These Kids Are Killing Me

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http://www.thesekidsarekillingme.com/spring-is-in-the-air/

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What happens when teachers have the freedom to create curriculum that THEY are excited about? Read about it here:

http://www.thesekidsarekillingme.com/?p=322

Adventures in New York Day Two!!!
http://www.thesekidsarekillingme.com/?p=157

http://www.thesekidsarekillingme.com/?p=122

Go to here! Read about the nightmare audit!

http://www.thesekidsarekillingme.com/?p=107

Being a student teacher is a thankless job. They do ALL of the work that a regular teacher does, for NO pay at all. They have a full time teaching job and most credential programs recommend that they don’t work  in any other way while they are participating in their student teaching. (Which is actually now called “guided practice”) This is, of course, impossible for most people because a part of being an adult is having bills and responsibilities. I remember the grueling year that I spent doing this, 5 days a week, then working until after midnight every night at a bookstore to pay my bills. I am extremely sympathetic to the plight of the student teacher, which is why, when I was approached earlier this year about guiding one, I enthusiastically agreed.

So in December she came, for ten weeks of “guided practice” which will conclude in the first week of March. As a guiding teacher, you never know what sort of student teacher you are getting, and naturally worry about what they will be like. I have to say that I am extremely fortunate. My student teacher is phenomenal. She knows her content, she has a million strategies that she uses, and she is constantly looking for a way to make the content more accessible and engaging to our students. She completely took over all of my classes WAY earlier than she needed to, and does a phenomenal job, which leaves one burning question in my head: What on Earth am I supposed to teach her?

What I started thinking about when I realized I was faced with this, are all of the things attached to this job that AREN’T just the delivery of content knowledge to kids. If that were all this job was, we wouldn’t need teachers. Computers can impart content knowledge, administer homework, even grade essays these days.

While our content is tested and monitored by the state, our ability to connect with kids is not. Teaching is knowing as much as you can about the lives of your students, and being there when they need you to be. Teaching is asking that kid who always hangs around after class if he is okay, because no one else does. It’s much more listening than it is speaking. Teachers have to be a mentor, a parent, a psychologist, a counselor, a friend, a guide and be all of these things WHILE teaching content. We teach kids behavior, morality, expectations, success maintenance, and how to discover who they really are. We are responsible for fostering those discoveries, and nurturing them so that when our students go out in the world at the end of 4 years, they are not only educated, but also good people with a desire for life long learning. It is a shame that THIS isn’t evaluated, because I will tell you, that the most successful teachers I’ve ever met are the ones who do this. The students they teach feel a sense of duty to that teacher because they know that if they fail, they are letting them down, as well as themselves. This is the essence of teaching, NOT the ability to get a student to fill in the right bubble on a scantron.

When I return to work tomorrow, my amazing student teacher and I will continue to have discussions about this, as well as all of the things she’s already picked up about our students. I don’t worry about her at all - she’s gonna be just fine. I only hope that the rest of them out there, will get this same lesson

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     I have a ritual. Every morning, during the work week, my alarm goes off at 5:05 AM. I stumble zombie-like to the coffeepot to pour my coffee and make my tasteless, cardboard flavored oatmeal. I take my breakfast to the couch, and spend the next 45 minutes gradually coming to life, while watching the news. At 6-ish I’m almost human, so I can spend the next 45 minutes showering and tarting up for the day ahead, before leaving for work at 6:45.

     On most days, this happens without incident. However, two weeks ago, while watching the news, a story came to my attention that pissed me right off. It’s all I’ve been able to think about, actually. The story goes like this: Michael Bloomberg, the Mayor of New York City, wants to offer teachers who have been deemed “highly effective” for 2 consecutive years a merit pay bonus of up to $20,000. You can read the details about it here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/12/nyc-mayor-offers-top-teac_n_1202537.html

     My initial reaction was, “You’ve got to be kidding me, ” and it slowly turned to horror, as the newscasters began to insert their commentary on the matter. It was the general opinion of these people that teaching has become antiquated, obsolete, that “something needs to change” and that “teachers unions need to get with the 21st century,”.

    Here is where I’m at. I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but by all accounts, I’m a good teacher. I’d even consider what I do to be highly effective. I’ve been highly effective for WAY longer than 2 years. I am EXACTLY the teacher he is talking about rewarding, and I am VEHEMENTLY against this idea. 

     Nowhere in any article that I can find, is any criteria OTHER THAN test scores listed as what makes a teacher highly effective. Test scores are NOT the way to evaluate what makes an effective educator. If they were, then the federal government would also have to level the playing field. All schools would have to have the same amounts of funding, resources, and parent involvement. The student population at any school would have to have the same percentages of English language learners, Special ED kids, and kids with low socioeconomic background.

     Also, when faced with issues like poverty, teen pregnancy, gangs, drugs and violent lives, what is the measure of the effectiveness of a teacher? Sometimes, I think if I get certain kids to SHOW UP and have A PENCIL 5 days out of the week, I have been highly effective. A current student has 6 younger siblings and her family is living in a motel room. Every night instead of her homework, she takes care of her siblings while her parents work, then in the morning, she gets them off to school, often without eating, but she shows up every day to my class. THAT is highly effective. I don’t care what her test scores say.

     As soon as the playing field is level and teachers are deemed highly effective using multiple measures (in the same way that we are expected to evaluate our students, I should add) I promise, I will be the first person to advocate for merit pay. From where I’m teaching, it will be a long time before we get there. 

     My point? This is another example of someone who has no idea what it is to be a teacher, trying to change the rules. Merit pay sounds good to people who don’t know what it is to do our job, but in reality, is a pipe dream for lawmakers and politicians.

     Your thoughts?

DM