Current Tensions I
Have:
Before I even began this cycle’s readings I jotted down two
tensions that I am currently experiencing. Once I completed this cycle’s readings/videos I was able to
expand and relate back to my tensions.
Let me explain.
Tension #1: Student to Teacher Ratio
I currently have 25 kindergartners and am the only teacher
in the classroom. This means that
I have a 1 to 25 ratio. I am asked
to differentiate learning, meaning that I need to meet the needs of all twenty-five
of my learners. WOW! Yes, I am sure many of you are in the
same boat. Since extra funding in
schools is just not there, classroom teachers are working to juggle many
things. My seven hour day goes so
quickly because I am constantly trying to find time to pull this group of kids,
quick review a concept with this child, re-teach an idea with this small group,
or challenge these others friends.
I have to say my students are showing growth and they really are
learning. Than I think about Dave
Egger’s push for 1 on 1 learning.
He shared that if students can receive 30-40 hours per year of 1 on 1
attention, they will have the ability to gain one full year of learning! This is truly inspirational in
itself. I love his idea of opening
up tutoring programs that allow students to come in and get that one on one
attention and help with their homework.
I think about how much my students would gain if I were to meet for even
5 minutes of one on one time, each day!
This has inspired me to strive to have more parent volunteers come into
my classroom. He shared that
anyone can be a volunteer, anyone can give back, all expertise are appreciated
because it is the time and attention that is valued most! My goal is to reduce my student to
teacher ratio to allow for more success, this will make for a good school!
Tension #2: Parent Effort to Student Desire
There are some students that so desire to practice what they learned during the school day, at home, but some parent’s effort and time is just not available. This is so sad because like I previously mentioned, in tension #1, 1 on 1 time is so crucial and parents can provide some of this time for their children. However, where I teach there are many parents working multiple jobs, have other distractions, or simply just do not have the time to put into their student’s learning. Unfortunately some of the most excited kiddos suffer. I have had first hand witness of this happening. One such time occurred wit the following student. One of my student’s has been homeless off and on throughout the year and their families’ main struggle is for survival so school work just gets put on the backburner. These students begin to suffer. However, it is amazing how in kindergarten the students still want to learn. Another student struggling with a challenging homelife, just this week signed her own reading log and said that the person she read her book to was her stuffed teddy. This just melts my heart. I sit down everyday with her or have her sit with one of my higher readers (buddy her up) each morning to get a special bonus time to read her book. This little girl is learning and excelling because I have given her the time and attention that she is missing at home. How can we as teachers expect our students to excel on standardized tests and master each learning goal without providing a caring and safe environment?
What Makes A Good School?
I feel that everyone has their own opinion on what makes a
good school. Teachers,
Administrators, Board Members, Parents, Health Professionals, Businessman, Engineers
and everyone else each have their own viewpoint. All of these viewpoints can relate back to the aims of
education and the discussion of who benefits or how it may enhance society. I found another article that includes
John Parankimalil’s viewpoint on the Meaning,
Nature, and Aims of Education.
(http://johnparankimalil.wordpress.com/2012/03/26/meaning-nature-and-aims-of-education/
) This article also states that aims provide direction for activities in
education, the aims are “correlated to ideals of life” (Parankimalil). This does include individual aims and
social aims. These two aims work
together in that the individual is the product of the society while society
finds its advancement in the development of its individual member. Therefore there is some
truth to the statement that “the function of schooling is to enable students to
do better in life” (Eisner, 329).
How might we do this?
I believe that a good school will provide students with a
balanced curriculum that is clear and precise. The Common Core Standards may provide this new set of
standards that can lead to a balance curriculum throughout districts, states,
and even countries. A neat video
describing the common core standards is as follows, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s0rRk9sER0
. If teachers work as a team to provide the resources and tools to have
students reach mastery with each skill, we will have students reach success.
Good schools also consist of a safe and caring learning
environment that caters to our students.
The school of work article stated, “catering to a child’s growing
independence is a natural part of a kindergarten teacher’s classroom life.” In
my eyes, this is completely true.
I strive to provide my students with a safe environment where they can
begin to explore and expand their knowledge. My goal is for all of my students to trust me and know
that at school they will be accepted, loved, challenged, cared for, and
welcomed. I believe part of a good
school will provide all of these things for its students.
Good schools also consist of dedicated teachers willing to
put in 110%. It is so important that
teachers can be counted on to meet all students’ needs. Provide extra time and energy to create
lessons that will match our students learning styles. Be able to make time to meet with parents or provide other
communication systems that will benefit all of your parents. Teachers have to be collaborators,
leaders, caretakers, cheerleaders, hard workers, life log learners, and amazing
communicators!
“Good School”
Raising Voices, a nonprofit organization that works toward
preventing violence for women and children in Uganda developed a “Good School
Toolkit”. This toolkit is “a
methodology created to help educators and students explore what makes a
healthy, vibrant, and positive school”.
Following this link, http://raisingvoices.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/downloads/GoodSchool/Good_School_Toolkit/InD_booklet5SH10sep.pdf you will open up the handbook for a
Good School. All schools can
connect with some values or ideals of their school. The following are stressed in this handbook and taken into
more detail, “good and motivated teachers, a good learning environment, and a
transparent and accountable administration.” The following toolkit
(http://raisingvoices.org/good-school/download-good-school-toolkit/
) can be downloaded and is free to the public. It shares all about the Good School and actually has kid
friendly books to express their values.
I found this to
be an interest resource for this weeks reading simply because United States is
not the only place concerned with creating this “ideal” school for our
students. We all have many great
ideas and everyone wants the best for our students. I believe that we will continually ask ourselves, what are
the aims of education at this time?
Just like Nel Noddings stated on page 434, “Education aims always
reflect the aims of the political society in which they are developed.”(The
Aims of Education).
Caitlin,
ReplyDeleteYour post had a lot of information in it!
First of all, you mention Dave Egger’s push for one-to-one learning. He urges more volunteering, and you say you are moved to recruit more volunteers for your classroom. I think volunteering is wonderful. When my children were young, I used to volunteer in their classrooms, and it was a great way to not only help the teacher, but to build relationships with the teacher, school personnel, and students. When students leave elementary school, however, there seem to be fewer opportunities for parent volunteers. I must admit that, in the past, I rarely encouraged parent volunteers to enter my classroom. It almost seemed too complicated to assign duties for them; it was just one more task for me to do. I knew that I needed to change my attitude, so I had planned on finding a way to use parents in the classroom. Sadly, I now have a greater challenge – school volunteers in our district must now be fingerprinted for background checks before they are allowed to work with students. This is such a costly, time-consuming, and burdensome task that our number of school volunteers has dwindled.
You point out the necessity of providing a safe and caring learning environment, and I couldn’t agree with you more. I embrace that philosophy wholeheartedly. Even for older students, the need to feel safe and accepted in the classroom is terribly important. I find that when students feel part of a supportive classroom, they are more apt to take risks in their writing and learn to write more skillfully. In his article, Elliot Eisner mentions the importance of quality conversations in the classroom. A safe, welcoming classroom environment provides just the right atmosphere for such conversation to take place.
Another concern of yours was about lack of parental support at home. Your story about the little girl who read to her teddy bear broke my heart. It is too bad that teachers need to make up for deficits at home. I was pleased when President Obama said that teachers can’t do it all on their own and that parents need to do their job at home. We definitely need help, especially with all the demands on teachers to do more with less. This is why I was a little concerned about your statement that “It is so important that teachers can be counted on to meet all students’ needs.” Your mention of words such as “extra time” and “110 percent” suggest that teachers need to go way above and beyond. While most teachers, including me, do go above and beyond, I don’t think that it is something that we should be expected to do, especially with pay cuts and larger class sizes. As hard as I work, I am not capable of meeting every need of every student. Frankly, I am exhausted from trying…
Thanks for an interesting post.
Susie Shanahan Phillips
Hi Caitlin,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post, I really enjoyed how you organized it!
Your first two tension were really interesting to read. As your instructor, it was of course gratifying that something I assigned got you thinking in a new way about a common problem. The Eggers video is inspiring, and the fact that you are bringing in more adults speaks volumes about your commitment: not only to work more, but work smarter--by getting help!! (And yes, the child who read to her teddy bear breaks my heart too!!!)
I'll be honest with you. I worry that with all the bashing teachers have taken, we sometimes take it out on parents. I'm on both sides of the fence now. I see my friends, who are parents of kids, and the teacher side of me really disagrees with some of the parent's decisions. But they are my friends, so it helps me see what they are thinking about.
I think it helps when we view every parent as trying to help in the way they best know how. Very few parents are so negligent that they don't want what is best for their kids. I think about the parent who teaches their child to distrust teachers and schools (probably because they had a bad experience back when). Even that message we can respect, because there are times when we have to stand up for ourselves in an institutional context. If we try to view what parents do in a positive light, I find it easier to meet the parent half way (even if it's now how I would handle things). I hope those thoughts help.
You are obviously such a caring and compassionate teacher. I would be so happy for my son to be in your class! Don't forget that almost all of the parents in your class feel the same way, whether they say it or not.
Take care, I really enjoyed reading your post!
Kyle