When I thought about where this blog was going to go today, several different ideas ran
through my mind. I was trying to think about how to connect my thoughts to my educational background. The fact is I spent too much time always thinking of how to do things right that I wasn't focusing on where this blog was headed. In the past 15 years of teaching, I've met a lot of good teachers and well, let's just say a lot of teachers that "needs improvement." I've connected with many where we can share ideas and some that refused to grow as an educator. So this got me to think..... where is the field of education heading. Day after day I try to find ways to learn.
Collaboration makes a huge impact into the lives of students. It's not about what we can do alone, but it's what we can do as a team. (Short digression: I am sure you have heard that there is no "I" in team..... but there is a "me".) The more I am able to collaborate with other educators (and sometimes even non-educators) I find myself being a better teacher. I have to admit that there are times I just feel like I am alone in what I teach and how I teach. Because each child learns a different way does not mean we have to "dumb down" the curriculum or even the way we teach. If we are to teach students to learn, we must include rigor (no matter what the learning ability is) with each and every lesson.
For instance: my son is a very smart 9 year old. Even at the age of 2, his intelligence was known based on what he learned on his own and in his daycare. I mean he knew (and still does) every dinosaur including which prehistoric period it is from. Entering Kindergarten wasn't too difficult for him because he was well-prepared when he was in daycare since he was nine months old. I could tell that when he was completing his Kindergarten homework (yes, he had lots of homework whether it was a simple tracing assignment or short reading), he was bored. He was being assessed like any other Kindergartener his age. Much of the work he was given he learned in daycare. As a result, he became bored and did not complete the work like he needed to. Now, I was not asking for him to be singled out and given special treatment, but he needed to be challenged. This continued until second grade when I noticed that he was placed in a lower reading group. I was confused during the parent-teacher conference that she said my son was not up to the second grade reading level. I thought about laughing at her and asking if it was some kind of joke. That night my husband and I spoke with our son to find out why he was in a lower reading group. I mean before he entered Kindergarten, he was reading his "I can Read" books line by line by himself. I figured out that he wanted the special attention from the teacher (even if it was to give up computer time). He knew how to read but wanted the extra work to keep busy.
As a high school educator, my students do not want the extra work. But taking into account my own son's predicament, I wanted to make sure all my students were receiving the education they deserved. This is where I started to create individual Differentiated Instruction. It's not about recreating lessons for each student; it's about knowing the students. This brings me back to my earlier point. If we are expected to know our students then others are to know the teachers. So when does this cycle of unfairness end? That's a question that many cannot answer. Teachers collaborate to learn whereas some do not want to go above and beyond their 'job title.' Some teachers get to know their students to ensure rigor in the lessons whereas some are not really trained to see it. And some teachers learn how to DI to focus on each student's learning ability whereas some only teach to the 'team.'
While there is no 'me' in team when playing sports; there should be a 'me' in team when we create lessons for our students. If we taught to the team, all of the students would be the same. They would all learn the same, compete at the same level, and think the same which means there may not be a difference of opinion. The problem is that we are not all the same so why do some teach that way?
Edit: As with the most things I do, I tend to think of ideas after calls are made, texts are sent, tweets and created, and blogs are posted. Thinking about my son's experience and my own students, I remember the show called, Head of the Class. Although some may not remember the show, I am sure that none of my students have even heard of it. The idea of the show is that a substitute teacher becomes a mentor for a class of geniuses where all Moore (the substitute) was to do was 'babysit' them. But just like Moore, there are some things that cannot be taught in the classroom. This is where I fit in. Many teach by the curriculum and very few do not. However, Moore was right when there are certain things that cannot be taught in the classroom. This is where the real teaching comes in; it's not reading a textbook to the students or giving them worksheet after worksheet. Creating interdisciplinary units to connect with students teaches educates students. A teacher should teach the necessary steps for students to connect with. Assigning a research paper because the curriculum said so may not be the right idea. Some students can write whereas some just cannot figure out how to create a sentence, let alone develop one. So how do we assess standards, weaknesses, and even strengths? It's a good question but if we get to know our students, we will know who can be successful in certain areas and we also know how we can help improve our students. The standards can be manipulated to help each student. If they are still understanding the lessons, they are still learning. Just because one student cannot create a simple complete sentence when another student can, does not mean the learning is different. Time to break out of the box and follow Moore's view on teaching. Learning should not be a waste of time and neither should be teaching.
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