Friday afternoon, 4:30 p.m., I drag myself through the front door of my home, put on a small pot of coffee then collapse on the sofa. What a day, what a week! The aroma of the brewing coffee soothes my soul and invigorates me at the same time. I quickly go to the kitchen, pour me a cup of coffee then slowly meander to my computer. After reading my mail, I log onto Facebook and peruse status updates of friends and family. A story runs across my newsfeed. It seems another veteran teacher resigns and ends her career. This happens much too often. Why? Could it be the frustrations over common core standards and high-stake testing? How about the endless hours of planning, preparing, grading, making phone calls? I begin to reflect on my teaching, my students, my school, my district, and my state.
Yes, there seems to be more pressure put on teachers and administrators, pressure coming from the district, but ultimately from the state. Teachers feel as if their hands are tied as if they can’t teach the way they want, the way that’s best for students. When did this happen? How did this happen? Through all this bureaucracy, we’ve lost sight of the students. Yes, I could throw up my hands and say, “I’ve had it!” But I choose not too! There are some things we can change right now and some things we can’t. I focus on what I can change.
First, I still feel I can be creative in order to reach ALL of my students. According to Dave Burgess in Teach Like a Pirate, creativity begins with the right questions? What hook will grab my students’ attention? What exciting text could I use to teach this standard? I don’t feel my teaching has to be scripted by the common core. I do, however, find myself spending more time searching for and researching best practices that will move my students forward. For example, standard LAFS.4.RI.2.5 requires students to describe the overall structure of events, ideas, concepts, or information in a text or part of a text. This standard lists four different structures: chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution. First I look at the item specs and the "end of the unit" assessment. I then search for any slide show or video I can use to teach this standard. Once I find a slide show, I “revise” it to meet the needs of my students. If I can’t find one, I will create one. I then start perusing texts that I have, texts that have an obvious overall structure, texts I can match up to the eight different Thinking Maps. Using Thinking Maps’ frame of reference takes student learning one step further. There are three different frames of reference. The “green” frame of reference requires the students to record the source of information (LAFS.4.W.3.8), the blue frame of reference requires the students to focus on a specific point of view (LAF.4.RL.2.6), and the red frame of reference requires students to explain their understanding about the information in their map and why this information is important (LAFS.4.RL.1.1, LAFS.4.RI.1.1).
 |
Students creating a One-Sided Cause and Effect map to record information about bananas! |
 |
Students adding a frame of reference to their Thinking Map! |
Is this time consuming? You bet! However, it benefits my students, so in the end, it’s worth it! Once this lesson is planned and typed up, I have it for next year! Yes, this is only one standard, but I do follow the same protocol for all of the standards I teach. Asking the right questions when planning helps me be creative, creative in a way that I’ve never been before!
Another frustration is the new teacher evaluation. I don’t disagree with teacher evaluation; I disagree with using standardized test scores. This is something I can’t change so I do what’s best for myself, and my students. I take responsibility and learn everything I can about our evaluation system. Our district’s framework is based on Marzano’s work. The sixty elements are just best practices, practices that we should be using in the classroom. This past summer I read Teach Like a Champion by Doug Lemov. The author describes 62 Techniques that put students on the path to college. Each one of the techniques discussed in this book is an element found in our district’s framework. Imagine that!
This brings me to the frustration of time (or lack of time). There doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day! Unfortunately, this is something that I can’t change. Personalizing my professional development using twitter, TED talk, Teaching Channel, etc. take time. Reading books such as Teach Like a Pirate takes time! Planning, preparing, grading papers, all take time. So, if I can’t add hours to my day, how do I adapt and keep my sanity? There has to be a balance between our personal and professional lives; the happiness one finds when striking the perfect balance between work and play. To achieve this balance I have to carve out some time for myself. This begins at 4:30 in the morning with my “quiet time”, time to drink my coffee, read my bible, and pray. This positively begins my day. My workday ends with 30 – 45 minutes of exercise. I either work in a P90X3 routine or I go for a 3-mile jog. After a nice dinner with my family, I carve out about an hour or two for schoolwork. (This is easier for me now that my children are grown and pretty much out of the house. When my children were younger, this time waited until they were in bed). Around 8:00 in the evening schoolwork is put away and time with family continues, either with a movie or a football game! Although I complete some school work over the weekend, the majority of my weekend is reserved for family and FUN!
So, my heart breaks when I read about another teacher resigning out of frustration, yet another group of students missing out on effective instruction. This is an issue that must be addressed. Until then, I will choose to continue on. Change what I can, beginning with my attitude.
