Do you see the standards and laws as a shackle or a benefit for schools? How about your particular school?
It is difficult to call curriculum standards and laws a shackle; however, it is just as difficult to truly see them as a benefit. I cannot imagine a system which gives the teacher complete freedom of curriculum, and with that, I see standards as a pathway to teacher accountability, an attempt to create equality between school districts, a tool for focus and consistency, and a promise of accommodations for various learners. On the other hand, I have found that standards at times hamper creativity and leave little room for truly significant learning, the kind that goes beyond strong learning verbs. Can we ever find a balance, while keeping our students’ interests in mind? Can we create standards that value true learning experiences and not hollow test-taking skills?
I often find myself thinking about the standards that I get to highlight on my weekly lesson plans. Besides the mind-numbing H.S.P.A prep that we have in the month of February, I never felt shackled by standard 3.4 or felt that standard 3.2 disallowed me from truly engaging my students in creative writing. For the most part, my passion and enthusiasm have been my standards. When planning lessons, I think about the learning goal: why am I teaching this? How can I make this relevant? What is the most interesting way to present this to my students? Although the standards seem to take the back seat, inadvertently, they are always addressed.
In general, do you think most teachers adhere to the standards, or create an individual curriculum package particular to their setting? If your thought is the latter, is there a need then for standards?
I think that there are three types of teachers; those that play by the rules or standards in this case, those who step outside the lines to explore more creative ways of teaching, and those that ignore the standards much like they ignore the immense influence they have on the development of our students. Although I think standards are absolutely necessary, I believe that teachers should be trusted as professionals to reasonably step outside those standards.
During my first year of teaching, I had an experience that highlighted some drawbacks of standards and curriculum. I was informed on my first day that if I taught anything that wasn’t in the curriculum, I could technically be held responsible. Then came time to rewrite the curriculum, this is where I lost some faith in the educational system and perhaps some of naiveté. After getting a new addition of the Language Arts textbook, we got together in teams arranged by grade to literally copy the new material into the old curriculum. Incredulously, I realized that there is a tremendous rift between what the curriculum and standards are ideally designed for and how they function in the reality of a school setting. Much like the previous question, I believe there must be a balance between giving teachers meaningful direction while simultaneously trusting their professional judgment.
Several national and education organizations have taken on the voluntary challenge of creating educational standards or guidelines to be used on a national level. They are not mandatory but highly recommended. Take a look at them. Should we have national standards rather than state standards?
Unfortunately, I have become slightly pessimistic about school reform. I think too many times it takes the form of a nervous administration trying to reach an empty benchmark. I would like to see a set of national standards that truly create equality in our schools while leaving room for meaningful teaching and assessment. While researching this topic I came across an insightful article: http://www.nyssba.org/clientuploads/forecast%20pdf/forecast0607.pdf One idea truly resonated as I read: by instituting national standards are we again trying to create “one-size-fits-all” mentality? By taking away control from local level, can we truly take into account the myriad of communities across this nation? This challenging undertaking is commendable, yet the insurmountable variables may be too many to address; can our test-subjects endure another experiment?
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7 comments:
I share your state of unflux about the purpose of standards. I lalso like your synopsis of the three types of teachers.
Can we ever find a balance, while keeping our students' interests in mind? I think this question is quite interesting because as a teacher this is our biggest challenge in the classroom. How can we create an exciting atmosphere of learning without focusing so much on state standards and assessments. I think the best kind of teacher is the one who steps out of the box but has the standards within their reach, making the material fun to learn.
Hi Alla. You say that there is a "trememndous rift between what the curriculum and standards are ideally designed for and how they funciton in the reality of a school setting." What do you mean?
I think you make a great point about administration tyring to reah an empty benchmark. I am going to read that article that you linked right now! Thanks for providing a resource. Im sure its a great read!
The standardized tests are supposed to be our "check" to see that we are following the standards. Do you think they accomplish that lofty goal?
I think your thoughts on the three types of teachers is dead on. Those teachers who are able to teach the curriculum, and also connect it to their students are the ones who tend to be the most successful.
Wow... I really like your description of the three types of teachers. I struggle greatly in my school with a mix of all three. It is comforting to see that there are other teachers out there that feel the same way.
I see your point in thinking about a "one size fits all" problem but i think we need to view it differently. If we believe that there are certain ability levels of any age group- things that students are developmentally prepared for- then that should be true for students anywhere in our country (or the world for that matter). I think assuming that students in different places are only able to perform to various levels defeats the goal of education. We must set high standards for our nation's students and make plans to reach them rather than taking the defeatist point of view and assuming some cannot. If we want to keep in line with other countries, we need to step up our expectations and make them clear. We cannot look for excuses. We cannot avoid setting a high bar out of fear of failure. Some schools might fail. Many schools probably will fail. Many school are already failing. Hopefully the failures will be dealt with properly and only make us stronger.
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