I do not have a beef against Simon Cowell or American Idol. In fact I am a fan and I find myself agreeing with the Simon Cowell more often that I disagree with his analysis of talent. I just got to thinking, what would the world be like if Simon Cowell was a schoolteacher?
If Simon Cowell was a schoolteacher education would be a competition to discover THE one best and brightest student. All the other competing students would be "losers." Many would try out, only one would succeed. The one successor would then represent all of the others as the perfect example, or "Idol," of what all students should aspire to be. The Education Idol's success would be measured not by the depth of their character, or their wealth of knowledge, but by the wealth generated in their position on the "Billboard Chart of Popular Intelligence". They would tour the world showing off how clever and charming they had become, and entertaining the masses "Jeopardy" style along with the top ten runner-ups.
If Simon Cowell was a schoolteacher students would be assessed not with A's or B's but with brutally accurate observations, slicing sarcasm, a devastating wit, and of course, America's vote. Regardless of their classroom performance, America could vote the young scholars on to the next round (school year) if the contestants had built up a strong enough fan base. Quality and substance would be overruled by performance and personality. Our futures would lie not in the hands of the most qualified, but in the hands of those receiving the most votes (wait, isn't that how our government works right now???)
If Simon Cowell was a schoolteacher then teachers themselves would be idolized as gods of wisdom. They would be asked to appear in Coke commercials, and on talk shows like Oprah as authorities in their content areas. They would be offered millions of dollars to appear for an hour or two biweekly in front of their pupils and deliver 90-second critiques of their homework. Of course, those appearances would be televised for millions to watch and potentially purchase soap products from the advertising helping to keep the economy moving. Teachers would actually be considered useful economic contributors, can you imagine?
If Simon Cowell was a schoolteacher then the rewards of scholastic success would be fame and fortune along with heartache and loss of privacy. The Education Idol would receive instant fame, a speaking contract, and money beyond their wildest dreams. Expensive cars, new mansions, personal assistants, designer clothing, caviar and the rest would suddenly be thrust upon the winner. In return, their family, friends, and neighbors would be cast out, left behind, and replaced by the "Hollywood" crowd. The Idol's personal life including all of their successes and failures would become a matter of public record available for all to see and read about in the pages of the National Enquirer and Entertainment Tonight.
But Simon Cowell is not a schoolteacher.
Because Simon Cowell is not a schoolteacher education is not a competition. Students are not competing with each other for the top spot on the assignment, in the classroom, or in the school. They are competing with themselves to reach their individual potential. But education is not about comparisons, number 1's, or even coming out on top. Sure, there are outstanding students, valedictorians, and plenty of other excellent efforts that should be recognized. But honoring a "straight A" student does not mean that the other students are less important of unequally successful because they didn't reach a 4.0 GPA.
Because Simon Cowell is not a schoolteacher students are assessed with meaningful indicators that reflect progress and accomplishment without killing their spirits, hopes, and dreams. Even if a student receives a less-than-expect score on an assignment, that score is used as an opportunity to grow and improve, not as a dead-end message of worthlessness delivered through a mean spirited personal attack. Students are promoted to the next level after being properly prepared and evaluated, not because of their social status within the classroom (well that's not as true in education as it should be.) Results, not popularity, open the door to the next opportunity.
Because Simon Cowell is not a schoolteacher teachers themselves are not idolized by contemporary society, in fact they're rarely given appropriate respect. The people who hold the most control over the future of the planet are often treated with disregard and dismissed as "less-than" professionals. Instead of being lifted up and celebrated, teachers are often the targets of parental frustration (that should be aimed at their children, or the parents themselves), the political scapegoats for reformers desperately looking for some answer to student under-achievement, or the butt of jokes seen daily all over television and film. Could you imagine if teachers were given their proper respect and place in society? Images of champion teachers whose entire roster of students just passed the CAHSEE would replace professional athletes like Kobe selling shoes on billboards across America!
Because Simon Cowell is not a schoolteacher the rewards of scholastic success do not automatically include fame and fortune, although that does follow for some. Instead of stories of fallen idols being arrested for attempting to purchase heroin filling the news, stories of successful students who begin their educational career without the ability to read, write, or add, and with the help of teachers, in the end graduate with a high school diploma would be the "breaking news!" Student achievement is a reflection of not only the effort of teachers and students, but also the help of family, friends and neighbors who support the students along the way. No, a high school diploma is not as glamorous as winning a singing competition, but it's far more useful, and a much better indicator of future success.
The good news is Simon Cowell is not attempting to take over education and turn it into Education Idol. Neither should the teachers. Our job is to support and raise up all of our students in a supportive environment that can include competition, but success should not be solely based on being first. Assessment of students should be accurate and constructive without judgment and delivered without sarcasm. Teachers should be recognized and honored for their efforts that include painfully long hours invested into the success of other people's children. The rewards of scholastic success should be greater opportunities to prosper in life, not just a chance to become the next Education Idol.
January 19, 2006
January 13, 2006
2-minute warning?
The end of each semester is always a challenging time. The courses I teach are built sequentially: each assignment builds on the previous one. At the end of each semester the students combine all of their work into a portfolio. The portfolio assignment requires them to use literally everything they have learned since their first day in class. If they miss a day along the way, and don’t make up the work, it is reflected in the portfolio assignment. If the portfolio assignment was a building, then some of the structures would be sound and upright, and many are. However some other portfolio-buildings look more like a bomb has exploded in them leaving huge gaping holes and placing the entire structure on a 15 degree lean. Students with incomplete portfolios often experience an increase in panic as the days remaining decrease, and they realize that their building will not stand. In a desperate effort to rectify the condemned project, and raise it to a safe position, students scramble around to complete their missing work like a football team down on points with only 2 minutes left to play.
The hurry-up offense might work in some football game situations, but it rarely makes a significant difference in the academic life of a student who has fallen behind. Few things make me more crazy than a student who suddenly “wakes up” two weeks before the end of the semester and asks to be tutored in everything they have missed when they have not attended class either physically or mentally. I know, it’s part of the job, but it’s a lousy part of the job, and at times I feel like I am on the defense. Honestly, sometimes I just want to tell the hopelessly behind students “too bad.” But that type of sarcasm is ineffective and inappropriate. Yes, the students are responsible for their learning experience. Student buy-in is critically important to their success. Teachers can’t teach the unwilling. But it’s worth taking the time to help a kid who experiences an epiphany. I have witnessed students with less than a minute to play carry the ball in for a winning touchdown. However, despite our best efforts, it doesn’t always work that way. In cases like that, who is responsible? Do we just “wash our hands” like Pilate? Or do we “stick in there” until the time has elapsed completely?
The problem with sticking in there is the degree of stress that it places on us teachers. If we are going to stay in the game, then both pacing, and maintaining mental and physical health is important. I went home every night this week completely exhausted and fatigued. Not good for my family, my teaching, or me. My fatigue was a result of spending 6 periods a day, every day this week, trying to help the recently resurrected catch up so that they could not only pass the class, but also (and more importantly) finally learn the material. Sometimes that’s what it takes to be an effective teacher: a willingness to teach, review, re-teach, remediate, and spoon-feed over and over again, whenever we are asked, for as long as we are asked, until the students “get it.” Teachers unwilling to do so are not serving their students well. Students must be willing to come to the teacher, sure; but sometimes the teacher must be willing to go to the students. Be nice if that was the first thing taught in teacher prep programs.
I learned from my master teacher to tackle the last 6 weeks of class by creating a cumulative assignment that students could work on independently. That way the teacher is freed up to work with those who need extra help. I have found this to be an extremely effective teaching tool. However, I find a greater number of students needing more and more individual help in the last few weeks of the course. Instead of being a time for me to take-a-knee, I find myself kneeling next to students spending the majority of my class time working with those who need extra attention. Clearly they are not getting the help they need during the normal classroom day. Is this a reflection on my teaching style, or a statement about the caliber of some of today’s students? Probably both. I am most frustrated by those who simply throw up their hands and say, “I can’t do it.” These are often the students who get left behind. Of course they can do the work, it’s a question of their personal level of commitment. In my opinion, it doesn’t matter where a student starts, so long as they are committed to success in the end. I’ve seen it happen. Even those with the least preparation can catch up and can succeed. But students do themselves a huge disservice when they wait until the 2-minute warning to figure it out and make that commitment. It’s like the Packers down by 21 with two minutes left trying to win the game. Even the mighty Brett Favre would be hard-pressed to pull a victory out of that one. And yet, kids try it all the time. Ah youth.
Sometimes the result is that kids fail, even in the last 2 minutes. I hate that result. But there is as much if not more of a lesson to be learned by failing then there is by squeezing out a last second field goal for a "D-". Sometimes a “F” drives home the point that school is serious business and requires the full commitment of both students and parents if success if to be reached in the end zone. We teachers are already committed (and as a result, some of us are ready to be committed. After a week like this, I know I am.) Sometimes the winning play can be called, and the team can win in the waning moments of the game. And understand: teaching is a team sport. Like football, the teacher is the quarterback, the students are the players, and learning is the goal achieved by putting in that extra effort and kicking the ball between the uprights with no time left on the clock. “And the crowd goes wild!”
Please post your comments below.
The hurry-up offense might work in some football game situations, but it rarely makes a significant difference in the academic life of a student who has fallen behind. Few things make me more crazy than a student who suddenly “wakes up” two weeks before the end of the semester and asks to be tutored in everything they have missed when they have not attended class either physically or mentally. I know, it’s part of the job, but it’s a lousy part of the job, and at times I feel like I am on the defense. Honestly, sometimes I just want to tell the hopelessly behind students “too bad.” But that type of sarcasm is ineffective and inappropriate. Yes, the students are responsible for their learning experience. Student buy-in is critically important to their success. Teachers can’t teach the unwilling. But it’s worth taking the time to help a kid who experiences an epiphany. I have witnessed students with less than a minute to play carry the ball in for a winning touchdown. However, despite our best efforts, it doesn’t always work that way. In cases like that, who is responsible? Do we just “wash our hands” like Pilate? Or do we “stick in there” until the time has elapsed completely?
The problem with sticking in there is the degree of stress that it places on us teachers. If we are going to stay in the game, then both pacing, and maintaining mental and physical health is important. I went home every night this week completely exhausted and fatigued. Not good for my family, my teaching, or me. My fatigue was a result of spending 6 periods a day, every day this week, trying to help the recently resurrected catch up so that they could not only pass the class, but also (and more importantly) finally learn the material. Sometimes that’s what it takes to be an effective teacher: a willingness to teach, review, re-teach, remediate, and spoon-feed over and over again, whenever we are asked, for as long as we are asked, until the students “get it.” Teachers unwilling to do so are not serving their students well. Students must be willing to come to the teacher, sure; but sometimes the teacher must be willing to go to the students. Be nice if that was the first thing taught in teacher prep programs.
I learned from my master teacher to tackle the last 6 weeks of class by creating a cumulative assignment that students could work on independently. That way the teacher is freed up to work with those who need extra help. I have found this to be an extremely effective teaching tool. However, I find a greater number of students needing more and more individual help in the last few weeks of the course. Instead of being a time for me to take-a-knee, I find myself kneeling next to students spending the majority of my class time working with those who need extra attention. Clearly they are not getting the help they need during the normal classroom day. Is this a reflection on my teaching style, or a statement about the caliber of some of today’s students? Probably both. I am most frustrated by those who simply throw up their hands and say, “I can’t do it.” These are often the students who get left behind. Of course they can do the work, it’s a question of their personal level of commitment. In my opinion, it doesn’t matter where a student starts, so long as they are committed to success in the end. I’ve seen it happen. Even those with the least preparation can catch up and can succeed. But students do themselves a huge disservice when they wait until the 2-minute warning to figure it out and make that commitment. It’s like the Packers down by 21 with two minutes left trying to win the game. Even the mighty Brett Favre would be hard-pressed to pull a victory out of that one. And yet, kids try it all the time. Ah youth.
Sometimes the result is that kids fail, even in the last 2 minutes. I hate that result. But there is as much if not more of a lesson to be learned by failing then there is by squeezing out a last second field goal for a "D-". Sometimes a “F” drives home the point that school is serious business and requires the full commitment of both students and parents if success if to be reached in the end zone. We teachers are already committed (and as a result, some of us are ready to be committed. After a week like this, I know I am.) Sometimes the winning play can be called, and the team can win in the waning moments of the game. And understand: teaching is a team sport. Like football, the teacher is the quarterback, the students are the players, and learning is the goal achieved by putting in that extra effort and kicking the ball between the uprights with no time left on the clock. “And the crowd goes wild!”
Please post your comments below.
January 06, 2006
Teachers are people too?
After two weeks off, my mind is not on the time I spend in the classroom, but the time I spend out of the classroom. For teachers to be effective, our lives need to be balanced, and our experiences well-rounded. Not well-rounded as in we need to know what it’s like to have been arrested, but well-rounded in that our lives are not completely and wholly about our students and our classrooms. For some teachers it’s natural to take time away from education to educate themselves in their other interests (e.g. writing, tractor operation, and home repair), for other teachers it takes a lot of work to not always work. Know what I mean?
What we do outside of our classrooms, away from education, without students enhances who we are when we are in our classrooms, involved in education, with our students. Having “been there,” and, “done that,” can be as useful a teaching tool as knowing the seven great wonders of the world, or the Pythagoras theorem. Sharing a life experience during a “teachable moment,” can have a greater and more long-lasting impact then an additional nightly reading assignment, or 50 more odd numbered questions. The week before school dismissed for Christmas break I caught five students cheating on an assignment. When they came to class the next afternoon, before enforcing punishment, I shared my own high school experience with cheating, and getting away with it. I cheated on my 10th grade English final. (I know, I know, that should completely disqualify me from education as a profession.) In my own defense, I was given the test answers from a buddy who just happened to be the former mayor’s son. I didn’t understand why we got away with it. The same teacher busted one of our future almost-valedictorians for cheating on a book report. The student picked a Reader’s Digest review at random, transcribed it, and turned it in. When the fraudulent paper was returned, the English teacher noted the Reader’s Digest volume, issue and date along with a giant red “F”. I still don’t know how he figured that one out. But we still got away with cheating on his final. I have carried that guilt around with me for 25 years. It won’t go away. Maybe that’s why he let us “get away with it.” But I digress. I shared my cheating story with the cheaters in my class to reinforce the point that cheating is never ok. I know, because I have “been there.” We’ll see how effective I was when school resumes Monday.
The teacher work schedule of approximately 190 out of 261 potential workdays annoys many other professionals. There’s also the assumed 6-hour workday. Non-educators don’t understand why educators should get so much “time off.” Teachers will argue that most of this “time off” is spent preparing for the “time on” not required by other professions. True, prep time, grading time, field-trip time, in-service time, and professional growth time adds up. But those extra 2 hours every day and 71 days in the year also need to be used for other non-educational educational experiences.
Some teachers like to travel. Travel is an excellent opportunity to gain perspective. Those who have never left the confines of their own town, city, or state miss out on learning what life is like outside of their comfort zone. Living outside one’s comfort zone is important for the teacher to experience and use to relate to students who come from foreign places. Just understanding that the Sun rises and sets in Pakistan the same way it does in Philadelphia is important. Other teachers like to spend time exploring outdoors. Long camping trips, hikes, rock climbing, and even gardening can all be useful when teaching about planet Earth. Understanding the process of nature, death and renewal, stability and change is useful not only in teaching biology, but English, math, and all of the other subjects as well. Some call those with a broad interest and accomplishments in science and the arts “Renaissance men.” Teachers must be “renaissance people.” If you teach Art, you must spend your off time being an artist. You must paint or draw or sculpt regularly. If you teach P.E., you must run, ride, or swim as often as possible. If you teach a foreign language, you must take time to go to places where you can practice. If you don’t “practice what you preach,” you will lose your impact with your students.
I know teachers that spend all of there off time at school preparing to teach. They design wonderful, intricate, complicated lesson plans to “wow” their students. When they are not at school they are at home on the computer conducting research or chatting online about teaching with other teachers. They are completely up to date on all of the most recent teaching techniques and can share with you all of the current data concerning test scores, and demographics, not to mention union issues. Being well prepared is vitally important to successful teaching. But being well prepared also includes taking time for you. Time to rest, time to relax, time to regroup, refocus, and revive. Those non-educators who criticize the teacher schedule fail to understand the stress related to working with kids. My favorites are those little loves that shout out, “I need help.” I respond, “Ask me a question so that I can answer.” Silence. I follow up, “have you read the assignment?” “No.” (Sigh).
One of my favorite books is Stuart B. Palonsky’s 900 Shows a Year. Palonsky writes an excellent account of a year of teaching. Teaching 900 shows a year is one of the most demanding and challenging endeavors one can choose. Spending time away from the classroom relaxing and developing who we are as individuals makes us better and more effective teachers. Sharing our passion and command of the subject matter seasoned with our passion and capacity for living proves to our students that teachers are people too.
Please post your comments below.
What we do outside of our classrooms, away from education, without students enhances who we are when we are in our classrooms, involved in education, with our students. Having “been there,” and, “done that,” can be as useful a teaching tool as knowing the seven great wonders of the world, or the Pythagoras theorem. Sharing a life experience during a “teachable moment,” can have a greater and more long-lasting impact then an additional nightly reading assignment, or 50 more odd numbered questions. The week before school dismissed for Christmas break I caught five students cheating on an assignment. When they came to class the next afternoon, before enforcing punishment, I shared my own high school experience with cheating, and getting away with it. I cheated on my 10th grade English final. (I know, I know, that should completely disqualify me from education as a profession.) In my own defense, I was given the test answers from a buddy who just happened to be the former mayor’s son. I didn’t understand why we got away with it. The same teacher busted one of our future almost-valedictorians for cheating on a book report. The student picked a Reader’s Digest review at random, transcribed it, and turned it in. When the fraudulent paper was returned, the English teacher noted the Reader’s Digest volume, issue and date along with a giant red “F”. I still don’t know how he figured that one out. But we still got away with cheating on his final. I have carried that guilt around with me for 25 years. It won’t go away. Maybe that’s why he let us “get away with it.” But I digress. I shared my cheating story with the cheaters in my class to reinforce the point that cheating is never ok. I know, because I have “been there.” We’ll see how effective I was when school resumes Monday.
The teacher work schedule of approximately 190 out of 261 potential workdays annoys many other professionals. There’s also the assumed 6-hour workday. Non-educators don’t understand why educators should get so much “time off.” Teachers will argue that most of this “time off” is spent preparing for the “time on” not required by other professions. True, prep time, grading time, field-trip time, in-service time, and professional growth time adds up. But those extra 2 hours every day and 71 days in the year also need to be used for other non-educational educational experiences.
Some teachers like to travel. Travel is an excellent opportunity to gain perspective. Those who have never left the confines of their own town, city, or state miss out on learning what life is like outside of their comfort zone. Living outside one’s comfort zone is important for the teacher to experience and use to relate to students who come from foreign places. Just understanding that the Sun rises and sets in Pakistan the same way it does in Philadelphia is important. Other teachers like to spend time exploring outdoors. Long camping trips, hikes, rock climbing, and even gardening can all be useful when teaching about planet Earth. Understanding the process of nature, death and renewal, stability and change is useful not only in teaching biology, but English, math, and all of the other subjects as well. Some call those with a broad interest and accomplishments in science and the arts “Renaissance men.” Teachers must be “renaissance people.” If you teach Art, you must spend your off time being an artist. You must paint or draw or sculpt regularly. If you teach P.E., you must run, ride, or swim as often as possible. If you teach a foreign language, you must take time to go to places where you can practice. If you don’t “practice what you preach,” you will lose your impact with your students.
I know teachers that spend all of there off time at school preparing to teach. They design wonderful, intricate, complicated lesson plans to “wow” their students. When they are not at school they are at home on the computer conducting research or chatting online about teaching with other teachers. They are completely up to date on all of the most recent teaching techniques and can share with you all of the current data concerning test scores, and demographics, not to mention union issues. Being well prepared is vitally important to successful teaching. But being well prepared also includes taking time for you. Time to rest, time to relax, time to regroup, refocus, and revive. Those non-educators who criticize the teacher schedule fail to understand the stress related to working with kids. My favorites are those little loves that shout out, “I need help.” I respond, “Ask me a question so that I can answer.” Silence. I follow up, “have you read the assignment?” “No.” (Sigh).
One of my favorite books is Stuart B. Palonsky’s 900 Shows a Year. Palonsky writes an excellent account of a year of teaching. Teaching 900 shows a year is one of the most demanding and challenging endeavors one can choose. Spending time away from the classroom relaxing and developing who we are as individuals makes us better and more effective teachers. Sharing our passion and command of the subject matter seasoned with our passion and capacity for living proves to our students that teachers are people too.
Please post your comments below.
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