When Students Speak Do We Even Really Listen?

Get us out of our seats.  Less homework.  Not so many tests.  More projects, more hands-on, more fun.  All things students will tell you if you ask them how school should be.  All things we have heard for years and yet many of us have yet to react to them.  We chalk their statements up to students being lazy; they don't want to work, that is why they want less homework.  They don't know their curriculum so they don't want to be tested on it.  I have too much to cover so they have to listen and stay in their seats while I lecture.  We have a plan, a program, and students are just another piece to plan for and to fit into everything we need to cover.  They are obstacles to be conquered, to be molded and shaped until they fit perfectly into our round holes whether they started out square or triangular.

So as the education debate rages and more and more voices join the discussion, I wonder why we don't listen to the one that should carry the most weight; the student.  Where are the children at these meetings.  Where are the future generations?  Not even invited.  And I don't mean just the high school students but the young ones, the ones that have just started school that still like to come, that still like to be excited, the ones that haven't been burned by a system that progresses whether they are with it or not.   Those students should have a seat at the table and when they speak we should really listen.  We should stop with our excuses and our assumptions of why they say these things and want these changes.  We should listen to their message and then actually believe it.  Let them speak, let them be heard, and let us change.

It is possible to make school fun through projects and student choice.  It is possible to cut out homework and still cover everything you need to cover.  It is possible to not test and still know where your students are academically.  It is possible to stop talking and let them be the leaders, the guides, the teachers.  It is possible...if you believe in it.

Want to Shut Educators Up? Tell Them "It Is For the Children..."

The oldest excuse in the book for change in education is, "We do it for the children."  And it works!  Throw that baby on the discussion table and people just go silent.  After all, if it is for the children then it must be good.  If it is for the children then if we decide against it we are deciding against children.  If it is for the children then it must be researched and proven to benefit them.   And yet, we have all been fooled by this statement.  Purchasing a Smartboard - it is for the children.  Creating more tests - it is for the children.  Slashing school budgets - it is for the children.  Proposing merit pay - it is for the children.  Common Core standards - it is for the children.  Asking teachers to take pay cuts and freezes - it is for the children.  Bigger report cards with more homework and tests to report - oh yes, it is for the children.

Except most of the time it is not.  Because when were the children ever asked?  We say it is for the children and yet they never enter the actual decision-making or even discussion.  If you asked a child if they wanted more "rigor" in their education, I can almost guarantee that most of them would look at you like you were crazy.  If you ask them if they needed more grades or more tests, their answer might surprise you.  When teachers are asked to take pay cuts because otherwise our children will get hurt, most children would be sad to hear it.

So let's cut the crap, sorry.  Most decisions in education is not for the children, but for the test company, for the district to look good, or for someone's life to be easier.  It is not for the benefit of the children.  And yes, of course, we know more than the children but the fact that their voices are left out of the education debate and reform should be frightening to us all.  So start small; ask the children in your room and then tell me it is for the children.

Every Day I Make a Choice

Every morning I choose how I see the day.  I could view it through the lens of most that I will not do enough to help my students, I will not be able to get them where I need them to be because the system is against us.

I could view the students as obstacles that need to be conquered and my colleagues as people who take up too much time or none at all.  I could view my administration as the enemy, and my standards as chokeholds around my teaching.  I could blame the system for my lack of progress and I could feel good that at least I tried.  But I don't.

I choose every morning to believe in my own abilities as a teacher and as a human being.  I choose to be positive, thinking that today will be the best day I could ever make.  Today my students will conquer mountains and guide me on new paths.  My colleagues will inspire me if I reach out, and then will support me through my journey.   My administration will hold me to high standards because they believe I will soar.  The standards are simply guides and they can be worked with much easier than worked against.  The standards do no tell me that I have to prep my students for tests, or even how I should teach, but only what our goals should be and those can be reached in many ways.  I choose to fight the system from within and change it the way I can.  I do it for my own sanity and for the curiosity of my students.

Every day I have a choice in how I will view the world, and although I wake up grumpy (just ask my husband), and bogged down by all of the forces working against me, I slip on my teacher super power suit and I stay positive.  The last thing schools need is another person bringing it down.  The world is already trying to do that.  So what do you choose?

We Say And Yet

We say we don't want to be micromanaged as teachers and yet then we do it to our students.

We say we want democratic schools, where our voices are heard, and yet we rule our students with an iron fist.

We say we are working as hard as we can and that merit pay will not boost our dedication or our effort, and yet we dangle grades in front of our students to try to incentivize them.

We say we work too many hours as teachers without getting paid for it and yet we assign hours of homework to our students.

We say our voices are not being heard in the educational debate yet we do not listen to the voice of our students.

We say we want to be invited into the educational policy decisions being made and yet we do not invite parents and students into our own decisions.

We say that we want freedom to teach and yet we allow little freedom to our students in learning.

We say we want to teach in our own way, infused with our passion, and yet we expect students to all learn the same way.

We say that we need to time to teach and to learn all of these new things being thrust at us and yet we expect our students to all find the time and to master it at the same time.

We say we want to be respected as individual teachers and yet we show little respect to our students as individuals, expecting them to fit into whatever we have decided the perfect student should be.

We wonder why our students are losing interest in schools and never stop to look at what we do to them.  Education should not be done to them, it should happen with them.  Give back your classroom to your students; give them a voice.

The Emerging Age Bias - a Post for Edutopia

This was posted on Edutopia this week - what a thrill

"You know I was worried at first, because she was so old, but it turned out she was really good..." A friend and I are discussing her child's teacher. Her words resonate with me because I have heard them a lot lately; she was so old...old... and I wonder since when did being a veteran teacher become a negative quality in America?

Rewind to my first year of teaching and how I wished to be a veteran, how I yearned for years of knowledge and experience that could really wow parents and engage the students at such a high level that they would love coming to school every day. Instead, I bumbled my way through, figuring out my style, using the students as test subjects to all my untried ideas and staring wistfully into veteran teachers' classrooms. I envied their orderly, calm lessons, their seemingly endless project ideas and angles to reach every child. I could not wait to be a veteran.

The Case for Veteran Teachers

Now it appears a new trend has emerged; veteran teachers are no longer "experienced" -- they are simply "old," with every negative connotation of that word. The media and politicians portray these older teachers as stubborn and stuck in their ways. They are labeled static and washed out. The way to resuscitate America's "failing" education is now to get rid of the veterans and pave way for the new teachers, those with boundless energy, passion and fresh ideas. It's truly a case of out with the old and in with the new.

But those working in education can see just how flawed this method of thinking is. Those of us who breathe education recognize what these veteran teachers really bring to us all -- knowledge, expertise, methods that work, and a deep-seated passion for a job that has done little to reward them. We realize that by creating a bias against experience, we are all losers in the world of education. Now before I forget: yes, there are experienced teachers that do fulfill the stereotype, much like there are new teachers that do. However, the majority of experienced teachers do not.

Thanks in part to the rhetoric of the "reformers," the anti-veteran bias seems to be taking root in society, too. Now when teachers are searching for work, the more years they have, the less likely it seems that they will get an interview. Some districts say tight budgets are to blame, which as a teacher in Wisconsin I can appreciate, and yet, you would think that a district would spend the bulk of its money on getting experienced teachers in front of our students. Instead, we see a stigma that says the more years of teaching you have, the less open to new ideas you must be. Parents eagerly tell us how they want that new young teacher because he or she will have something new to offer. Students hope for the young teacher because they are sure he or she will be more fun.

Our Most Valuable Asset

So what can we do? Youth is the ultimate desirability in America, and it is warping the educational world as well. Youth now seems to be the one trait that everyone agrees will save our schools. Get rid of tenure, and with it the more experienced teachers, which frees school districts to hire as many brand new teachers as they want. Brand new teachers that also happen to cost less. Brand new teachers that come off as confident and brimming with new initiatives. Brand new teachers that lack the foundation that only years of teaching can provide them with.

I think back now to what I put my students through my first year -- and I shudder at the thought. There were the make-no-sense rules just to ensure control, tests upon tests because I thought that was the only way I could assess, and just a small stockpile of ideas to pull from. I had the confidence but lacked experience, and the only thing I knew that would make me a better teacher (besides more years) was turning to my mentors, veteran teachers that shared their knowledge and inventiveness. In those master teachers I saw everything that had drawn me to teaching: passion, dedication, innovation and an unstopping sense of urgency to reach all students.

That is what we'll be removing from our educational system -- experience; because in the view of society, old = bad. So when we dismiss and run out our master teachers, we drain our schools of one of their most valuable assets -- knowledge. When we place teachers with experience at the bottom of our respect pole, we set students up to be every new teacher's test subject over and over, throughout their years of schooling. Yes, new teachers bring new ideas to the table, but so do veteran teachers. How anyone can claim otherwise baffles me.

Thankfully, there are others in our profession who agree with me. Veteran teachers are joining social media such as Twitter to reach out to new teachers. They are blogging about their experience, thus creating a database of knowledge accessible to anyone in need. They are creating networks within their schools, ensuring that new teachers have someone to turn to. They are not being run out of education quietly, and we should all be grateful for that. We are only as strong as the weakest link in our schools, and our mentor teachers are doing everything they can to empower the people they work with. That power transfers to our students.

Why Are So Many Students Absent?

Today Education Week is running a poll on their Facebook page asking the question:
What do you think would be the most effective in combating absenteeism?

The choices:

• Reaching out to parents
• Harsher discipline for students
• Establishing truancy officers
• More before - and after-school programs
• Community-based efforts

And while some of these ideas are not bad, the most effective method isn't even mentioned:  

Have engaging curriculum with student choice.  Until we make school worth coming to, students are not going to be invested.

Really, Education Week, you couldn't think of that?

The Creation of the Lifelong Learner

Crossposted from The Cooperative Catalyst

“Mommy!!!  BUG!!!”  Thea screams at me as we walk around our deck.  ”Lookit mommy, bug,” she runs to me grabs my hand and pulls me near. Behold; the lifelong learner sans education.

Children are naturally curious; if you give them a box they are not allowed to open, they will beg and beg until they finally get to peek inside.  If you tape a box on the floor of your classroom, they will continue to guess at its purpose even past the big reveal.  Children do not need rules to be curious, or even strategies. They are born with this ability.  Now as educators we may fine-tune these skills but schools cannot take credit for their natural curiosity.

So why is it so many schools have a vision statement that includes “creating lifelong learners?”  Why this need to take credit for something they have not indeed created?   Do schools really think that children are not learners when they first enter the hallowed hallways and they therefore need to be fixed?   What an offensive statement to parents everywhere.  Yet schools and the rigidity of some classrooms can often be the reason that the lifelong learner is stymied.  Schools end up breaking the child’s curiosity only to try to take credit for it being re-built.

I would like to see a school with a vision that declares they want to “maintain lifelong learners.”  I would like to see a vision in which children are recognized as the insatiably curious learners they truly are.  We have to change our schools to allow time for curiosity and true exploration.  We are not in the business of creating robots, and yet, that is the direction our government wants to push us.  Bring back the curiosity, maintain the lifelong learner, and perhaps then our system wont seem so broken.

Come Into Our Room

You say our kids are failing, not learning enough.  I say come into my room and see these kids.  Come into my room and tell them to their face that are failing, that they are not doing enough to learn.  To maintain, to comprehend, to test better.  Those kids you talk about happen to be my kids as well.  Those kids you mention in your articles, in your rhetoric, in your posts that tell us teachers that we are not doing enough, those kids are in my room.  And those kids.... they work and they work hard.

They get so excited sometimes that they yell out.  They get so loud in their planning that I just let them work because I don't want to intrude.  They break their pencils because they just want to scribble so fast when inspiration strikes. They come to me and wonder what else can we do?  What other things may we try?  Is this idea any good?  And I say yes, try it, do it, think it, dream it.  You may not think that our kids are doing enough in school.  You may not think that our kids are learning enough.  I say, come into my room and we will prove you wrong.

We Did It to Ourselves

Play nice, don't fight, don't whisper and give compliments.  Share, take interest and never, ever be critical.  Highlight others before yourself, don't ask for special treatment, share your voice but take turns.  Rules we teach our kids?  Sure, but also rules that we teachers are expected to follow.  So when we look around and wonder how we as a group get such little respect by some politicians, by some media, even by some parents, administrators, and fellow teachers, the truth is; we did it to ourselves.

Teachers are their own worst enemy it seems.  We are not expected to share our successes in case someone gets offended that they are not being highlighted.  We are not expected to shine a light on the things we do well in our jobs, and there are many, because someone may get jealous.  We shouldn't draw attention, rather pass it to our kids.  We shouldn't tell people our pay, or how many hours we put in but rather stand as saints hoping someone might notice.  Indeed we are expected to stand up for our students, but not for ourselves because it is just so uncouth.  We are supposed to be selfless, with no wants besides the basics; food, shelter, and maybe some respect.  We are not supposed to say that we would like better pay for the incredible amount of work we do.  We are not supposed to say; look at me, look at what I do, and give me some respect.  (Which yes, can be done in a nice manner, that then can be easily dismissed).

Teachers should play nice, like we tell our students.  Don't cause too many waves because it is unbecoming of our profession.  Don't raise your voice too much because you may offend.  Whatever happens to us, happens, because we choose to not raise our voice, to not band together, and instead waste our time fighting amongst ourselves.  It is time to rise up, it is time to raise our voice, to occupy our classrooms and stand tall.  To highlight the incredible work we do, to get the respect we deserve.  To be treated like we treat our students.  So as I give my students  a voice, I allow myself to speak as well. We are the 99% and together our whispers will become a roar.

An Easy Statement

You know what is easy to say? That our education system is broken. It is also easy to say that it is because of standardized tests, because of politicians, too much red tape and clueless administrators. We need more money, we need smaller class sizes, more time, more enthusiasm. I could go on listing all of the things we need.

And yet, at some point we must own up to our own responsibility. At some point we must change our statements and no longer just say that the system is broken. At some point we must say, I am part of the solution. That perhaps not everything in the system is broken but that there are flaws and we can do something about it.

Saying the system is broken is too easy. It removes responsibility. Take the responsibility, be the change, and then spread the word.

But Wait, I 'm Only One Person

As I am continually awed by the incredible educators I get to teach with not only in my school, but also in the world, I am renewed in my already strong belief that we are the change.

We are the change for all of those children whose lives have been determined by assumptions, circumstance, and test scores outside of their control.

We are the change for all of those teachers who don't think they have a voice.  You do.  So although you may just be one person, there are so many things you can do to change the system.  To bring the focus back on the kids, on improving teaching conditions, and keeping our students passionate and curious.  So

Stand up for yourself.

Speak up - one voice joins the chorus and together we are louder.

Blog, write to the paper, get it out and spread the word.  Change will come if we continue to fight for it.

Join together - enough of the us versus them debate.  Enough with tearing other teachers down.  Show me a perfect teacher and I will show you 10 people that disagree.  We are not perfect nor should we ever think we are; embrace each other, and stand together, this is for the kids.

Tell them they matter.

Realize that you matter.

Try your ideas and then be proud if they work.  Be proud if they fail, at least you tried something.

Believe in them, believe in you, and believe in your team.

Be the change.  Be the change.  Be the change.

You may be just one but think of how far one person's words can go, the ripples they can start, the waves they can become.

We Have It All Backwards

When the solution to budget problems becomes to bring in new unexperienced teachers because they are cheaper - we have it all backwards.

When decisions that affect our children on a day to day basis are made only at the government level - we have it all backwards.

When teachers performance are closely tied in with test scores created by test companies that making millions of dollars in profit off of their tests and programs - we have it all backwards.

When administrators try to build trust and collaboration but then take away the time to do it so that we can teach more - we have it all backwards.

When teachers try to restore discipline by setting more rules - we have it all backwards.

When we give our students even more homework to cover all the stuff we didn't have time to cover in class - we have it all backwards.

When we blame technology for not being the magic pill to raise test scores - we have it all backwards.

When we buy more stuff for our schools rather than raise teacher salaries - we have it all backwards.

It is time to go forward not backward.

Pass the Blame

In the education debate surrounding us a lot of blame gets passed around.  Employers blame colleges for not teaching students workable skills.  Colleges blame high schools for not preparing the students.  High school blames middle school for not setting them up to be hard workers.  Middle schools blame elementary for not setting the foundation right.  And elementary, they blame the parents for not being engaged or involved, for not setting high enough standards.

It is time we stop the blame game.  The time and energy consumed by it could be used to fix and change the system rather than just complain about it.  Our world will never be perfect and neither will our classrooms.  So let's use that time, energy, and emotion put into playing the blame game and do something about it instead.

If you need someone to blame, blame me, I can take it.  And then move on and focus on what is most important factor here; the kids.

Teachers Save Lives Too - We Just Don't Get Paid Like We Do

Cross posted from Cooperative Catalyst

As the recession rolls on and the politicians gear up for another fight on this new super committee, I drive back and forth to school getting ready for a new school year.  One politician was discussing what could be cut save our country from the brink of bankruptcy and discussed Medicaid, a favorite target.  The radio host asked whether doctors' pay should be cut as well then.  The politician scoffed at this notion; "We should not cut the pay of doctors," he stated, "They save lives..."

Maybe it's the salary freeze my district has imposed on teachers.  Maybe it's the rumors that my administration gave themselves raises.  Maybe it is the political climate in Wisconsin that means I take a 12% pay cut this year; but I am mad.  And this happy teacher often does not raise her voice, just ask my students.  But when that politician scoffed at the notion of cutting doctors pay because they are lifesavers, I just about lost it.  Let me tell you something; teachers save lives too.

Teachers are among the first to notice when a child goes hungry.  They are also among the first to give that child their own lunch and to buy them food.  Teachers are among the first who see children freezing, or wearing the same pair of holey shoes every day, rain or shine.  Teachers are the ones who get clothing and proper winter gear for those who need it.  If a child shows up with bruises or scratches, teachers are the ones who take note.  Teachers are the ones who make those phone calls and follow up with government when nothing happens.  Teachers are the ones who lie awake at night wondering what they can do to help those children.

And those are the big things.  We save lives every day by taking an interest, by being passionate, and by believing in the kids.  Sometimes these kids have no direction and we help them figure one out.  Sometimes these kids come to us ready to take the wrong path and we help them go another way.  Sometimes all a kid needs is a little attention, a little guidance, a little firmness and some love and we give that no questions asked.  We don't just teach the curriculum, we teach life.

When a child enters our classrooms, we take them under our wings; they become our children.  When a child's mood changes and depression looms, teachers are the ones who help get the help and assistance needed to veer off disaster.  When home life crashes and that child tells you that they are living in a car, teachers do everything in their power to help.  I have heard of and seen teachers bring in bags of clothing, food, furniture and donate money just to help.  I have heard of teachers who invited families in to live with them until they could get back on their feet.  Teachers save lives.  And they are not the only ones; many people involved in education save lives.  And yet, our pay can be cut because we only work 9 months out of the year anyway.

It is true some doctors save lives.  But not all.  A podiatrist makes on average $181,000 a year.  That is more than 6 times what I make.  They don't save lives on a regular basis and yet they get the benefit of "being a doctor."  And that title alone means they command a better salary.  Being a teacher means you better do it for the kids and not complain about the money that comes your way.  If you complain about the money, well then, you are obviously in it for the wrong reason.  Nobody tells doctors that they should be doing it for the patients.  Sure most of them love what they do I'm sure, but I am also sure that some get the degree for that lucrative paycheck, and that's ok.  I wish everyone could get paid like a doctor.

So this isn't to rip doctors' of their pay or even of their status but rather ask why teachers can not be given that same respect  Why can someone not scoff a the notion of cutting teachers' pay to save the economy? Why can someone not claim as well that teachers save lives and do invaluable work and therefore should be rewarded and respected?  I don't ask for respect, I earn it.  I don't ask for status because I don't care.  I do ask for a decent salary, one to reflect the years of schooling that we go through and continue to pursue.  One that reflects the time that our job takes to do well.  One that reflects the work we do.  But I am not holding my breath.

So yeah teachers save lives; we just don't get paid like we do.

Frog and Toad Make Me Think about Our School System

A List

By Arnold Lobel

One morning Toad sat in the bed. “I have many things to do,” he said. “I will have many things to do,” he said.  “I will write them all down on a   list  so that I can remember them.”  Toad wrote down on a piece of paper:
A List of things to do today

Then he wrote:
Wake up
“I have done that,” said Toad and he crossed out:
Wake Up
Then Toad wrote other things on the paper.

A list of things to do today
Wake Up
Eat Breakfast
Get dressed
Go to Frog’s house
Take walk with Frog
Eat lunch
Take nap
Play game with Frog
Eat supper
Go to sleep

 “There ,” said Toad. “Now my day is all written down.”  He got out of bed and had something to eat.  
Then Toad crossed out:  Eat Breakfast.
Toad took his clothes out of the closet and put them on. Then he crossed out: Get dressed.
Toad put the list in his pocket.  He opened the door and walked  out into the morning.  Soon Toad was at Frog’s  front door.   He took the list from his pocket and crossed out:
Go to Frog’s house

Toad knocked at the door. “Hello,” said Frog.  “Look at my list of things to do,” said Toad. “Oh,” said Frog, “that is very nice.”   Toad said, “My list tells me that we will go for a walk.” “All right,” said Frog.  “I am ready.” Frog and Toad went on a long walk. Then Toad took the list from his pocket again. He crossed out: Take walk with Frog.  Just then there was a strong wind.  It blew the list out of Toad’s hand.  The list blew high up into the air. “Help!” cried Toad.  “My list is blowing away.  What
will I do without my list?” “Hurry!” said Frog. “We will run and catch it.” “No!” shouted Toad. “I cannot do that.” “Why not?” asked Frog. “Because,” wailed Toad, “running after my list in not one of the things that I wrote on my list of things to do!” Frog ran after the list.  He ran over hills and swamps, but the list blew on and on.  At last Frog came back to Toad. “I am sorry,” gasped Frog, “but I could not catch your list,” “Blah,” said Toad.”I cannot remember any of the things that were on my list of things to do.  I will just have to sit here and do nothing,” said Toad. Toad sat and did nothing.  Frog sat with him.  After a long time  Frog said, “Toad, it is getting dark.  We should be going to sleep now.” “Go to sleep!” shouted Toad.  “That was the last thing on my list!” Toad wrote on the ground with a stick:  Go to sleep. Then he crossed out:  Go to sleep. “There,” said Toad.  “Now my day is all crossed out!” “I am glad,” said Frog.  
Then Frog and Toad went right to sleep.

The End

How many times do we have to stick to our list and pass by those teachable moments?
How many times do we not get to explore because that particular direction has not been dictated to us?
How many times must we take a path that does not engage the students?
How many times do we lose our list and instead just bumble along until we get to the end of the day?

How many times do we give up teaching curriculum in a meaningful way and teach to the test instead, hurrying so we may cross things off our list?
How often do we tell others that they must comply because our list says so?

What Do You Have Room For?

With the school year upon most of us in Northern America, now is the time I start to dream.  I know I cannot change the system in which I operate, although I can make waves, but I can continue to change our classroom, the journey we are on, and the road we take.

We all have such power; but do we remember it?  Do we remember that even though much of our day is dictated by outsiders, we still have a voice?  You do.  It may seem like test prep, rules, and "routines" day in and day out but really there is room for you as well.  There is room for you to give your students a voice and let them own the journey.  There is room for you to not punish and not reward, those are choices you make.  There is room for you to engage kids, to not be the center of attention, to let them speak, hope, dream, and inspire each other.   There is room for all of that.

So although it is easier to say education is being done to us as much as it is to our students, it is not entirely true.  We still have choices in our school, even if it is only how we speak to our students.  And even that holds power within itself.  So ask yourself; what do I control?  What can I change? What do I have room for?

Related articles

• Recipe for My School Year (mrspripp.blogspot.com)
• Recipe for An Awful School Year (mrspripp.blogspot.com)
• Allow Yourself to Dream (mrspripp.blogspot.com)

Recipe for An Awful School Year

To have an awful school year is actually quite easy - you can cement it already within the first week.  After that it is just maintenance, nothing to worry, it should take care of itself.

You want to start with the first meeting, lay down the law, make sure the kids know you are the boss and that they will follow you blindly because you are indeed the teacher and have the degree to prove it.   Make sure they know where their place is in the classroom.  Give them designated areas where they can spread out - their desk will be just fine and then mark off your own territory, labels and masking tape seem to work well.  Tell them that if they run out of school supplies it is their job to get more, you are after all not a store.  When they ask to go to the bathroom tell them no that they will have to wait until your designated bathroom time.  After all, adults have to learn how to hold it.  They may not have water because it tends to interfere with the bathroom time.  Snacks are for recess, you do not need crumbs on your floor.  Books will be selected by you and will only be a reflection of their reading level.  You do not have the time to  discuss interests with 20 some kids, after all, you are busy teaching.

Homework will be handed in before the first bell, no exceptions, and if not handed in, it will  be given a zero when it does.  There are no chances for re-dos.  After all, life doesn't give you second chances.  Don't even bother to ask for extra credit, opportunities for that will be decided by the teacher and will usually involve around an errand or task that the teacher needs done.  Parents should only come in when invited, which means the first day of school, conferences and the last day of school.  They really have no place in your room.  Speaking of conferences, this will be your chance to tell the parents about the awfulness of their child so make sure to tell the children that if they don't behave you will be telling their parents and hoping they get punished.  In fact, punishment and the discussion of all of your rules will take up a good portion of that first day.  After all we have to get our routines down, our limitations set.  So that means no talking in the halls, whispering at lunch, all eyes on the teacher after I shut off the lights.  You may not sharpen your pencil except for when it is on the schedule and there will absolutely never ever be any gum in the room.  Make no mistake, those kids are merely guests passing through.

You will get started that first day with a test, after all, you need to know where these children have deficits.  Then you can place them into your groups that will not change for the year because who has time to reevaluate.  In fact, that first test will be part of their grade so that it reflects their journey.  You have heard it is good to show growth, even if they had no idea there would be a test.  Surprise!  You like surprises so those pop quizzes you pull out is sure to keep them on their toes.  They have to be alert when they never know what is going to happen and creates an aura around you of mystery.  In fact, the less they know about you, the better.  We are not there to build relationships, we are there to teach, to get them ready for the test.  Think of stories and how longwinded students can be, why would you want to spend time on that?  The children will address you properly, they should not even know your first name if you do it right or any other identifying information; after all, you don't want them to be able to find you outside of school.

So there you go, the recipe for an awful school year.  I promise you if you do all or most of these things you will see immediate results.  The kids will fear you, hate your classroom and be terrified of school in general - mission accomplished.

Creating the Anxious Child

I never saw a multiple choice test until I decided to become a teacher in America.  Having gone through the Danish school system, of course, there were tests but they happened at the end of the year and were written and oral exams, not just fill in the bubble and the machine will take care of the rest.  The first time I took a multiple choice test was for placement exams for my education degree, at first I thought it was fun, after all, all you had to do was fill in a bubble?  I didn't have to explain or even comprehend, I could just guess?  Breeze through and forget about it all afterwards.  Throughout college I studied, after all, I am an overachiever and yet whenever I came across the multiple choice test my spirit instantly died.  I was glad that it didn't affect my  teacher, only myself and my grade, because I would doubt myself so much on some of the answers, meant to be tricky, that often I wouldn't even know what to put down even though I knew the material.

We forget to think about how it must feel for kids to be solely responsible for teacher's pay and jobs.  How must it feel for students that if they do poorly on a test it will directly affect the teacher that they love?  Kids are not stupid, they are aware of what is happening around us, how politicians and "reformers" are asking their test scores be part of something bigger.  For this text-anxious child that knowledge would have been the nail in the coffin.  People say that with this knowledge students will do even better because they will want to protect their teacher, to show off what they know.  No child goes into a test trying to deliberately fail, at least not most, and yet placing that pressure of someone else's livelihood and dream is just too much for children to bear.

What are we doing to the children of America?  What pressure are we placing them under?  How can we force them through more rigorous assessment to get them ready for the future when that could mean that their teachers no longer get to teach.  We worry that America is too anxious, too many kids are being diagnosed with anxiety and panic attacks, depression, and other pill-needing maladies.  And then we wonder what happened?  Why are all these children feeling so pressured?  Why can they not cope with "kid stuff" - well look at our schools and what we do to them.   Education is no longer for the kids, it is for the politicians.  

We are Part of Something Bigger

We are part of something bigger.  Those of us who choose to ask the hard questions, those of us who dare to raise our voice in the face of testing, rewards, and sanctions.

We are part of something larger than us, something that is taking root in America, in the world, and educators are standing up and saying "No more."  Our children are the ones who suffer under politicians latest ideas.  Our children are the ones we experiment with, hoping that someday we will get it right.  Our children deserve something better than having school done to them.

It is time to listen to the passionate teachers that actually have ideas for change.  It is time for us to raise up and join together, reclaim what is ours, education,  and let our voices be heard.  It is time.

So join the discussion, write your editor, blog, speak up, discuss with anyone you can.  We are not failing as educators, changes need to be made but they need to come from us, not from the politicians.

Stop the Tear Downs

Education and particularly teachers are under a harsh lens right now.  Everywhere you turn headlines scream out new nasty discoveries about bad teachers, horrible programs, and how schools are failing.  As a teacher, it is hard to not drown in all the negativity.  Yet as most of the teachers I have encountered, we choose not to drown, and instead we focus on our students, on our lives and continue to do what we do beast; teach, knowing that this too will end and at some point sanity must be introduced back into the conversation, right?

Yet as the rhetoric gets more cutthroat and the divide grows, this mentality of us versus them has formed and cemented itself into too many educational debates.  No longer are teachers united, rather it becomes veterans versus new, tech users vs non-tech users, always a split, always two sides, never just one united front.  And we teachers buy into it as well.  If one teacher is heralded for doing something good, other teachers get upset because then they must be doing something wrong.  If a school is highlighted as working well, then other schools within the district must be performing poorly.  Rather than view success of one as success for all, it becomes just that; success for one and failure for everyone else.

This epidemic of negativity must stop.  We are tearing each other apart, trying to climb to the top, vying for the same spotlight.  But that is not what teaching is about, we teach our students that we are only as strong as the weakest performance, and that we must celebrate everyone.  And yet, somewhere that message is lost.  The public may want us split, because then it is easier to create "reform" and yet now is the time we must band together.  We must relearn to celebrate successes and not be afraid to share them.  It is time for people to speak up when something incredible happens in their classroom or in their school, and it is time for everyone else to celebrate it, not tear it down.  This isn't me versus you, it's all of us together.