring Cleaning” feature, where different people weigh in on ten things that they think should basically be done away with.  This year, two of those things exist within the sphere of education:  the 3 p.m. school day and grades.   Both seem like things worth getting rid of, but I thought since I was in the mood to do so, I’d take a closer look at them (note:  I’ve summarized the arguments very briefly.  I’ll link to the appropriate pieces so you can read the full argument), because while it seems like a good idea to get rid of them, I’m not so sure they’re going anywhere anytime soon.

The 3 p.m. School Day

The Argument:  It’s based on an agrarian economy (ironic considering how many “industrial model” arguments I’ve heard lately), it puts unnecessary stress on parents, it creates latchkey kids who tend to get into trouble

Why It Should Happen:

1. As a parent myself, I know how finding after-school care for a young kid can be both tough and expensive.  If the school day were more aligned to the average 9-5 workday (a 9-6 day, perhaps?), then the cost and other problems associated with after-care might not be as hefty.
2. As a high school teacher, I know how comatose teenagers are at 8:00 a.m., especially in a school district where the buses start running as early at 6:30 because they have long distances to travel (I teach in a rural area).  If we shift to a later starting and end time, perhaps they’ll be more alert or have more time in the morning to wake up.
3. By making the day longer, we can add more time for students to eat lunch or have recess.  I don’t know about you, but wolfing my food down inside of 25 minutes isn’t exactly my idea of a fun way to eat.
4. Lengthening class time from 45 minutes to a full hour (if you’re on this type of schedule) might allow for more engaging and differentiated instruction where teachers and students can feel like they’re getting their hands dirty without constantly looking at the clock to see if it’s time to clean up.

Why It Might Not Happen:

1. Well, if you’re one of those people who complains about schools being testing factories, you probably don’t want kids to spend more time in the testing factories.
2. Employers would be upset because their cheap labor is no longer available.  You think I’m joking, but here in Virginia we have a law nicknamed the “King’s Dominion Law,” which basically mandates that school start after Labor Day so that teenagers are able to finish working out the entire summer and therefore support tourism.  With a 5:00 or 6:00 p.m. finish time, your average McDonald’s or Starbucks might not be too happy that they have to hire actual adults who will want to work for more than minimum wage.
3. After-school sports would start too late.  Again, that sounds silly but look around your average school and its culture and see how important sports are to said culture.  I’m sure that you could pull those athletes out of school early to participate in sports, but then that would perpetuate the “special status” that too many jocks unjustly deserve.
4. You’d have to pay teachers more.  And you know we can’t have that.

Grades

The Argument:  The idea of grades takes away from real effort.  If a student gets a bad grade, it’s demoralizing and discouraging.  If all a good student is working toward is good grades, then they’re not going to give any extra effort.

Why It Should Happen:

1. I often have problems with rubrics that break down tasks into numbers.  Why did your paper get an 85 and not an 88?  Uh … because of some idiotic formula?  Because a number has to be there?
2. Grades often lead to b.s. work, especially in English.  We might spend weeks without any graded work because we’re discussing stories or a novel and then … well, here comes the progress report, so I probably should give them something to do so there will be a grade in the book.  Time for a worksheet, kids!
3. Grades shouldn’t be the main motivator anyway.  There’s something to be said for enjoying the learning process or feeling good that you’ve accomplished something no matter what the letter on the report card says.  Some realize this sooner than others.
4. I’d like to feel that true feedback matters and true feedback is in the words that are on the paper as opposed to the number in the gradebook.

Why It Might Not Happen:

1. Parents expect them.  When you don’t have a lot of grades in your gradebook, parents will question whether or not you’re doing anything in class.
2. Standardized testing is so important to bureaucrats and politicians and Pearson that it’s hard to see where they could function without scores and data.
3. Piggybacking onto that, without grades, where are the measurables?  How are we objectively going to know how a student is doing in his classes?
4. This is a culture change that goes beyond just schools.  Think about how the profit motive and other sort of rewards-based systems are the basis of our entire society, from the economy to an individual’s social life.  People take jobs because of salary; I’ve had students refuse to do anything if it wasn’t graded.  That’s an attitude that is ingrained deeper that anyone thinks and probably one of the hardest things to change.

So yes, another clue into the massive headache that is “fixing” education.  Anyone got any Advil?

Whatever happened to the microcosm?

I hear the word “authentic” a lot lately, usually in the context of the learning experience. The way the word is applied to learning seems to be in order to make a point that the “real world” is the ultimate classroom. Usually, such a point is followed by another that uses the words “factory-model learning” in reference to a public school classroom. In other words “authentic” simply seems to be another word added to a growing stack of words and talking points trying to invalidate both the classroom model and public schools as a whole.

Frankly, I think this, as a talking point, has been so overused that it’s worn out and is almost a cliché. There’s some validity to the argument, of course, but it seems that those who employ it are more interested in making noise than anything else. I don’t think any classroom teacher will deny that learning can take place outside of a classroom, and I don’t know any classroom teacher who thinks that he or she has a monopoly on learning. If anything, I know many teachers who enjoy it when their students bring new things to the table and are frustrated that more of their students don’t realize that learning does not happen in a vacuum. In fact, there’s a strong argument to be made for more learning happening outside of a classroom than inside of it. What I question is why the pendulum has swung all the way to where a classroom is not “authentic.”

When I was in school–and yes, I know that sounds very, “Hey, kids, get off my lawn!”–I heard teachers use the word “microcosm” quite a bit. Now, it was often used in the tired old context of “School is your job!”, but I did start to wonder lately if the idea of school as a microcosm for the world still held any weight. I know the world has changed quite a bit since I walked the halls of my alma mater (go Flashes!) but now that I have experience in the working world–both in and out of public education–I see how some of the rules and tenets I grew up with still apply.

So, since lists are fun, here are five (with the disclaimer that I teach high school, so while you might be able to apply some of this to elementary/middle school, I in no way believe that one size fits all) …