Entry #36 - June 7, 1999 - The Final Word
"The sun is out, the grass is green, and I don't give up easily.
Whether or not 'the system' can be saved, I can still make a difference
for *my* students in *my* class and to co-workers and community as well."
At this time of year, you can spot the teachaholics if you know what to
look for. Just as everyone is winding down, talking of summer itineraries,
these wild-eyed addicts can be seen hunkered over library catalogs and resource
materials, making notes for September's exciting new ventures... I'd never
admit it publicly, of course, but I've even started doing some of that myself.
Still, with three weeks to go, there's time for interesting and challenging
learning activities THIS year.
I always experience a mix of satisfaction and disappointment when I look
back on what we've accomplished over a school year -- any school year. That's
good, I think, because if I were entirely pleased, it would mean our sights
had been set pretty low to begin with. All of my students, even the slackers
and whiners, HAVE made definite progress. When we organized their portfolios,
this was plain to see.
Their choices in reading have matured, too. Even though all are still below
grade level, they have all become independent readers who will tackle *short*
novels and non-fiction books on their own, and several have become regulars
at the public library. Even Mr.-I-Hate-Reading has been known to sneak a
book on the sly (I didn't blow his cover!).
Their comprehension has improved markedly, even more than their written
work reveals. I attribute a lot of this to the sorts of "guided reading"
activities (involving a LOT of teacher modeling of thinking strategies and
so on) proposed by Patricia Cunningham in her book, Classrooms
That Work. It's aimed at the primary and intermediate grades, but substitute
content area material and varied literature and it's just as effective with
older learners (in fact I understand a book more directed towards the middle
grades is in the works).
Schoolwide, we're breathing a sigh of relief as another year of systemic
crisis and chaos comes to an end. The future of the school is uncertain
(but it won't close in the next two years, anyway). There are wild rumors
that the government plans to abolish school boards and privatize everything.
A new "teacher recertification program" has been announced but
although it is to begin in a few months, there are no details about what
will be involved. Schools are shedding special education and other support
services faster than dog hair in spring. While we have *never* had anything
like the staff or resources needed for our students, the crunch is also
being felt in advantaged schools. In fact there are so many crises everywhere,
from no books to no substitute teachers, that we can only throw up our hands
and try to forget it. We can still close our doors and try to teach our
students -- and we will.
A "Siege Mentality" Will Not Reform Schools
The problem is, this "siege mentality" is no way to reform a system
-- or even a school. If standards-based reforms are to take root and effect
*real* changes in classroom practices and student learning (not just varied
schemes to manipulate test results), this crisis atmosphere has got to go!
It is imperative to have some commitment to comprehensive staff development
and resource support, as well as efforts to identify and publicize "best
practice" situations in a variety of milieus (what works in the urban
context might not be what's needed on native reservations, for example).
I know from my dog-training avocation that there is a limit to the effectiveness
of top-down, authoritarian initiatives. Even with dogs, you can get surly
compliance with a "get tough" approach, but you don't get inspired
performance. That only comes when dog and trainer are partners in a synergistic
effort that, at its best, is an almost mystical level of communication.
Now I'm not so naive as to hope for mystical insight in school administration
(!!), but a more collegial, partnership-oriented model is imperative, or
these reforms will NOT succeed over the long term. Parents, teachers and
students need to be on board, and for that they must both understand and
support the process, and be involved in efforts to achieve the desired results.
We won't get that in an adversarial climate.
Unfortunately, many who make the decisions in these matters believe that
we can "make" schools, teachers, students do X and Y. My suggestion:
all candidates for supervisory or management positions should be required
to train a dog for a performance event (like following a track -- you can't
"make" them do it). It would certainly expand their thinking!
We All Hunger for Stability
In our school, though, I feel we're making incremental changes that are
for the good...if we have the stability to see them through. With so many
staff changes, continuity and vision are jeopardized. There's even a rumor
that many administrators may be moved around without consultation because
of the shortage of people with principal's qualifications. Arbitrary transfers
like that would be devastating to our school. The students need stability,
and the community does too.
We're going to reduce the amount of rotary (class changes) for our most
severely challenged learners, both the behavioral and the learning disabled/slow
learner students. We'll be trying a more intensive homeroom program for
them and doing pretest/post-test measures to see if they make greater academic
gains this way. It still leaves us with quite an "inclusive" model
because of our large numbers of learning support students, with no resources
for them. However, we won't be pretending to give them some special program
-- we'll put them on a waiting list. If the service isn't going to be provided,
don't blame us! It's about time those who make the decisions assume some
responsibility for their fallout..
We also plan to have more structure and a quicker crackdown on severely
disruptive students. The incidents with several completely uncontrollable
(even dangerous) individuals this year led one administrator to muse, "We
didn't do anyone any favors trying to accommodate XXXX this year -- we should
have got onto it much earlier." Amen! Not that these kids don't need
help -- they do -- but we aren't helping them by delaying their opportunity
to get REAL assistance that might turn them around. Meanwhile, the other
students' right to learn is put at risk. The policies on violent offenders
is being revised, but we haven't heard how it will affect us yet.
Higher Standards and Lower Funding Equal Lost Potential
Two fundamentally incompatible forces are at work, it seems to me. The movement
towards a standards-based curriculum and evaluation is also linked to one
with an imperative to cut education spending in a massive way. Its hard
to see how the reforms can really be put into practice in this context.
We already spend less per-pupil than most North American jurisdictions (I
think the exception is Utah), and we don't have any of the federal money
invested in school programs (Title I, e.g.) that U.S. districts have tapped
into to support reform efforts.
While spending smart is certainly a laudable goal, I personally doubt that
*effective* change is going to come about without investment in teacher
training, student resources, communication, local research, and the like.
Since I've been around long enough to see trends come and go, I can almost
confidently predict that if the standards movement is not appropriately
implemented, it will generate a public backlash and its potential will be
lost.
Our new and pre-service teachers also need support and to be involved as
colleagues, not low-level flunkies. With most of the teaching population
projected to turn over in the next decade, there's a tremendous opportunity
to invest in teacher training in a much more comprehensive way -- with more
"practical" content and specific strategies for difficult situations.
Teaching heterogeneous groupings effectively, especially challenging ones,
requires a lot of skills and knowledge. No wonder some teachers fall back
on drills and low-level question and answer formats: they haven't learned
ways to reach ALL kids effectively in such diverse groupings. Boy, it's
one thing to read about it and another to do it! Undergraduates and graduates
in teacher education programs need more "hands on" experience
with effective teaching strategies of various kinds, from "direct instruction"
to "cooperative learning," so that they can implement these techniques
successfully when they sally forth, bright and eager, into their own classes.
Here is a perfect opportunity to bring together the best of traditional
education with the new standards and assessment practices, and make them
second nature to the next generation of teachers. Will we do it?
"I LIKE These Kids!"
Some people have asked me why *I* haven't transferred out of my school.
It is a difficult place to work, in many respects -- no doubt about it.
But the answer is easy: the kids. You know what? I LIKE these kids! Yes,
they're challenging (and sometimes mouthy) -- but exciting. What a wealth
of experiences, backgrounds, talents and insights they bring to our school
and our society -- children from all over the world, speaking more than
20 languages, representing all the world's major religions? Could there
be a more diverse and energizing group to work with? Not only that, they
are still innocent and optimistic (behind that adolescent pseudo-cool).
They think the world is their oyster, and they really want to learn. Mind
you, most think they can do it by magic (rather than effort), but that's
where *I* come in!
The sun is out, the grass is green, and I don't give up easily. Whether
or not "the system" can be saved, I can still make a difference
for *my* students in *my* class and to co-workers and community as well.
I found it a valuable experience to write up my weekly meanderings this
year for Middleweb. I'd anticipated it would be rather time-consuming, but
found the pieces wrote themselves. It's helped remind me that effective
teaching is composed of the many "little things" that we do every
day, and that no matter how difficult the situation, you can still have
a positive impact on many people: mostly the kids, of course, but their
families, your colleagues, the community.
Keeping this ongoing record has taught me a lot about myself, too -- those
who know me are aware of a certain acerbic wit and a talent for trenchant
criticism of fads and follies, but when I read over the year's thoughts
I realize how positive and optimistic I really am (don't tell anybody!)
-- if not about the big picture, at least about our individual importance
and ability to contribute.
A wise and witty fellow, now retired from our Special Education department,
once shared a wry insight I've never forgotten: "There are NO quantum
leaps in education."
Unfortunately, that seems to be true. But it doesn't mean we can't inch
our way forward, creeping like glaciers if need be -- slow but relentless.
With a teacher shortage looming ahead, I hope young people will give the
field some serious thought and realize that in spite of all the frustrations
(and the danger of being smacked by a swinging pendulum!), it's still true
that we can make a real contribution. As one of the pop songs of the 80's
put it, "together we can go the distance, together we can make a difference...."
When I burst into song, my students raise their eyebrows and say, "Hey
Miss, don't quit your day job!?"
I won't.
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