Thoughts on Our Education

Long Time no Post

2010-08-29T12:37:00.002-05:00

Well, I must say that I am not having a lot of success at this blog thing so far. I started last year with the hope of documenting some of my learning and experiences as a young educator. I didn't expect myself to be so busy that I completely forgot about it.

Last school year, I had a little more on my plate then I was use to. It was the first year I was teaching Computer Science, my prep time was reduced, and Robotics Club was very time consuming. It was a hard year, and let me apologize for being a bit of a grump. However, I came through. Now I am a little wiser as an educator.

One of the things I learned last year was that extracurricular activities can really help out many students. Being one of the teacher sponsors for the Robotics Club let me learn that first hand. Honestly, I was a bit skeptical at first about the whole club, because it was very time consuming for the teachers and students. For a while there, I was considering not doing it again this year. However, near the end of the year I was able to see what a positive impact it made on several of the students. For FRC, we won our regional competition in Houston and went on to the world championships. Unfortunately, the students did not place at championships, but that was not the important thing. Just seeing the students grow in character and knowledge over the year was a pleasure. A couple of the graduating seniors even became interns at NASA because of their work in the club. See these benefits happening outside the classroom changed my perspective on extracurricular activities, and I look forward to sponsoring the Robotics Club again this year.

During the summer I even did some work for the Robotics Club. I helped run the Lego League camp for the elementary aged students. Working with younger students helped me to moderate my attitude and to be a little more understanding. I hope that I can apply these same principles to my high school students this school year.

Speaking of this school year, I only have four classes. Two of my periods have been allocated to help with administrative duties. I am a bit bothered that I am loosing class time with students, but these extra duties are helping me to see how other aspects of public education function. So, I am hopeful that I will gain a better perspective by the time this school year is over.

Teenagers Still Lookup to Us Despite what They Say

2009-09-20T17:01:00.002-05:00

In previous posts, I have mentioned that I am extra busy this year with Robotics. Well, our first Robotics competitions have already started this week. For our team's first competition we have to make a robot that can collect certain items off a field. The purpose is to collect these items to make 'fuel'. The more fuel we can make, the higher our score. The game is surprisingly complex, as there are several things we have to interact with on the field to get the items to appear. It should be a lot of fun, and I think I am a little jealous that I am not the student participating in the competition.

However, the purpose of this post was not to comment about Robotics. When we had our first meetings with the students the past two weeks I have had an interesting observation about some of the students. When put in situations of leadership, they behave almost exactly like their adult counterparts.

Some of the students have been given roles of authority in the group, because it is supposed to be a student ran competition. As we, the adults, have stepped back and given the students control of the robot build process I have noticed that the students are acting less like teenagers, and more like responsible parties that really care about the success of their work. And the way they are going about doing it is almost exactly the same as the adult leaders were acting earlier on. It is a little creepy really. Almost all of the mannerisms, word choices, and attitudes of their adult counterparts are copied- even the negative ones.

So, I guess the moral of the story for the teacher today is that the students are learning from us, even if they look like and say that they aren't. Because when the time comes that they need to step up, they will do it the only way they know how- the way we have been demonstrating before them. And with all the imperfections that I still have as a young teacher, I hope I haven't passed on any negative attributes to my students.

Update About Prep Time

2009-08-30T17:45:00.003-05:00

So far, I am loosing the battle. I only have one of my subjects planned out beyond a day, I haven't submitted any of my lesson plans to my department head, and I haven't graded a single assignment yet. And to top it all off... I spent the first weekend home sick and in bed. This is going to be an adventure of a year indeed.

At first I thought that maybe it was just me. I do have a tendency to do a little too much at the beginning of each year. So, I asked some other teachers in my department how they were fairing out with the new schedule. Everyone one of them said they were behind in their work. Even the teacher in my department who only teaches two periods the whole day said that she was behind in her planning. Well, I am glad that it is not just me!

Please don't think that I am throwing in the towel already. I am merely saying that this school year is going to be the refiner's fire for me. These first few weeks may be stressful (and the whole year I might add), but I hope that I can become the more efficient teacher from it all.

Unfortunately, I may have to make a few cutbacks already. I am also in charge of some extracurricular activities this year which will eat up quite a bit of my evening hours. I may have to cut back drastically on my online tutoring hours. I wish I didn't have to, because I think it is a great way for me to practice my one-on-one relationship skills. However, I would like to spend some time home with my family this year.

Concerns of Prep Time for the Upcomming School Year

2009-07-26T19:44:00.003-05:00

When I was first employed by my current school district, I was very pleased by the block schedule and the amount of preparation time I had every day. I was given one 90 minute period every day. I thought it was a paradise to have and hour-and-a-half every day to prepare materials, grade papers, meet with parents, and complete administrative tasks.

For the upcoming school year, the district has decided to go back to a traditional 45 minute period day. I still get one period for prep time, but now it is only forty-five minutes long. I am still very much appriciative of the time I will have to prepare. I have worked in a district where the teachers only had once a week. However, with my prep time being cut in half I am starting to wonder about priorities.

When I was a student myself, I remember having a lot of multiple choice tests. (They are much easier to grade, and save a teacher a lot of time.) However, I always wondered at their efficacy to accurately show what a student knew or did not know. Because they are easier to grade, they are easier to pass.

I also remember that most of my teachers shut their doors after school was over. There were few teachers that let students into their classrooms shortly after the bell rang.

So, those are my two concerns. By losing precious prep time, I am worried that I may have to either cheapen my assessment, or reduce after class hours. Although I do already use multiple choice tests, I also use a lot of written and project based assessments. In the past I have also been able to let students into my classroom almost every day after school, and I have even been known to stay after 6 PM on occasion helping students. However, next year I will not have time for all I want to do without having to find ways to save time.

So, do I rely primarily on multiple choice assignments and test, which can be easily graded, to save time? Or, do I tell my students that I can only help them two days out of the week for an hour so I can use the rest of my after school time for grading? In my mind, these are tough questions.

I know that I expect more from my students than an average teacher. This is why I often have students in my room every day after school, but if I will no longer be able to provide them the time they need for extra help, am I obligated to make the class easier for them to pass? Or is there a way to use multiple choice tests without making it too easy for students to pass without mastering the content?

I think I will rely on multiple choice test more often next year in order to cut down on grading time. I would rather risk making the tests a little too easy than risk not giving them enough time for help. Then again, I guess the real test of my teaching abilities would be to find a way to keep the standards high even though there is less time available. I hope I can find a way, but only time will tell.

Dabbling with Distance Education

2009-07-13T15:02:00.002-05:00

Going to college, I had the opportunity to take some of my classes online. I enjoyed those class as it allowed me to work according to my own schedule. Even now that I am an educator myself, I still fulfill some of my required staff development via online classes. I think now it is time for me to move on the the next step with my distance education. Now I am teaching online!

It all started when my mother mentioned that my youngest brother was needing some help with math. She wanted to send him to a summer class, but had a hard time doing so without having to cancel their summer vacation. So, I offered to tutor my brother online. She liked this idea because it would give my brother the much needed review with missing out on summer vacation (not to mention cheaper too).

Soon after that, one of my former student's parent contacted me with questions about where to find a tutor. I mentioned to her that I was tutoring someone else online, and that I would be happy to tutor her son as well. Then the idea came to me that tutoring online is a great way to meet individual student needs, and because there are so many free or low cost tools on the web I could offer my services for low rates. (Ideologically, low cost education is important to me. In my opinion, the more people know the better off everyone is. I have seen tutors asking as much as $100/hr! I am all for being compensated for my time, but that is outrageous. Currently, I am charging only $15/hr.)

So, I very recently decided to go public. I put up a website, registered with some online whiteboard and appointment booking sites, and set up a PayPal account. Not only has this experience been a lot of fun, but I think it will also allow me to sharpen some of my fading teaching skills. Teaching at a large high school is interesting, but it really lacks the one-on-one attention that I would like to give my students. Tutoring online will give me the opportunity to practice the art of one-on-one teaching.

Oh, and if you are interested in a tutor, feel free to check out my website.

Balancing the Administrative with the Teaching

2008-11-16T20:22:00.006-06:00

It has been a while since my last post. I could try to blame it on the hurricane and the hurricane recovery, but the truth of the matter is that teaching keeps me busy. I have been trying to find some time to think about a though provocative post, but just trying to stay on top of my lesson plans has been occupying too much of my mental capacity. So, finally I thought that I should make a post about this very matter.

Recent surveys have found that new teachers quit because of too little planning time, too much paper work, and lack of assistance from administration and the district. Now, I consider myself very fortunate in my school district with two out of the three. As a new teacher I get a lot of support, get two planning periods, and I have a really good administration. However, the paper work is killer! I have never had to fill out so many forms, send so many emails, call so many people, go to so many meetings, and document so many things. Honestly, it is easier for me to do my taxes than it is to keep on top of all the paper work.

Now, before any of you think that I am throwing in the towel- think again. I am glad to be a teacher. However, I must admit that I am having a difficult time allocating sufficient time to teaching. Unfortunately, I spend more time in administrative tasks than I do preparing quality lessons and helping students. I worry that it is having a negative impact on the quality of learning in my classroom. Speaking with and observing other teachers has led me to believe that there are two ways to remedy this problem.

The first way in finding time for both the administrative and teaching, and the most prevalent as far as I can observe, is to make things easy. Oftentimes, fellow teachers will tell me, "It is just an elective class. You have to make it easy or the kids wont want to be in the class." Or even, "Grade the papers easy and then you wont get so many students or parents calling you." Well, I can see how this would solve the time problem: keep the students and parents happy with higher grades and then they wont take up as much of my time. However, this causes a much bigger problem in my mind. What is the point of grading- or even learning- at all if it does not accurately reflect student growth? I might as well let the students eat pizza and watch movies every week if I take this approach! (Any students who have taken my class know that I will never do that.)

I believe that if we are going to spend the time and the tax payer's money to make every youth attend school, I better make my class worthwhile. This means that I cannot subscribe to the first approach listed above. This leaves me with the second option to remedy my time balancing problem: actually be a great teacher.

Now that is the hardest part. It is not as easy as saying that I am going to be a great teacher today. The teachers that I do know who can find the time to be great teachers and still make it home at a reasonable hour did not get to this point over night. They have been practicing it for years. Ironically, it seems that the only way to find the time is to first spend the time. Looks like it may take me a while before I can master this balancing act.

Could We Be More Clear?

2008-08-15T16:45:00.002-05:00

Many times I have wondered why students have a propensity to ignore directions. Even after writing directions on the board, stating them verbally, and including the directions on their classwork, the question is still asked, "What am I suppose to do?" or even, "I did not know about that!"

Recently, we had class registration. The process was supposed to be simple. The parents and students were to pick up their schedules, verify that classes were correct, give the schedule to a runner that would pick up the appropriate textbooks for them, and wait for their names to be called. Maps were provided, signs were posted, and verbal instructions given. Yet, it did not go so smoothly. Even the parents did not know what they were doing.

This experience caused me to stop and ponder for a moment. Could we have been more clear? Or is there something inherent in humans that prevents us from paying attention? Were the parents just as careless as the students, or were we the cause of confusion? I took a moment to look around. The map was readable, but it took me a long look before I could understand it. The signs were easy to read, but with a hundred other people in the room they could not be seen. Although verbal direction was given, at times the directions between stations were conflicting.

Often, as educators, we feel that we got the message across. We have told them what to do, but they still do it wrong anyway. We can get frustrated when this happens. Maybe I should learn from this registration experience.

Like the map, maybe my directions are not as easy to digest as I thought they would be. I am sure the person who drew it understood it, but the people who really needed it could not understand it. Do teachers sometimes give familiar directions to an unfamiliar audience? I'll check myself on this one for this upcoming school year.

Do we sometimes give directions in distracted environments? I believe that society used to expect people to organize themselves ahead of time, but more and more I see that society is leaning towards more instantaneous experiences. We only learn what we need to know, when we need to know it. So, if I am in front of the class blabbing on about some important instructions, am I expecting too much for them to listen at that point in time when they wont be doing the actual work for a while longer?

In the past I have tended to be a little hard on the students when I thought they were not following clear directions. Maybe in the future I need to take a look at my teaching and see if I am really being as clear as I thought I was.

What do you guys think? Is it the teacher? Or is it the student?

Meeting the Needs of the Gifted and Talented

2008-07-28T21:09:00.002-05:00

I had an interesting conversation with a fellow educator recently about meeting the needs of gifted and talented students. His argument was that our current educational system no longer meets their learning needs. He recalled being in the gifted and talented program growing up, and contrasted that to what we expect from our brightest students today. It was his belief that we no longer push these students to achieve as well as they can, because education has become very homogenized. Advanced placement classes exist, but often times enrollment is open to all. This results in a watered-down curriculum for the gifted. As a result, they are not pushed to learn and become lazy with their education.

This brings up some important questions about how we Americans approach education. Open enrollment for advanced classes helps to bring down perceived socioeconomic learning barriers. Since most any student can feel that he can join a rigorous curriculum, there appears to be a more level playing field for the gifted and the regular student. This homogenization masks educational ranks, making all students appear smart... but I ask do we all appear smart, or are we only dragging down the brightest to our level?

How can we better meet the needs of students that are already ready for something more? Sticking them in an AP class and then reducing the curriculum does not appear to be satisfying their needs. Would it be better to create a track system, similar to the ones often used in European countries? Students who really can achieve above the rest can be placed into a more advanced track where they can be challenged while the rest of us can sign up for standard classes. It appears that such a system would allow the regular achievers to continue to learn while allowing the opportunity for the gifted to excel.

But many Americans would say 'that's not fair!' Why should some students receive more educational privilege? Why should my kid be in a regular class while my neighbor's kid gets to be in a special class? These are all fair questions to ask, after all, but think of it this way. Instead of asking if it is far for a student with obvious academic aptitude to receive more education, ask if it is fair that such a student continues to be hindered by a lack of educational rigor. It is not that the mainstream students are receiving any less of an education. They will still learn just as they did before, while the gifted receive an engaging instruction.

Would such tracking lead to a greater educational disparity? It very well may, but it will not be because us regular folk are not getting a fair education. It would only be because the gifted and talented could finally reach their potential.

What do you think?

Purpose of this Blog

2008-07-23T18:46:00.002-05:00

Growing up in the USA public education system, I have been a student to all types of teachers. Some have inspired me to be better and work harder. Others were apathetic to teaching, or outright loathed it. Ultimately, the impact they had on me must have been for the better. After all, I chose teaching as my profession. But I must ask myself, were the excellent teachers from my childhood what convinced me of the importance of education... or was it the bad ones?

It may have well been all the bad examples that prompted me to be a teacher- hoping that I can keep this generation's students from having to suffer one less bad teacher. If this is the case, one must ask why there are bad teachers to begin with? What is it in the USA public education system that seems to allow for such mediocrity to exist in the very people that should be examples of excellence? What are we doing wrong? Or am I seeing something that is not there? Is everything fine the way it is?

We seem to read and hear more and more that our educational system continues to fall father and farther behind the accomplishments of foreign countries' education. Is that because they are trying harder, or is it because we have stopped trying? Should we be more concerned with the welfare of our son's and daughter's education? Or is the status quo good enough?

As I continue my career as an educator, these questions occupy my mind more and more. I believe that we could do better as a country and as individuals. As my part to the public discussion of education in America, I have started this blog. It is my intention to post some of my experiences as a teacher, ask insightful questions, and hopefully receive the expertise and opinions of others. To anyone out there listening who ever wonders about education, feel free to post to this blog your comments and questions. Let's do education as it should be done... Let's learn from each other.