Philosophy Without A Home

A few days ago, before I wrote yesterday's post on the horrors of preparing for the ISAT, I wrote this Oh to be in a school that allows a teacher the freedom to really teach. Instead we Buckle Down and do our best to meet some adequate standard on the ISAT test. It's not that the kids can't do it. The real problem is that the students are just bored silly and tired of proving what they know and what they can do for a school system that seems completely irrelevant to the life they will lead when they grow up. Don't get me wrong some just haven't learned the skills, but a significant number just don't want to do it. I sit and watch students taking an ISAT practice test and they don't care. They work harder on trying to communicate without tipping off the teacher than they do on the actual test. We are not testing their knowledge or even their ability to do math. What we are doing is proving to our students that school has nothing to do with the real world. Oh

I was listening in on a teacher conversation the other day. They were discussing ways to improve their school. "Did you see the book Measuring Up ? Its better than Buckle Down . They have examples on the first page then practice, then short answer, short answer, short answer, short answer, and extended response. ... If they are going to judge us on how well we do on the ISAT then this is the book we should be teaching." I tried to hide my horrified expression. I love the student centered curriculum the district bought, but everyone is so worried about ISATs they barely use it. I was hoping that after the big test we might actually have some fun teaching instead of struggling to maintain control while the students are being bored to tears. Thankfully just a bit later another teacher brought up what will happen after ISATs. "You should have seen X's face when she came in my room today. It looked like we were cleaning up after a project and she looked so disappointed. &

I'm working with a teacher the other day. She goes to the computer and brings up Engrade and starts entering a few grades. She says to no one in particular, "I don't know what I did before Engrade". Sixteen years of teaching, self-proclaimed computer Luddite, loves Engrade an online based open-source gradebook. Better yet most of the teachers I've talked to are looking forward to the planned inplementation of Infinite Campus, if only for the ability for parents to stay more informed.

After reading some blog posts reflecting on the latest Educon . Especially Bud's " SLA isn't the promised land ". I got to wondering what I would do if I were principal at one of the schools that I have worked for in the past. It certainly wouldn't look like SLA , and not just because I work in elementary or middle schools. Chris Lehmann is the founding principal of SLA and as such he, I'm sure he picked a staff that has a similar educational philosophy. Taking over an existing school also means taking over the existing staff. How would a person radically change the philosophy of a school without being able to radically change the staff? And thus we come to the problem facing major school districts around the country, even the Secretary of Education himself; How does one fix education without starting over? Evidently most big cities have quit trying , at least it seems that way because their solution is to close failing schools and reopen them as private schoo

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words Have you ever tried to teach a student, or help a student when you don't speak the same language? I have. I spend a lot of time pointing and drawing pictures. As I watch the ESL teacher teach mostly in Spanish I wonder if I could teach his class. I wondered today if I could teach an entire math class without saying a word. When I teach math I spend most of my time drawing pictures. If I'm not drawing pictures I'm letting students mess around with manipulatives. If we aren't doing that I try to get the students to work in groups and "discover" or find a pattern. Could I teach without speaking a word? I doubt it. Could I teach when we don't speak the same language? Maybe, Certainly if we had a good number of words in common. I might even be a better teacher for it. Next time you teach try using fewer words and see what happens. Or as Dan says " What Can You Do With This "