Changing Schools in Long Beach
(Vol. 1, No. 1 - Fall 1996)
Back to "Of Penguins
and Problem-Solving"
Helping Teachers Teach to High Standards
If teachers and principals are going to learn how to teach to higher standards,
they must have time to learn.
Every professional in the district -- and most especially those who decide
how teachers' professional development time will be spent -- will need to
dedicate most if not all of the professional development time available
to working on standards.
"The powers that be need to see standards as the core of all they do,"
says LBUSD curriculum director Chris Dominguez.
Teachers who don't feel confident about their deep understanding of the
subjects they teach need the most help, because they are usually most dependent
on a textbook to tell them what and how to teach. They are also often the
least likely to seek extra development opportunities,she says.
This year, Hughes teacher Sandi Machit will leave the classroom after 10
years to become a full-time math coach for the middle schools. She will
spend muchof her time working with new teachers and those who need extra
help on content. She understands the challenges such teachers face.
In her own college preparation, Machit spent only one semester learning
specific strategies for teaching math. "It was very hard to simulate
a classroom in that short time," she says.
Always eager for professional opportunities herself, she is looking forward
to modeling her successful strategies for other teachers and giving them
long-term support.
Machit has taught gifted students and students who came to her far behind
in their schoolwork. They all need the same thing, she says. Teaching that
excites them and challenges them to work hard because they enjoy learning
and see a purpose in what they're doing. Now it's her job to help show other
teachers it's possible to teach that way -- and meet standards, too.
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