Teaching = “Flying Blind” (VP)

If you remember, my book is an anthology written by various well-recognized authors in the field of adolescent literature.  Chris Crutcher, who often writes for “Voices from the Middle” and author of Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, offers an entry as Chapter 2 – “Flying Blind”. 

He states, “Every teacher is involved with as many troubled students as not.  As if adolescence itself weren’t trouble enough.”  This is so true!  So many students come to us with varied difficulties, home struggles, parent issues, etc.  What exactly is “normal” or “average”?  I remember writing my contextual framework for the National Board Certification process.  I asked that my principal review it.  He quipped, “And this is a ‘regular’ classroom?”  While I really did not need to remind him that it was indeed what is often labeled “a regular classroom”, the one-page description documented the very quote Crutcher states regarding ”troubled students”. 

Teachers have to create a safe place for students to learn – all students, and for you to teach.  Crutcher even takes a shot at the “ill-thought-out standards, drawn up by men and women so distant as to be functionally illiterate in its regard” that teachers must contend with on a daily basis.  It’s a lot to deal with on a daily basis – and under such scrutiny.  Yet, we persist.

I do believe that it is hard to explain this scenario to those outside the teaching profession.  Does the general public really understand the difficulties our students carry?  The difficulties we face?  The restraints we are under?  The requirements we must meet?

Crutcher sums it up by saying, “There simply is no tougher job than that of Teacher”.  Teacher with a capital T.

I think that’s the best way to leave my entry, as well.

Literacy Skills vs. Academic Literacy (VP)

My book selection focuses on adolescent literacy.  The chapters are written by different “experts” in the field of ad lit.  While I think you can skip around in the book and it still make sense, I started with the first chapter since it provides a foundation for topics presented in the entire volume.  This first chapter reminded me that NCLB and AYP often ignore literacy skills our students possess – those skills our students need for the 21st century BUT are not measured on end-of-year tests (e.g., blogging, informal communication, awareness of the world around them, etc.).  The author supports NCLB since it provides a structured, rigorous curriculum – but finds fault in the manner in that it does not provide successful opportunities in LITERACY as a whole – rather than ACADEMIC LITERACY (traditional school – learn, memorize, recite, test, etc.).  I feel that in order for this to shift, parents, society, and schools will need to be reprogrammed to accept this new success – move away from traditional assessments, grading, and assignments.

How many of you have been questioned by a parent about the homework assignments you give (most likely because it is different from what the parents believe is a correct form of assignment – what they were given as students)?  How did you overcome these concerns?

Have you ever questioned how your school requires that you assign grades? 

How do you place value on LITERACY SKILLS without completely ignoring the traditional academic literacy (most schools require)?

I do agree that the transformation to have students PRODUCE information as opposed to only CONSUME information is the “measure of success”.  It reminds me of Dr. Ash’s class – inquiry, collaboration, creating, questioning, and wondering.

For teachers, it is difficult to accomplish this in a world of traditional schooling.  Do we really teach as “they” did 50 years ago?  Think about how much is the same – classrooms, bells that ring like in factories to signal end of periods, 10 month school year, etc.  How far have we really come?