Entry #5 - Oct. 5, 1998
"If they can impress an IBM vice president and foreign dignitaries,
if they can impress me and other teachers, why do they bomb on the tests?
. . . It's painful to see bright kids shut out of special high school programs
because of test scores that only give a very limited view of their abilities."
Monday, Monday...
It was a great day, after all my anxiety. I worried myself right into a
monster head cold, so I sounded like a baritone, but the kids were cooperative
and anxious to show off their knowledge and skills for our visitors. Lots
of hands were raised for every question I asked and they asked thoughtful
questions of their own too. The students on the computers acted like they'd
been using them for years, not days.
I should have known that they would do their best when we got down to the
wire -- they always do...except on standardized tests, but why? What have
we communicated to the kids that says visitors are important, but these
tests are not? If they can impress an IBM vice president and foreign dignitaries,
if they can impress me and other teachers, why do they bomb on the tests?
I've been wrestling with this dilemma for years, and I don't feel any closer
to a solution. I am, however, paying more attention to test vocabulary and
test-taking skills. It's painful to see bright kids shut out of special
high school programs because of test scores that only give a very limited
view of their abilities. It's also painful to take a public beating in the
press when your scores are published each year.
On another note, our first CFG meeting went well too. I spoke to some of
the other teachers before the meeting and they prepared to introduce different
parts of the agenda. Sharing the leadership loosened things up. Everyone
spoke up and shared their "teaching passions" and when we looked
at the list, we saw pretty clearly that we all care about the same things...helping
kids become literate so they can solve real problems. One person might have
called it basic skills and another spoke about reading ability, but the
message was the same. We also agreed that since we're all using computers
we'd like to look closely at the connection between technology and our kids'
skills.
The group agreed to focus on the collaborative inquiry question that the
three of us came up with this summer: "How can the use of technology
lead to improved basic skills instruction and promote critical thinking?"
In order to start planning some solid action research about this question,
we've agreed to read a case study about another Phila. school and the way
their question changed, once the real inquiry began.
We talked about our summer reading too. In May we agreed to pair off and
read four different books about education. We were supposed to write comments
about our readings on a secure web site which IBM designed for us, but nobody
wrote, but me. They did read though. After a while, I felt rather silly
writing to myself, and we had a good laugh about it at the meeting. One
teacher said she wondered if maybe I wasn't getting answers they couldn't
see -- she said she didn't want to interrupt!
On a more serious note we talked about our varied comfort levels writing
online and worked out a schedule for book talks at upcoming CFG meetings.
I'm looking forward to the discussions of the books and I hope that we can
break down some of the discomfort folks still feel about writing online.
In retrospect, I can see it was pretty foolish of me to think that folks
who are still leery of email would hold an online conversation about their
reading, but then, I've always been an optimist.
We spent the rest of the meeting sharing websites and catching up on the
latest plans to update our computers and our training to use them.
Back in my classroom, I had a bit of a homework crisis. We were off on Wednesday,
and on Thursday at least half of my 165 students were unprepared. It was
not a good day. My lessons depended on the work being done and I had to
spend a great deal of time writing notes home in student planners. It was
frustrating to say the least, but it did put things back on track for Friday.
Was it the extra day off or just normal adolescent testing of the limits?
I'll never know, but I really dislike days like that, days where I feel
more like a cop than a teacher.
Next week the artist begins working with the
mural design team from seventh grade. This weekend I'll be figuring
out lessons for the rest of my classes that will keep them connected to
the project and their design representatives -- 15 students they elected.
After the first week or so, they'll all be involved directly, but the initial
phase is fragmented. How to design lessons that subs will use and the kids
will benefit from is the question...wish me luck.
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