STOP DOING THAT TO ME

Well, I am halfway through my 25th year of teaching school.  Halfway through what has been one of the most difficult years I have encountered as a teacher.  I have often said that "when I stop learning, I'll stop teaching".  Unfortunately, in this case, what I am learning is troubling.

I teach Television Production and Broadcast Journalism.  This year I added two units of Career Preparedness.   I keep one period of ISS (In School Supervision/Suspension).  I learn something new everyday.  Some useful, some enlightening, some inspiring. However, often it is depressing, aggravating, maddening.

Our educational system in this country is much like our political system.  The rich will be just fine. The very poor will be provided for by a certain amount of government programs and the truly middle class will be left to fight it out among themselves.   

In education, the bright, achievers will be just fine.  The really struggling students will be assisted by IEPs and 504 plans and the average student is pretty much left to figure it out on their own.

This is not about getting help to those who need it.  I am very much in favor of those programs; whether they be socially or educationally.  But what this is about is the unwillingness of those in the middle to help themselves.

There is is a fear that our society has created.  It is the fear of failure or even worse, perceived failure. So, often instead of trying and failing, many won't try at all. 

I shared on Facebook recently an article in The Atlantic that touched on this very same thing.

http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/08/when-success-leads-to-failure/400925/

The author of the article, Jessica Lahey, makes the point that the pressure of achieving is robbing students of the fun of learning.   I agree with most everything she writes in this article, however, I think there is more to it. It is that some just don't want to learn.  It is not a fear of failing, it is a fear of learning, having to work, having to actually think!

Countless times, this year alone, I have called on students in class with the easiest of questions; only to have the response be "I don't know".  It is not that they don't know, it is that they just don't want to engage their brain to actually try to deduce a reply.  This happens even when I ask a student their opinion; where there is no right or wrong answer.  "I don't know".  I don't know is code for "Stop calling on me." "Stop picking on me"  "Stop doing that to me."

See, here in lies the problem. Many of my students and the students of my colleagues treat education/learning as something we are doing TO them and not something we are doing FOR them! What they and many parents are really seeking is not knowledge, but a grade, a certificate, an honor, a trophy.  It doesn't matter if they learn anything as long as their GPA is not affected. And some could care less about that. Some are only concerned about passing. 

Some in the political arena want to have merit based pay for teachers based on standardized test scores. Give me a break!  Just as the rich/smart, very poor/special needs people get what they need...so does the teacher of upper level classes.  When you teach an AP or IB student, more often than not, you have the cream of the crop in your classroom.  Great students can make a mediocre teachers look outstanding! In reality, shouldn't our very best teachers be teaching the most challenging students?   And I mean challenging from both an educational and disciplinary standpoint.  Then again, perhaps they are. Maybe those teachers should be making more if we put in merit pay.  

But I do take the successes of  my students personally.  If a student has a low grade or fails my class I feel as if I have failed.  I have failed to present the material adequately, appropriately, entertainingly enough.  I feel that it is a reflection on my ability to teach. Is it me or is it them?

One saving grace is those who thrive and succeed and become passionate about learning. Thank God there are success stories!  There are students who light up the room when they enter.  There are students that say "thank you" and are respectful. There are students that are well-behaved and polite.  There are students who want to learn.

Because of them I continue to learn some good lessons. That is why, once this Christmas/holiday break is over I will return to my classroom and will continue to try to do something for them and not to them. 

Thanks for reading.

Jeff